Learners debate Affirmative Action. In this Civil Rights lesson students examine the development of affirmative action. Learners discuss whether affirmative action is advancing equality and civil rights or not.

Students research how women are perceived in sports. They debate the issue of whether cheer leading should be considered a sport and are scored on student made rubrics.

Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...

Learners review the main points of the Versailles Treaty. In groups, they analyze a variety of political cartoons about Wilson and the treaty itself and share their findings with the class after completing a worksheet. To end the...

The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...

Hey, enough frabbajabba about that stool pigeon, Daddy-O! Using the West Side Story study guide, scholars explore the language of the play and read about its historical associations and themes. Pupils also engage in a Spectrum of...

Readers learn together with a group discussion activity. As they read William Shakespeare's The Tempest, high schoolers prepare for a fishbowl discussion in which three or four learners sit in the middle of a large circle and...

Analyze political cartoons and historical events. Middle schoolers utilize primary resources to increase their comprehension of the topic of secession. They utilize graphic organizers to take notes, compare, and analyze political...

Students debate and role play about whether the colonists should declare independence from England or not. In this American history and oral communication instructional activity, students read informational text about the colonists and...

Eleventh graders analyze political cartoons.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders research the Chinese Exclusion Act and the current arguments about immigration to the United States.  Students create a graphic...

Students participate in a mock conference addressing the possible extinction of African wild dogs. In this wild dogs lesson plan, students state their arguments and ask questions about the issues they have researched.

Debates around immigration in the news are not new, but they are a defining feature of the Hispanic American experience throughout the twentieth century. Looking through the lens of Hispanic Americans in Congress, class members explore...

Should refugees fleeing poverty be allowed the same entrance into the United States as those fleeing persecution? High schoolers read about US foreign policy in the late 20th century regarding refugees from Cuba and Haiti, and engage in...

Illegal immigration is an ever-changing source of consistent controversy. A reading passage about the rights of undocumented workers and illegal immigrants—and the lack thereof—guides high schoolers into a mock trial activity. Three...

Students research behavior, phsyiology, and ecology of dinoaurs. Students role-play as scientific specialists such as geneticists and ecologists. They present their research findings in a research paper.

Research European expansionism and colonialism during the Age of Exploration. Study the Marquise de Miramon and discuss the objects from Japan. Research Europe's expansionism and colonialism during the Age of Exploration by working in...

Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...

Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...

A well-done and informative presentation, this resource could be used to pique interest in Lousiana's history. This presentation about Poverty Point, a mound created by Native Americans, is a fascinating exploration of this topic. What...

Don't limit your curriculum to texts! Young historians listen to a song, read an interview, and examine a cartoon as they explore motivations for immigrating to the US in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Fifth graders have a debate and defend one of the three different perspectives of the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson plan, 5th graders defend either the North, the South, or the Neutral perspectives.

There are some historical events that may warrant greater reflection and more in-depth analysis, and the decision to intern Japanese-Americans in the United States during World War II, as well as to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and...

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

Students gain a fundamental understanding of the role of jazz in the Harlem Renaissance. They explain its historical significance and cultural implications.