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Where is Kansas?
Students explore U.S. Geography by analyzing a map. For this state vs. country lesson, students utilize a U.S. map and locate the state of Kansas before researching the history and customs of the state. Students collaborate as a class to...
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Indian Removal: Does History Always Reflect progress?
Students explore the idea that progress for some might not mean progress for all. In this Native American lesson, students recognize different viewpoints about historical events through the study of primary documents. Students decipher...
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Creating Identity Posters
Students discover the identities of their classmates. For this tolerance lesson, students create individual posters showcasing their identity, history, and family background. Students examine the posters to get a better...
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"Me and My Family Tree"
Students explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. In this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Students identify what the term...
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Playing with History
Students consider the elements that make computer games compelling, then use these elements to develop game 'narratives' based on historic events.
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Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today
Students use Web technology to access immigration history and develop an understanding of the concept of immigration. Then they develop oral history writing skills, including note-taking and conducting an interview and read for detail....
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Exploring Women's History
Students read and analyze Jessie Benton Fremont's travelogue of her trip out west in 1849 to identify the gender roles, social attitudes and class distinctions of the time. They then adapt the the travelogue into a film script.
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Stonehenge: Solving Ancient Mysteries
Students investigate the mystery of Stonehenge. In this Stonehenge lesson, students participate in a classroom activity that requires them to research information about Stonehenge as well as information regarding archeology and...
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People in History- Anne Frank
Students examine discrimination and what it was like during WWII and today. In this writing and analyzing lesson, students read pasages from Anne Frank's diary and find connections between Anne's life and the life of people in...
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The Amazing Maud Lewis
Students investigate cultural art from Canada by reading about Maud Lewis. In this Canadian history instructional activity, students identify the work of Lewis by visiting her magazine website. Students identify other heroes...
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Contributions
Learners explore the history of Canada by analyzing the First Nations' citizens. In this Native Canadian contributions lesson, students research the geography of Canada and create a book about the First Nations' involvement in the...
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Walter Cronkite: Witness to History
Students brainstorm a list of news sources. They interview people about today's media and discuss their results. After watching segments of a film about Walter Cronkite, they role play as reporters and subjects from an historic period...
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Language Arts Lesson: Printing and Publishing
Learners listen to an African folktale about an animal character that can walk and talk and retell the main events of the story in their own words. They illustrate the folktale utilizing a relief printmaking method as a replica of an...
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Dorothea Lange and the Relocation of Japanese Americans
Learners consider the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II. In this Japanese relocation lesson, students examine photographs by Dorothea Lange, the "Pledge of Allegiance," and a US government flyer from 1942. They use...
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When Turtle Grew Feathers
Students explore the Choctaw Native American tribe. In this cross curriculum literacy and U.S. history instructional activity, students locate where the Choctaw Indians lived on a United States map. Students listen to When...
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Lift Every Voice and Sing
Students analyze sculpture, poetry, and music to gain an understanding of historical events. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at African-American history as they examine "Lift Every Voice and Sing'"...
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The Rise and Fall of the Jim Crow Era
Students explore African American history by researching the Jim Crow laws. In this Civil Rights instructional activity, students define the Jim Crow laws, the reasons they were put into place, and how they were ultimately defeated....
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Whitewashing History
Students revisit issues of civil rights in the U.S. They use the recent national discussion of retiring Senator Strom Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat Presidential campaign as a starting point.
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Where Does History Stand on the Last Stand?
Students examine the Battle of Little Bighorn and its impact on United States and Native American culture through reading current and historic New York Times articles and by creating a research-based exhibit about this historic event.
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Sparking History
Students create exhibits about patriotic symbols for a living museum. They write reflective essays exploring the themes and symbols of independence and their influences on social responsibility.
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Relative History
Students explore theories about how the Olmec civilization influenced other Mesoamerican societies. They research the Olmecs to create a museum exhibit of their findings and reflect on how an Olmec person might have understood the...
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Aboriginal Quilting Activity
Students explore Aboriginal culture by participating in an art activity. In this First Nation history lesson, students utilize the Internet to research images and designs from Native American culture. Students create images on quilting...
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Sandra Day O'Connor
No unit on important women in history would be complete without a lesson on Sandra Day O'Connor. After reading background information about the first female Supreme Court justice, middle schoolers engage in several activities addressing...
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Reliving History Through Writing
Students read a first hand account of John F. Kennedy's assassination. They write an essay describing how a world or national event affected them.