Learners examine how how groups and institutions work to meet individual needs and promote the common good, and identify examples of where they fail to do so. They describe how workers with specialized jobs and the ways in which they...

While this presentation is not heavy in text it more than makes up for it with the telling images of life in New York at the turn of the century. Use as a supplemental lecture tool when covering immigration, tenements, Shirtwaist...

After listening to and analyzing a series of FDR's Fireside Chats, groups create their own recordings, and using New Deal programs, address a current economic condition.

Students analyze documents of miners and identify their working conditions.  In this industrial revolution instructional activity students view documents and photographs of miners and discuss their conditions and what some possible...

Students complete a variety of activities that go along with the study of the 1913 silk strike in Great Falls, NJ. They examine evidence of historic industries and how they have changed in their own community.

Falling wages. Rising unemployment. Falling prices. Sound familiar? Young economists look at the role the US banking system had in causing the Great Depression.

Should driver's licenses be granted to unauthorized immigrants? That is the question class members grapple with in a lesson that asks them to first read a fact sheet that details the arguments for and against licensing unauthorized...

Middle schoolers read about the history of Labor Day in a newspaper article. They discuss difficulties American employees of the past had to face, learn about labor rallies, and conduct Internet research. Part of the intention of this...

In this Internet research on Ronald Reagan instructional activity, learners answer 10 multiple choice questions about the former president. Students will need to do their own research.

Pupils divide into small groups and study one of the three union flyers. Groups share their findings with the whole class and clarify unfamiliar vocabulary terms.

Students will read the story "Battle of Stones River" and define a set of vocabulary words. In this Civil War lesson, students complete a fill-in-the-blank vocabulary activity after reading the story and defining the words.

Students investigate how the economy works by role playing in their class.  In this money management lesson, students read parts from a script for use in a role playing lesson simulating the Federal Reserve and their payment...

Students explore performance-related drug use. In this health journalism lesson, students read the USA Today article titled "Taking Pills Isn't the Answer", respond to discussion questions regarding the article, and complete an...

Students analyze the effects of outsourcing. In this globalization lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. Students respond to discussion questions and...

Learners examine the economic value of property rights. In a classroom activity, "You're the Economist," they analyze actual research data from establishing land holding titles in Para, Brazil. They assess several case studies about the...

Students explore America's racial wealth divide. In this Teaching Tolerance lesson, students play a "rigger" version of the game Monopoly and reflect on the game and economic injustice in the United States.

Imagine an eight year old spindle boy working barefoot in a factory in the late 1800s. Scholars research the industrial period in American history in the 14th lesson of a 22-part series that explores the country's background. Groups...

Build literacy through social studies and reading strategies. This lesson focuses on using pre-reading, vocabulary building, and comprehension questions to boost literacy while educating learners on international trade, NAFTA, 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...

President John F. Kennedy bought 1,200 Cuban cigars the night before he enacted the Cuban trade embargo in 1962. Should the United States maintain the embargo? Using the website, pupils explore the topic to prepare for a class debate or...

Learners investigate boycott as a way to stand up and fight injustice. In this Teaching Tolerance lesson, students research consumer boycott movements and write about their impressions.

High schoolers read Martin Luther King, Jr's speech that he gave in Washington. They identify the social conditions that led to the civil rights movement. They discuss the significance of the March on Washington.

Learners examine the Great Depression through the analysis of the novel, 'Bud, Not Buddy.' They analyze photos from the National Archives website, complete a character analysis, and conduct research and summarize a topic from the Great...