Idaho State Department of Education
Lessons for Social Studies Educators
Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...
Curated OER
Hoosier Soldiers at Vicksburg
Eighth graders examine the role of Indiana soldiers at the Battle of Vicksburg. In this American Civil War activity, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the involvement of Indiana soldiers in the battle and then analyze letters written...
Curated OER
A Blending of Socialism and Capitalism
Students conduct Internet research on China's economic development and use a worksheet to organize their findings. They participate in class discussion and compare and contrast the economies of the U.S. and China.
Channel Islands Film
Telling Your Own Story
After watching and discussing a video on the Voyage of Cabrillo, individuals craft their own origin story and design and build an artifact they feel best represents their history.
Huntington Library
Everyday Life - Exploring the California Missions
Young scholars relive history as they examine primary sources that document everyday life in the California missions. During a class viewing of the included slideshow presentation, children analyze documents, paintings, and...
Huntington Library
Religion & Spirituality - Exploring the California Missions
The California missions were built with the hope of converting the local Native Americans to Catholicism, but exactly how different were their beliefs to begin with? Through analysis of a series of primary source documents,...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Soldier: Experiencing the Battle of Franklin
Fighting a war over home soil makes a living nightmare even more real. Class members describe the experience of a Civil War soldier during the Battle of Franklin, poised right at a major turning point of the war, after researching the...
Walt Disney Company
Elizabeth Started All the Trouble
Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a famous suffragette that paved the way for equal rights for women. Readers respond to before, during, and after reading questions based on her story. The resource is a great addition to a lesson during...
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...
Museum of Tolerance
Where Do Our Families Come From?
After a grand conversation about immigration to the United States, scholars interview a family member to learn about their journey to America. They then take their new-found knowledge and apply their findings to tracking their family...
Generation Nation
Propaganda
How does propaganda influence our vote? Through grand conversation, scholars gain information about what is and how to identify the different ways propaganda is used in a presidential election. Using their new-found knowledge, citizens...
TED-Ed
The Silk Road: Connecting the Ancient World Through Trade
Introduce learners to The Silk Road, the first world-wide web. The narrator of this short, animated video traces the pioneers of globalization and the impact they had on culture and economy. The Scythians, Darius the First, and Alexander...
Facing History and Ourselves
Laws and the National Community
When it comes to the law, is justice always served? Teach scholars about how law sometimes enables prejudice of entire groups of people with a unit on World War II that includes a warm-up activity, analysis of primary sources,...
Council for Economic Education
China - Where Will They Fit in the World Economy?
Teach scholars why China is so crucial to global economics through an informative resource. Activities include using databases to search for information, watching a video or listening to a podcast, and reading about China's economy as a...
US Institute of Peace
Practicing Conflict Analysis
Does your conflict management style keep you cool and persuasive, even under pressure? Young behaviorists practice analyzing conflicts and using conflict management skills during lesson five in a 15-part series. The resource contains...
Curated OER
The Food Guide Pyramid
Students examine each level of the food pyramid and how many servings they should consume during the day. They study the important nutrients associated with each category of the food pyramid.
iCivics
Why Government?
Why do people create governments? Where did we get our ideas about government? This is a fantastic introductory lesson for your American government class that begins by reviewing the philosophies of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke in...
Royal Geographical Society
An Introduction to Maps
First graders are introduced to a variety of maps such as globes, street maps, atlases, and different types of floor plans. The focus of the lesson requires individuals to create their own plan of the classroom using the PowerPoint...
Facing History and Ourselves
Citizen Power Makes Democracy Work
Eric Liu's formula "power plus character equals citizenship" and his three strategies to making change happen model for high schoolers how to develop citizen power, how to get involved and participate to make democracy work. Class...
Curated OER
Online Behavior: Privacy and Ethics
Over the course of three classes, tech-saturated youth review their cyber portraits, map their virtual lives, examine their relative anonymity, and establish a "virtual conscience" to guide choices that foster privacy protection and...
National WWII Museum
More Than Words Can Say: Analyzing Visual Materials as Primary Sources
The propaganda of World War II was a key factor in galvanizing the home front. Class members examine images—without their text—to consider their messages, including those around race and gender. Using pictures and discussion questions,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The President Under the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, instructional activity...
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Confronting the Murder
The 1955 murder of Emmett Till is often regarded as the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Learn more about the brutal crime—and, as many believe, the miscarriage of justice—that began a national conversation...
Curated OER
The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
Students analyze documents, cartoons, speeches and articles about Joseph McCarthy and his crusade against "Un-American" activities. They guide their research with a worksheet and participate in class discussions about their findings.