Students explore the National Road to Indiana. In this U.S. highway history and primary source research lesson, students read an original journal written by Jane Voorhees Lewis in 1806 describing her trip west on the first federally...

Students create PowerPoint presentations about women's suffrage. In this women's rights instructional activity, students use primary documents to study the women's suffrage movement. In pairs, students create a PowerPoint presentation...

Students discuss, write, and identify symbols of the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920's in Indiana. In this Ku Klux Klan lesson plan, students also take a field trip to view the Thomas Hart Benton Murals at Indiana University.

Fourth graders learn vocabulary, answer discussion questions, complete writing assignments, and identify symbols connected to the Ku Klux Klan. In this Ku Klux Klan lesson plan, 4th graders also go on a field trip to the Thomas Hart...

Students learn new vocabulary and discuss what GPS is and does. They locate their school using the equipment.

Students examine the use of steamboats in North Carolina. In groups, they design and contruct their own small models of steamboats using simple materials. They test their models in water and share how they were built and why. They...

Eleventh graders examine the biography of Henry B. Gonzalez. They examine primary source documents from Congressman Gonzalez's personal papers related to his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement.

Learners trace the history of the Michigan Supreme Court from when the state was still a territory. They define procedures as they relate to the Court. They compare and contrast the territorial court to the new Court.

Twelfth graders examine the attempts by various countries to genocide their members. In groups, they compare and contrast the responses by the other countries of the world to stop the genocide. They also identify cases in which the...

High schoolers examine procedures and processes of the Michigan Supreme Court. They explain the Second Amendment to others. They compare and contrast two cases dealing with the Second Amendment.

Young scholars examine how art is used to make statements about social conditions. They analyze photos by the photojournalist Russell Lee, and complete a worksheet.

Students examine the settlement and use of the Smith River area. Using the internet, they research concepts such as the "right of conquest" and "natural rights". In groups, they demonstrate how the land was transferred to the...

Lead toxicity is a hot topic these days, especially when it was a common component in household paint for many years. In Taiwan, there was concern that babies were being exposed to toxic levels of lead through breast milk. A study was...

Second graders identify insects and plants in the forest ecosystem in a structured field trip with stations and activity booklets.  In this bugs instructional activity, 2nd graders explore the ecosystem of the forest, complete the...

Have you ever noticed a news story revolves around an essential question? Scholars research methods of reporting historical events. Working in groups, they use an interactive module to gather information on a historical topic, uncovering...

Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part instructional activity series, scholars get a firsthand...

Students identify physical characteristics of developing streams and infer changes in the landscape by creating a river model.

Pupils examine the impact of the media on various wars, especially the Iraq and Vietnam wars. By examining cartoons and popular music as primary sources, they suggest motivations for the conflicts and propose reasons for public dissent....

Young scholars examine how a sanitary landfill is constructed, how it functions, and how waste and leachate affects the areas around the landfill. After a discussion about landfills and leachates, students construct a Sanitary Landfill...

Students explore how historians construct a story out of fragments of the past; a discussion of nineteenth century poetry and art leads students to connect art and literature to their place in time.

Fifth graders compare and contrast two early colonies and make a T chart. They list examples of worked well and what did not, and significant historical events. They use higher order thinking skills by deducing how different scenarios...

Fifth graders listen to the song America by Neil Diamond, view pictures of Ellis Island, and role play as processing officers who evaluate, classify and recommend which immigrants can stay in America.

Fifth graders connect reasons for coming to the New World with identity. The create identities and place them in one of three settled regions. They refer to prior study notes in their Colonial Notebooks to establish their identities.

Eighth graders locate the Middle passage and describe the experiences of slaves in the Middle Passage.  In this Middle Passage lesson plan, 8th graders describe life as a slave during the Middle Passage.  Students write as if...