Students plot the route of the Pony Express. They discover the kinds of terrain it crossed. They calculate the number of legs needed to cover the distance of its total route.

High schoolers examine the effectiveness of 'trickle down' economics. In this "Reaganomics" lesson, students use readings, analogies, discussion and debate to understand basic economic concepts. High schoolers will analyze the what they...

Discover the concept of found poetry in this engaging instructional activity. Secondary young scholars will explore the poem "Natural Selection" and compare it to the writings of Charles Darwin in Origin of the Species. Students chose a...

Register, establish a platform, make campaign speeches, and design campaign advertisements with a study of presidential elections. Young citizens engage in various activities that mimic the election process.

Students determine whether the American Civil War could have been avoided. In this Civil War lesson, students examine primary and secondary sources to prepare to participate in a classroom debate that requires them to compromise to avoid...

Students examine the cases of Henry Garnett and Moses Honner, both of the 1850s. Students analyze the political climate building up to the Civil War through the lens of these similar cases with different outcomes.

Middle schoolers use the Internet to learn the art of persuasive speaking in order to present a speech in a convincing manner. Students analyze the characteristics of a good speech, and then practice giving one.

Students role play one of the Presidents between 1877 and today. Individually, they use the internet to research the President through official documents, political cartoons and various editorials. Throughout the year, they are asked to...

Students research the impact of the Great Depression on the United States. In groups, they use the internet to describe each of FDR's New Deal Programs and how it helped unemployment. They also discuss how these programs affected the...

Students examine speeches of the Civil Rights Era. In this American history lesson, students listen to speeches delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. and John F. Kennedy. Students respond to guiding questions as they listen to the...

Students classify information regarding American involvement in wars. In this classification lesson, students examine the causes of the war in which the United States has been involved, and classify them as mainly political, social,...

In this 20th century American history worksheet, students read assigned textbook pages regarding the Kennedy and Johnson presidencies and respond to 46 short answer questions.

What’s the difference between primary and secondary source materials? Here’s a handout, designed as a reference for learners, that does a good job of distinguishing between primary and secondary source materials and providing examples of...

Eighth graders evaluate the effectiveness of adding visuals to printed documents by exploring "The Invention" pages of the "Gutenberg Education Module". They use the techniques of illumination and rubrication to manipulate documents from...

Students compare life masks and photos of Abraham Lincoln that were made before and at the end of the Civil War. In this "Faces of War" lesson, students analyze images of Lincoln in a historical context and create a timeline of event.

Students create a monthly memory and compile it into a Kindergarten Memory Book.  For this memory book lesson, students create a monthly memory page.  Students create a graphic organizer in Kidspiration which is developed into...

Students create their own books. In this book making lesson, students pick a subject and take photographs of it. They use these photographs to write their own story using their sight words. 

Students write dream speeches and record them as Mp3's. In this speech lesson, students watch Martin Luther King, Jr.'s, "I Have Dream Speech." They use the writing process to develop a dream speech which they rehearse. They record their...

Students write a speech.  For this dreams lesson, students define the word dreams and list their own dreams.  Students read and discuss Langston Hughes work, read and discuss excerpts from speeches by JFK and Martin Luther...

Students explain that President Bush's foreign policy to promote democracy is a departure from the Cold War policy of containment, and examine the reasons this policy has been proposed at this time.

Students examine the impact of the assassination of President Lincoln. After researching the Republican positions on Reconstruction and analyzing documents related to the Reconstruction, students take a position and explain their...

Students participate in a simulation of being a speech writer for the President. They listen to and analyze speeches and present one of their own.

Students research the impact of American Imperialism. In this Spanish-American War lesson, students visit the listed Web sites to discover details about the war and its effects. Students use the information they locate to participate in...

The complete text of Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address where he attempts to reach out the states that have seceded and assure them that his first priority is preservation of the Union.