Students make two T charts, one for Sparta and one for Athens, showing pros and cons for living in either city-state. They use the physical information from the map and the cultural captions given for Athens and Sparts to come to their...

What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies lesson. Learners of all ages explore...

Students explore the survey of the Louisiana Purchase by creating their own surveying and mapping techniques such as natural maps, pace maps, and orienting. Other students then try to follow the maps.

Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...

Math: The only subject where the solution to a problem is seven million matches. Young scholars first complete an assessment task estimating the number of matches they can make from a tree of given dimensions. They then evaluate provided...

After completing a task involving examining the ratio of areas of triangles and circles in a given figure, scholars examine sample responses to identify other strategies they could use to solve the problem.

Don't stuff money under your mattress. To find out why learners first complete a task determining how $24,000 in cash would affect the height of a mattress and whether this same amount would fit into a suitcase of given dimensions....

Students watch a film about slavery. Students view a PowerPoint about the Underground Railroad and use various resources to make a timeline for the topic. Students research a historical figure from the Underground Railroad era and give a...

Easily broken into pieces for several class sessions, this presentation is a great way to transition your class out of a Civil War unit and closer to the 20th century. Engaging photographs, including relevant maps and humorous political...

Challenge learners who have mastered the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on animal adventures with the activities and exercises suggested in this packet packed with ideas.

A new, improved version of the game Battleship? Learners graph linear inequalities on the coordinate plane, then participate in a game where they have to guess coordinate points based on the solution to a system of linear...

Students explore the debates over American slavery and the power of the American federal government for the first half of the 19th century and how the regional economies and political events produced a widening split between the states.

Students research, brainstorm and analyze the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. They critique a piece of artwork depicting a scene from the Revolutionary War. Each major battle is plotted on a map to show a visual...

Students explore geography and culture of Canada. They play game that involves reviewing materials and answering questions about Canada, and create posters and brochures about life in Canada.

To better understand the Indian Removal Act of 1830, class members examine primary source documents including letters written by Alabama governors and the Cherokee chiefs. The lesson is part of a unit on the expansion of the United...

The Pilgrims may have arrived in North America by way of the Mayflower, but chances are, your class members' ancestors came to the United States in another way. Guide them through an exploration of their own heritage, countries of...

Learners examine the differences between an El Nino and La Nina year.  In this investigative lesson students create maps and graphs of the data they obtained. 

Numerous people from China immigrated to the US during the era of industrialization and expansion. Provide your class with a glimpse into the life of a Chinese immigrant through the poetry they left behind. They then compose a poem of...

Have you ever been accused of something without cause? The sixth installment of an eight-part series asks scholars to create a museum exhibit on the anti-communist activities in the United States at the start of the Cold War. To make...

Explore the causes of ozone depletion and the effect on plankton, algae, plants, amphibians, and humans. Learn how the Montreal Protocol has possibly helped reverse the decline of the ozone layer. Warning: photos of skin and eye...

Young historians may be surprised to learn that the Constitution of the United States includes provisions that protect the institution of slavery. Groups examine four clauses of the Constitution, as well as other primary sources, and...

John Smith's 1616 letter to Queen Anne of England offers ELLs an opportunity to learn about a bit of early American history. The four-page packet includes the full text of the letter. In addition, the packet includes a worksheet...

Just how do we live in a global society? Scholars investigate an AP review video to see the transition in the latter half of the 20th century to a global economy. The final video of nine installments helps them examine and analyze the...

The largest offensive in United States military history comes alive in a online interactive resource. Young historians explore the Meuse Argonne battlefield and scour the landscape for evidence from the battle. They then use primary...