National Endowment for the Humanities
The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
"I have here in my hand . . ." The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1954. Joseph McCarthy takes center stage in this, the final lesson...
Curated OER
Research Activity: Grades 10-12
Students discuss the war in Iraq, Adam Michnik's essay "We, the Traitors," and the notion that we bear a collective responsibility to rise up against oppression, within a modern geo-political context. They each write a research report on...
Curated OER
History: Declaration of Conscience Political Cartoons
Pupils examine political cartoons depicting opinions about Margaret Chase Smith's Declaration of conscience. After examining the cartoons, they create their own political cartoons about the speech. As an ongoing activity, students...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Animal Farm: Allegory and the Art of Persuasion
Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms...
Annenberg Foundation
Becoming Visible
The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...
Curated OER
Mysterious Slovak Words in Yellow Submarine
Learners read an article about the song "Yellow Submarine." In this lesson, students complete several activities that relate to the article, including a vocabulary assignment, sentence starters, class discussion and a quiz.
ProCon
Cuba Embargo
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...
Curated OER
Social Studies: The Declaration of Conscience
Students examine Margaret Chase Smith's Declaration of Conscience and discuss its impact on Maine politics. After reading it, they discuss their opinions and write short responses about them. As a follow-up activity, students write their...
Curated OER
What Was the Cold War About?
Students explore a website to gather some first impressions of the Cold War era and its impact on Canadian society and politics. They, in groups, answer questions about the Cold War on a worksheet imbedded in this plan.
Curated OER
Telegram from Senator Joseph McCarthy to President Harry S. Truman
Students research the McCarthy hearings to determine the following: time frame of hearings, how they were broadcast, how the press reacted, and how the American people reacted in light of the Korean Conflict and the Cold War.
Curated OER
Requiem The Song of the Murdered Jewish People
Students read poem The Song of the Murdered Jewish People, listen to Requiem based on poem, work on reading poem as music plays, discuss reasons for composer's musical choices, and investigate possibilities of performing a reading for an...
Curated OER
Hu Jintao
In this famous leaders worksheet, students read a passage about Hu Jintao and then complete a variety of in-class and homework activities to support comprehension, including partner interviews, spelling, cloze, synonym matches,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Huac and Hollywood
This video and support materials detail the Hollywood blacklist and House Un-American Activities Committee, chronicling the fear of Communism and resulting blacklist based on political ideology. The video is from the American Masters...
British Library
British Library: 20th Century Teaching Resources: George Orwell's Animal Farm
This series of activities is designed to provide students with an understanding of some of the key concepts they will need to explore "Animal Farm", including Orwell's own political views and the figures represented by the different...