Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary...

Classes look at and analyze primary source images to explore the differences between the colonial regions during the Revolutionary era. They break into groups to tackle each region and then present their findings to the class. A final...

Young scholars research types of technology available to Americans at the beginning of the 20th century and compare the style of living to modern times. They identify Thomas Edison's contributions to technology and their own current...

Earth science learners create a two-dimensional topographic map of the floor of the Aegean Sea. They use it to then create a three-dimensional model of the ocean floor features. This comprehensive resource delivers strong background...

Nathaniel Hawthorne as a humorist? Really? The three lessons in this series focus on the the storytelling style, conventions, and literary techniques employed by Hawthorne, George Washington Harris, and Mark Twain. 

If you've used any of the New Class Museum lessons exploring the theme, Unmonumental, then check this out! Included are three different final project ideas that tie into the other seven Unmonumental lessons. Kids create community through...

Whether studying metaphors or Greek mythology, this labyrinth project is a fantastic lesson plan to add to your unit. It includes two versions of the labyrinth; making it with yarn or stone. If your materials are limited, you can even...

Groups read primary and secondary sources detailing the ambush at Bloody Brook on September 18, 1675 and the attack on The Falls in May of 1676. After examining the results of each attack, groups reflect on the language...

Ever think about combining the art forms of painting and embroidery? Then this art lesson is right up your alley! Given a piece of white cloth, young artists first create a grayscale painting and then highlight certain...

Upper graders listen to the blues. They discuss blues scale, read a description of the blues, and work together to write an original piece. A lesson like this ties into American history and African-American musical contributions very...

Students view the film 'Black Robe,' which further develop students' abilities to see an event or era of history from multiple perspectives. After the movie, they utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan to write about what they've seen.

Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...

Students research the prehistoric earthworks site at Poverty Point, Louisiana. They compare the Louisiana artifacts and structure to the remains and knowledge of other ancient cultures. They present their research to the class.

Learners read a case study of one campaign to discover how political campaigns addresses the needs of the voters. In groups, they answer questions related to the case and discuss how the commercials affect society as a whole. They use...

Students create metallic Bas-relief scultures using basic art supplies and the technique of "tooling" in this Art lesson with croos-curricular connections in Social Studies and Math. A scoring rubric is included for assessment and...

In this everyday editing learning exercise, learners correct grammatical errors in a short paragraph about Ezra Jack Keats. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling.

With the abundance of food products we can easily access in our society today, it is easy to forget the toll this can take on our global environment. Young learners will discover how the transition to agriculture and domesticated living...

Upper graders take a critical look at art criticism, music, and politics. They watch one segment of "True Spin," produced by VH1 music television and then discuss myths that relate to art and music. Several modern songs are analyzed...

From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...

Role-play and simulation exercises are fantastic ways to help learners understand the reality behind many social and historical events. Pretending they are colonists, upper graders choose a location, create a history, establish laws, and...

What role did women play in pop art during the 1950s and 1960s? The class researches the role of women in mid-century America and how those roles were portrayed through the pop art of the time. They use an excellent set of...