PBS
Hidden Messages in Spirituals
Slaves laboring in the cotton fields of the old South singing joyously may have convinced overseers that their workforce was happy and content, but in truth, these spirituals contained secret codes. After viewing a short video about...
DocsTeach
Extending Suffrage to Women
Votes for women! The activity highlights the push for the Nineteenth Amendment giving women the right to vote. High school scholars learn how the Fifteenth Amendment giving African American men the right to vote helped to spark the...
C-SPAN
Women's Suffrage and the 19th Amendment
The right to vote was hard-won after decades of organizing by women and their allies. Using a series of video clips featuring women's historians, class members consider the efforts behind the Nineteenth Amendment. Possible extension...
American Institute of Physics
The Physical Sciences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities
The history of science instruction at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is the focus of a lesson that explores the early challenges these institutions faced in accessing equipment for their labs and instructors for...
Queen's Printer for Ontario
Composers in Music History
What do Johann Sebastian Bach and Miles Davis have in common? Much more than class members might imagine. The comparison of these two famous composers is just one lesson in a unit that investigates many facets of the music industry...
Curated OER
American Idols
Students design a biographical web for a famous American figure. They identify key research questions and organize information as a prewriting strategy. This can be done individually or as a class, depending on your needs and students.
Curated OER
Famous Ameicans
Third graders use the Internet to research a famous American. They fill out an outline and are graded based on a rubric given to them. They write a report and present their information to the class.
Curated OER
Researching Famous People
Student take notes, on a graphic organizer, about the life of a famous person. They create a trading card about their famous person including a portrait and important facts.
Curated OER
Incredible Book
Fourth graders examine the contributions made by famous Americans during the American Revolution. They conduct research using a variety of resources, and create an informational page in the form of "Incredible Books" to contribute to a...
Curated OER
Famous Americans Note Taking
Second graders identify contributions of historical figures who have influenced community, state, and nation. They identify historic figures who have exhibited a love of individualism and inventiveness. They use Microsoft Word to create...
Arizona Department of Education
American History Impact of the Women’s Movement
Take a look at important images that depict the women's suffrage movement, the support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and wage equity for women over the last two centuries. As class members work through a lesson on...
Curated OER
Wilma Mankiller and the Cherokee Nation
Students examine how Wilma Mankiller became the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. They listen to a teacher-led lecture, write a letter to President Andrew Jackson, participate in a jigsaw activity, conduct research,...
PBS
Crack the Case: History's Toughest Mysteries
Young sleuths don their trench coats, tip their fedoras, and grab their notepads to investigate one of four famous unsolved mysteries. After examining multiple primary and secondary sources related to their cold case, they propose a...
Curated OER
The Life of George Washington Carver
Second graders investigate historic Americans by researching George Washington Carver. In this famous American biography lesson, 2nd graders complete graphic organizers about George Washington Carver's life while researching the...
Curated OER
Famous People of Japan: Literature, Politics, Film, Television, Sports, and the Imperial Family
Students research biographical information about a famous Japanese, investigating how this person has impacted Japanese and American culture. Students then create an oral report and technological presentation based on the research.
Curated OER
Civil War Trading Cards
Students research important figures in the American Civil War. In this research skills activity, students create trading cards about selected key figures in the war that list details about the figures and their accomplishments.
Curated OER
The Presidential Quotation Report
Famous quotations by American Presidents are the focus of this Six Trait writing activity, which could be used in a U.S. History class or in language arts. After reading the picture book Theodore by Frank Keating, have your 7th graders...
Curated OER
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
Provided here is a packet of worksheets to accompany The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. To start, readers research words commonly associated with the time period. Then, a list of 30 tough vocabulary words are listed (including...
National Park Service
“Famous Footsteps” Teacher’s Guide
As part of a study of Ellis Island Immigration Station, class members assume the role of immigration service workers, investigate the dossier of an immigrant, and recommend whether or not their subject should be allowed to enter the US....
Curated OER
Letters to Poets
Add a strong poetry activity to your literature unit. Middle and high schoolers investigate their writing voices with journaling and group discussion, then choose a famous poet to study. They write letters to their chosen poets,...
C3 Teachers
Black Women Writers: What Gets Black Women Heard?
Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...
Curated OER
Famous Afro-Americans Historical Sites Recognized by the National Park System
Students use the library to find historical information about each Afro-American. They use magazines, articles from newspapers, and oral histories from video tapes and slide presentations to write biographical sketches about each...
Curated OER
Wax Museum
Sixth graders put their research skills to work. In this Revolutionary War lesson, 6th graders research a famous figure from that era. Students use the information gathered to prepare for a wax museum experience.
Curated OER
Getting To Know Famous People
First graders use the internet to research a famous American. Using the information they collect, they write a paragraph noting their accomplishments. They find a picture of the person they are researching or dress up like them to...