Students listen as the teacher reads A Country Far Away. They predict what they will do and what they think their partner student will be doing. Students create a KWL chart for Japan. They collect information about their activities on an...

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...

"Ballad for Americans" was a song written for performers participating in the Federal Arts Project, during The Depression. Learners will analyze the lyrics of the song and then create informational posters about other Federal Works...

Young historians play the role of history detectives as they investigate some primary source texts and images related to the early colonization of America, The Jamestown Settlement, and the Mayflower Compact. 

Women gained the right to vote in the twentieth century, but the fight for equality dates back centuries. Using an invitation to an 1874 suffrage convention, eager historians consider the motivations behind supporters of the suffrage...

An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the...

Get the word out about friendship, support, and a safe school community with a media literacy lesson about bullying. Young journalists investigate instances of bullying and take descriptive pictures as they compile a magazine to fight...

Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...

The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...

Students investigate the goals and methods of the House Un-American Activities Committee and offer an opinion regarding whether their investigation of Hollywood was justifiable.

"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...

Provide your learners with a comprehensive introduction to Europe with this great set of worksheets. Map activities include matching European countries to their capitals and places on a political map, as well as...

Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...

While the Industrial Revolution may have fueled America's rise to the top of world markets, the child laborers often faced dangerous conditions. Using primary source images and other information, scholars consider what these children...

Learners interpret statistical geographic information by creating a cartogram.

Ninth graders focus on how filmmakers have changed their view of the Second World War. They create portfolios or their own documentary to investigate the various screen interpretations of the wartime era and explain different points of...

While not heavy in text, the vivid images, maps, and key information in this slide show, are sure to hold an audience. They'll view images of geography, buildings, and people who are apart of early Russian History. Use the presentation...

Investigate milestones along the path that lead to the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. After researching key people, events, court cases, and legislative orders, teams present their findings as a magazine, newspaper, or...

What does it mean to be an American citizen? Lieutenant Colonel Commander William Barret Travis believed that it meant honor to country first—even above one's own life. Middle and high schoolers read his final letters from the Alamo that...

Redesign your holiday celebrations with the aid of a lesson plan booklet packed with facts, images, maps, activities, and readings about the three-day feast that marked the English settlers' first successful harvest.

Using Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, guide your class in the process of identifying unknown terms using context clues and formulating text-based answers. The lesson plan includes a useful worksheet incorporating scaffolding questions on an...

As you explore an excerpt from Upton Sinclair's The Jungle with your class, discuss how his descriptions of the meat-packing industry caught the public's attention and helped to promote change in the Progressive Era.

What does it mean to persevere. Young historians review the definition of perseverance then brainstorm a list of obstacles colonists and revolutionaries had to overcome during the American Revolution. Using this list, they identify...

What have US-Japanese relations been like since the conclusion of World War II? Why do some commentators identify Japan's postwar years as a subordinate independence? Invite your young historians to research Japan's status in the world...