High schoolers use films to identify the characteristics of a good parent. In groups, they research the different types of parenting methods used during colonial times, the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement. As a class, they...

Students research how children dressed during Colonial times. Students design and create life-sized likenesses of themselves, dressing the paper dolls in colonial dress.

Help your learners work with difficult or archaic words. A continuation of lesson two of this module, the plan here focuses on deciphering the Inventory of John Allen, in particular the unfamiliar words that make up much of the list. Add...

Students view a world map and identify the locations of England and Virginia and discuss what kinds of things they would take with them on this kind of trip. They read the words in the news box on the student page and fill in the blanks...

Students examine how the Jamestown settlement changed the first few years after it was founded. They take a virtual field trip of Jamestown, read primary source documents, discuss census information, and write a summary of changes in...

Are learners heavy sighing at the idea of reading a primary source, written in a language that is difficult to understand and in cursive? Look no further, because the resource breaks down the Declaration of Independence in an...

Young scholars examine the class systems of New Spain. In small groups, they create a five-day diary about the family life, food, occupation, and government involvement of an assigned personality from the time of Colonial Latin America.

Eleventh graders explore who were the colonial families that populated Deerfield and what evidence can be gathered that reveals a part of their life stories to the researcher.

Eleventh graders trace Taylor's use of conceit or extended metaphor in his poem "Huswifery" where he compares the process of cloth making to God's salvation of man, and write a poem in which they compare a personal transformation with an...

Fourth graders assess primary sources to analyze the effects plantation life and slavery had on Colonial Virginia. They study the issues of slavery, rural life, movements, colonization and revolution. Each student makes predictions,...

What better way to get your class interested in history than to embody important historical characters and make events come to life? Stage a realistic mock trial of the British soldiers accused of murdering five Bostonians after the...

Pupils explore the Pilgrims and their clothing. They discuss current trends in fashion and complete a Venn diagram comparing the Pilgrim attire to present day clothing and research websites regarding the Pilgrims. After researching, they...

Students explore issues that might be discussed at the G8 summit meeting hosted by the U.S. after reading and discussing the article "World Leaders Get a Glimpse of America's High Life" from The New York Times. Students work in groups...

Students examine the Declaration of Independence. In this colonial America instructional activity, students read literature regarding the document as well as excerpts of the document itself. Students also perform a Reader's Theatre...

Sixth graders research the Spanish influence on early colonial America and the process of establishing the present U.S. currency. They read and discuss an informational handout in small groups, and take a short quiz. Students then...

Fifth graders, by doing research and seeing actual and simulated artifacts, gain knowledge of and make comparisons about clothing in the Colonial and early Republican eras with attire of present time.

Third graders discover the importance of the Virginia Assembly in English America as a governing body. After discussing the formation of the House of Burgesses, they elect their own representatives to make class decisions. In groups,...

What can maps tell us about the past? Find out with a Spanish lesson that incorporates geography. After examining maps individually, comparing two old maps of Spanish Florida and writing notes in the provided Venn diagram, pupils pair up...

Pupils explore what it means to have wealth in Mali and in the United States. In this economics lesson plan, students read "Music in the Fields." Student groups answer discussion questions.  Pupils reflect on the purpose music...

Students investigate the lives of families in two different centuries. They compare the 1600's to the 1800's. Students write an essay about the differences and how they developed in history. Special attention is paid to the external...

What does the French and Indian War have to do with the American Revolution? Following the war, Britain issued the Proclamation of 1763 in an attempt to limit the colonists' western expansion. To understand how the proclamation, the...

How did Native Californians and Franciscans influence one another in early California? Learners analyze a few cultural pieces to examine the impact that integration had on Franciscan and Native Californian culture.

Have you ever wanted to do something so perfectly you wound up not doing it well at all? Young historians use primary and secondary documents to analyze the United States involvement in the Vietnam War. The issues surrounding the...

Fifth graders compare and contrast colonial life with the present.