Learners research the term "racial profiling to help decide if this directive fits in that category. Students explore the reaction of each side and the pros and cons each offers. Learners Prepare a debate with one side supporting the FBI...

High schoolers examine the guidelines put out by the FBI to follow during federal investigations. In groups, they discuss the decision by the FBI to increase surveillance after the terrorist attacks on September 11. They share their...

The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of three lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1950. This first lesson asks groups to read an introduction that describes the Verona Project and...

PBS has written a series of lessons on avoiding Armageddon. This is lesson 4 of 5 and focuses on defining terrorism. Upper graders watch episode 3 of "Avoiding Armageddon - The New Face of Terror," read how terrorism is defined by the...

A primary source set of photographs, videos, newspaper articles, and FBI reports provides insight into race relations during the 1960s, the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing, and the murder of Emmitt Till. Designed to be used to...

Who is to blame when a peaceful protest turns deadly? Scholars research the impact of the civil rights march in Selma, better known as Bloody Sunday. The activity uses files from the FBI's investigation to help academics understand the...

Students use the Internet to gather more information about the gadgets spies use on the job. They analyze cases in which spies were involved and modern security systems. There is a section in which they can ask questions.

The film American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs introduces viewers to the differing philosophies of and strategies employed by 1960s civil rights leaders such as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. and the debate over...

Students discuss the meaning of feeling safe in their environment after September 11th. After reading National Intelligence reports and news articles summarizing the findings about national security, they write letters to their...

Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were contemporaries. Both were gifted orators, both were preachers, both were leaders during the Civil Rights era, both were assassinated. But the two had very different views on violence and...

Political activist, suffragette, pacifist, and the first woman elected to Congress, Jeannette Rankin has been largely ignored in history and history textbooks. Young historians set out to rectify that situation by examining primary...

Eighth graders act as FBI investigators to "solve" the mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island. They decide how they would investigate the situation and develop their own conclusions of what happened these colonists.

Study the American presidents of the twentieth century with fact cards. Starting with Theodore Roosevelt, the printable resource prompts learners to fill in information about the presidents' birthplaces, vice presidents, first ladies,...

The murder of Emmett Till is the focus of a guided inquiry that asks scholars to research the events, the trial, recent attempts to reopen the case and the effect of the murder on people today.

Should adults be allowed to carry concealed handguns? Pupils use the website to research the topic thoroughly and weigh the pros and cons. They read background information on gun control and learn about the main arguments surrounding the...

In this famous leaders worksheet, students read a passage about Osama Bin Laden and then complete a variety of activities including spelling, synonym matches, and scrambled sentences.

Students explore contributions made by working animals. For this service learning lesson, students research working animals and design posters or multimedia presentations regarding the animals, contributions to society.

In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about the achievements of Ronald Reagan. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.

Students examine world history by writing an essay in class. In this World War II lesson, students identify the attack on Pearl Harbor, the response from the U.S and the effect it had on Japanese-Americans. Students define Japanese...

Students examine news about an espionage case. They work in small groups to research espionage and spy trials of the Cold War era. Students create oral presentations detailing presentations in specific cases.

Students experience profiling first-hand through creation of a Class ID, and daily persecution of a selected group of students. They examine the tension between the concern for national security and for the preservation of civil liberties

Students review Watergate Files and the Watergate Trial using Internet sites. They read about the people involved in Watergate. They discuss the events leading up to and after Watergate.

Students read and discuss the Enemy Alien Evacuation Order. They perform research by reading newspaper articles from February 1942 as well as investigating available information on the Internet. Students work in groups to create a...

The third in a series of lessons introduced by “A Fence Away From Freedom,” uses the Smithsonian website, “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” and focuses on the section of the presentation devoted to the...