Urban Education Exchange
Lessons and Units: The Watsons go to Birmingham—1963 5TH GRADE UNIT
Get ready to read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 with a lesson about historical fiction. Spanning several centuries, the resource prompts learners to guess the historical era of a story based on a word or phrase...
Curated OER
The Rock and Fossil Record
Go deep in your paleontology unit with this spectacular set of slides! It introduces viewers to the types of fossils, a few famous fossils, and the geologic eras. This is done with easy-to-read text, diagrams, photos, and even videos.
Stanford University
Beyond Vietnam
On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-instructional activity unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications...
C3 Teachers
African American Voices and Reconstruction: What Does It Take To Secure Equality?
High schoolers research the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, as well as other primary source documents, to determine Reconstruction's impact on the North and South. The 34-page inquiry-based lesson includes a staging question and...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Founding Documents
Teach the class about the predecessor to Declaration of Independence—the Virginia Declaration of Rights. Using the foundational documents, scholars examine the two writings to consider how they are similar and how they are different. A...
US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Resistance and SOE
Germany seemed to be unstoppable in the early years of World War II, but the tireless and sacrificial work of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) helped to steer the war in another direction. After exploring primary source documents,...
Curated OER
Imperialism Old and New
If your really want your history class to know everything about old and new imperialism, look no further. This 58-slide presentation depicts, describes, and explains everything from 19th Century expansion and the Congress of Berlin to...
Curated OER
Women of Achievement Month
Successful women make their mark in fields from computers, journalism, labor and racing
Curated OER
The Decision to Americanize the War in Vietnam
Students research the major events of the Vietnam War and construct a timeline. They do the same with the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson or the 1960's. They act as an advisor to President Johnson to recommend a course of action...
Curated OER
Poetry and Our National Anthem
Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this American history lesson, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the anthem in your own...
Curated OER
Inventions Change the World: The Enigma Machine
Third graders explore WWII by analyzing technological advances. In this invention lesson plan, 3rd graders discuss the use of the Enigma machine which decoded private German messages that communicated with U-boats. Students utilize a...
Curated OER
The Cold War (1945–1963)
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 8 short answer and essay questions about the Cold War. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.
Curated OER
In Remembrance of George Washington
Students explore the contributions of George Washington. In this early American history lesson, students analyze the provided eulogy for George Washington written by Henry Lee and then write their eulogies for the first president.
Curated OER
Secession: A Southern Perspective
Eighth graders determine how secession impacted South Carolina as well as the United States. In this American Civil War instructional activity, 8th graders examine selected primary and secondary sources in order to study the state's...
Curated OER
U.S. Constitution - Checks and Balances
Students examine the separation of powers of the branches of the U.S. federal government. For this U.S. Constitution lesson, students listen to a SMART Board supported lecture on checks and balances of the Judicial, Legislative, and...
Curated OER
US Patriotic Symbols: The North American Bald Eagle
Students research the North American bald eagle to determine if this bird's characteristics make it an appropriate symbol to represent the United States as a country. They debate the substitution of other bird species for the eagle.
Curated OER
American Civil War: Conflicting Newspaper Reports
Students examine the happenings at the Battle of Antietam from all sides. For this American Civil War lesson, students analyze newspapers accounts from different perspectives regarding the battle and then write their own accounts of the...
Curated OER
Introducing Elections Unit
Students discover the political parties of our country by participating in a role playing activity. In this U.S. Government lesson, students visit several different classrooms that each represent one of the political parties in the...
Curated OER
Women and the Homestead Act: Creating a Place for Themselves In the West
Eighth graders examine basic elements of the Homestead Act, describe gender make-up of the West before and after the Homestead Act, connect the Homestead Act with women's suffrage, and create a modern day business propaganda pamphlet.
Curated OER
Paris Peace Conference: Writing a Treaty to End World War I
How did World War I end? Tenth graders role play as experts from countries that were involved in World War I. They write a treaty to end the war and compare it to the Treaty of Versailles.
Curated OER
The Pan-American Exposition of 1901
Students examine the impact of the 1901 World's Fair. For this lesson on invention and politics, students watch a video then conduct Internet research in order to learn about the Pan American Exposition. Students will create a brochure...
Curated OER
The Korean War - A Time Line Activity
Students create a Korean War time line. They identify, describe, and label nine of the key events and turning points of the Korean Conflict. They include all nine events listed on the direction sheet, contain a title, and have at...
Curated OER
Choosing Sides: The Native Americans' Role in the American Revolution
Students analyze the different roles assumed by various Native American tribes during the American Revolution. They examine the issues involved for Native Americans in choosing the British or the American side of the conflict, such as...
Curated OER
A Salute to American Symbols
Students explore American symbols. In this reading and social studies lesson, students read literature regarding American symbols and describe the significance of the symbols as they research them in groups.