Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
DocsTeach
Responding to the Murder of Harry T. Moore
Heroic civil rights leader Harry T. Moore is murdered! An eye-opening activity delves into the past to understand the murder of prominent civil rights leader and educator Harry Moore and his wife. Academics also read President Truman's...
DocsTeach
The Impact of Bloody Sunday in Selma
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...
Turabian Teacher Collaborative
Parts of Argument II: Article Critique
Break down the parts of argumentative writing with a critical thinking activity. High schoolers read an article of your (or their choice), and use a graphic organizer to delineate the ways the author structures his or her arguments.
Curated OER
It's Your Birthday! Expository Writing Unit 2
Students create an expository essay. In this writing lesson Students are assigned a country and must conduct research surrounding a historic event that occurred in that country at the time of their birth.
Curated OER
A Tough Act to Re-enact
Students discover the significance of various historical events. Using the information they find, groups re-enact these events, stressing their importance to history and our lives today.
Curated OER
Old Hickories
Students analyze historical events to develop a historical perspective. In this critical analysis lesson, students read excerpts, primary sources and other materials in order to understand the Native American Removal that occurred during...
Curated OER
Stars and Stripes Forever: Researching Veteran's Day and Historical Events
Sixth graders research Veteran's Day and wars that affected the United States. In this research lesson, 6th graders work in small groups to create an oral presentation based on Internet and conventional research. They complete...
Curated OER
Why Study History?
Young scholars interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this world history lesson, students research several historical events and their impact. Young scholars compose essays that address the...
Curated OER
Interpreting History
Ninth graders analyze a given quote about history and identify the concept that inspired it. In this history lesson, 9th graders research current and historical events, figures, and relationships. Students develop a lesson plan...
Curated OER
Head, Heart, Hands, Health
Fourth graders complete a compare and contrast activity for American agriculture historical events. In this historical events in agriculture lesson, 4th graders review a timeline and complete research for agriculture in the 20th century,...
Digital History
The Boston Massacre
What better way to get your class interested in history than to embody important historical characters and make events come to life? Stage a realistic mock trial of the British soldiers accused of murdering five Bostonians after the...
Curated OER
The Corps: Counterattack Quiz
Chronicling the events following America's involvement in WWII, this quiz centers on the historical fiction novel Counterattack from W.E.B. Griffin's The Corps series. Ten multiple-choice questions focus mainly on characters from the story.
For the Teachers
Cause and Effect Matrix
Study cause and effect in both literature and informational text with a lesson designed for several different reading levels. After kids review the concept of cause and effect, they read an article or story and note the causes and...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 3: What Happens in the White House? A Timeline
Working in groups or individually, learners study images of important events that occurred at, or directly affected, the White House, and share their findings of a specific event. They then post the image of their event on a...
Central Oregon Community College
Things Fall Apart Study Guide
“There is no story that is not true.” And Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, uses proverbs (“. . .the palm-oil with which words are eaten”), a compelling tragic hero, and historic events, to engage readers in the truth of his story of...
EngageNY
Launching the Performance Task: The1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire
Picture that! Pupils view photographs of the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, discussing what they know and wonder about each image. Then, scholars watch a short video about the historic event and complete a KWL...
Curated OER
The Women’s Suffrage Movement
A set of lessons about the women's suffrage movement will bring history to life for your middle schoolers. Learners study primary documents, learn about famous suffragettes, and compare the suffrage movement to current events...
Curated OER
Taking the Witness Stand
Learners identify a pivotal event in world history that they would have liked to have witnessed. They then research this event and write a first-person account of it as if they had been present. Their first-prerson account is modeled...
Library of Virginia
Death or Liberty
What would you do to protect your own freedom? How far would you go to protest injustice? Class members are asked to consider these questions as they read primary source documents that detail events in the lives of Gabriel, Nat Turner,...
EngageNY
Building Context for the Narrative: Slavery in America
Scholars use an Analyzing Images: Slavery in America handout to make predictions from pictures featuring slavery. They then discuss the pictures with partners. Learners further their thinking by close reading The Slave Trade and...
Curated OER
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective
Students research the Great Depression. In this Great Depression lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of life in the American south during the depression era as they read Harper Lee's To Kill a...
Curated OER
Using Old Maps as Tools to Explore Our World
Students explore historical maps. In this primary source analysis lesson, students uncover the meanings in selected historical maps as they use them to enhance lessons on historical events. Samples for classroom use are provided in this...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Boston Massacre: You Be the Judge!
The importance of considering multiple perspectives of the same event is the big idea in this exercise that focuses on the Boston Massacre. Class groups examine photos of four depictions of the massacre, an English and an American...