Fifth graders explore the significance of the Gettysburg Address. In this United States history activity, 5th graders listen to a Gettysburg Address recording and look at photos of the battlefield. Students discuss their observations and...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

What was daily life like for those attending segregated schools in 1925? Modern learners fill out a KWHL chart as they explore historical background and primary source documents about the Laurel Grove School in Fairfax County, Virginia....

Scholars investigate the Holocaust through the eyes of an Auschwitz survivor. They analyze and research a firsthand account of events inside the gas chambers moments before hundreds died. Using Holocaust Reading Passages and...

Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...

Students investigate the meaning of the First Amendments right of freedom of speech. They examine the anti-war movement that occurred during the 1960's in response to the war in Vietnam. While studying primary sources, they determine how...

Students analyze World War Two era government propaganda, biographies, and historical data in order to better understand the effects on Americans at home. In this American Home Front During World War Two lesson, students compare...

Learners investigate slavery in the development of pre-Civil War Arkansas. They study the influence of the French, Spanish, and American settlers on the establishment of slavery and create a timeline of events associated with events.

Students research the use of the atomic bomb in WWII, analyze the human costs of dropping the bomb and identify the pros and cons. They develop a PowerPoint presentation on the effects of an atomic bomb dropped on their hometown.

Students explore the duties of commander-in-chief. In this George Washington instructional activity, students research Revolutionary War military leaders and examine the relationships they had with George Washington. 

Students investigate how philanthropy began in Michigan. In this philanthropy lesson, students read Michigan History of Philanthropy and read a timeline of several events. Students create a picture with a sentence about a time when they...

Students write an essay and interview someone who remembers the 1960's and 1970's. In this history lesson plan, students write their essays as if they were there in that time period, write their feelings, and put together a mini museum...

Young scholars are introduced to the proper ways to deal with conflict at home. In groups, they define family based on what it means to them and identify factors that lead to a breakdown in communications. They participate in...

Young scholars view the Bird of Paradise quilt and observe the design-work in the quilt.  In this counting quilt lesson, students will count to find repeated pictures in the quilt.  Young scholars will represent their...

Fifth graders study the Civil War, discuss the life and policy decisions of Abraham Lincoln and the concepts/issues that developed to create North vs. South. This lesson is meant to be used before visiting Ford's Theatre.

Students locate the major cities in the colonies during the Revolutionary War. In this map skills lesson, students use a globe to locate cities such as Charleston and Boston using latitude and longitude coordinates.

Students explore the Underground Railroad routes. For this map skills and Civil War lesson, students use map and globe reading vocabulary and skills to track the routes the slaves followed from the Bahamas to the United States and from...

Learners compare and contrast the Vietnamese and American plans for government. In this government systems lesson, students analyze and compare excerpts of the 1945 Vietnam Declaration of Independence, the Vietnam Constitution of 1992,...

Eighth graders compare and contrast the British army to the Continental Army. After reading assigned work, they brainstorm the advantages and disadvantages of the British and the Continental Armies and then prepare a graphic organizer. ...

Students participate in a lesson that investigates post-modernism in American literature. They conduct the lesson with the help of reading "America" by Ginsberg to create context. Then students define the genre and the culture that has...

Political ads are designed to play on viewers' emotions. The focus of this resource is on ads that feature children, either to establish the candidate as family friendly, or to create fear for children in the minds of viewers. Groups...

Who has the power? Scholars investigate the creation of the three branches of government in the United States Constitution. They analyze just why the framers created the branches the way they did.

A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...