Take a trip to the turn of the twentieth century with a resource about industrialism in America. With primary source documents and focus questions, learners think about the ways that government groups and organizations paved the way...

Traditionally, a United States President's Inaugural Address establishes the tone and vision for his presidency. It has stressed the goal to unify the country and bring the political parties together after what are often divisive...

Spy games are not just for professionals anymore! Scholars use short video clips, primary documents, and photographs to investigate Nazi spies in America during World War II.  The young detectives analyze the paranoia warfare can...

Witness the birth of the Americas in this presentation, which details the European Explorers who contributed to adding vital details on our modern-day maps. Viewers' worlds will literally expand after seeing the results of Cortes and the...

Students use primary sources to study immigration. In this immigration lesson, students analyze photographs, posters, letters, and documents from Ellis Island. Students complete analysis worksheets as they evaluate the primary sources.

For a class learning about Chinese and Irish immigration in America, here's a great starting lesson plan. It has your critical thinkers examining song lyrics, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and a political cartoon, and finally...

Students research women that have made an impact in America. They create a front page article sharing the information they have collected. They also can create other articles for the newspaper relating to the time period.

Get your historians to hop into someone else's 18th century shoes with a simulation on rights in early America. Each individual gets an identity card, indicating their race, gender, and status (slave or free). Areas around the room are...

From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...

Students, assessing a variety of sources, explore the growth of inventions that were brought about by the Industrial Revolution. They analyze labor practices and philosophies within the history of the United States. A timeline is set in...

Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...

The 1960's marked shifts in American culture, politics, and policy. Your class groups up to research a series of primary source documents resulting in a timeline and a 15 minute oral presentation. Active learning all the way.

Learners share their knowledge of the Renaissance Period. In this creative activity, pupils create fliers detailing services offered during this era. They focus on a particular occupation and detail how this job has changed from then...

I love time capsules. After reviewing elements of pioneer life, your class will create a time capsule that would have belonged to a pioneer in the 1830s. Each person must write a description of each item they would have brought and why...

Art and music have been vehicles for statements of civil unrest for hundreds of years. Upper graders critically analyze several pop songs or music movements from the 1980s that exemplify politically charged motives. They...

Ninth graders examine how the U. S. was aided by the Allies in World War II before the U. S. declared war. They analyze the evolution of U. S. foreign policy from the beginning of WW II through U. S. Declaration of War

Fifth graders examine the impact of Benjamin Franklin's ideas on the goods and services available in Colonial America as well as analyze the importance of Franklin to modern society. While listening to "How Ben Franklin Stole the...

Have your class learn through movement. Learners study patriotic symbols through dance. They listen to spoken words and portray the story. They practice using space, and arm and leg movements to tell the story. What a creative way to...

Young scholars explore events and causes that led to American Revolution and examine popular pro-Patriot renderings and texts of these issues created both at that time and in later years. Students then prepare and deliver oral...

Put important events in chronological order with a lesson about timelines. With a variety of topics stemming from world history, the packet of worksheets provides analytical activity for learners to decide where certain events fall...

Consider various aspects of world hunger in this writing instructional activity. After taking a pre-test, middle and high schoolers play a map game, analyze and discuss world statistics, and write a report on an assigned country. The...

Can hitting a home run be an act of courage? Scholars analyze the impact Jackie Robinson had on the Civil Rights movement in America. They use primary sources and video clips to create 21st-Century baseball cards of Robinson's many...

Have you special education class examine multiculturalism. By exploring the cultures of Israel and Greece, they discover the holidays, cuisine, arts, andgeography of the countries. During this twelve-week unit, students develop a...

Students describe issues or problems facing African Americans following Reconstruction. They explain possible solutions to these problems suggested in the sources found and cite arguments for and against those solutions. Analyze primary...