If the world were 100 people...17 would not have access to safe drinking water, 18 would not be able to read or write, and 52 would not have a primary education. Using the theme of "100 people," this resource explores other major issues...

Address both social studies and critical reading skills with a resource dedicated to the voting process, the American democracy, and the ability to evaluate information in order to develop a stance on an issue. Each themed activity...

What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the...

Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...

Has life changed for American women in the last century, or are there common themes between the lives of 21st century women and the struggle of suffragettes from the 1910s? Explore the ways media reflects the position of women...

This multi-faceted, progressive project includes an array of activities for analyzing and evaluating a theme of American history. Learners begin by constructing a timeline of events in United States history using Google docs, create a...

The intricate craft of narrative writing can make a happy story feel exuberant or a sad story feel devastating. With 42 extensive lessons that include poignant discussion questions, standards-aligned self-reflections, engaging writing...

What do Abraham Lincoln and the Transcontinental Railroad have in common? Using a set of primary source documents, including pictures, maps, and treaties, class members link together the common themes of expansion into the American West....

How would you describe a great leader? Explore the theme of leadership with a unit that focuses on emotional intelligence, and how great leaders have a strong sense of emotional intelligence.

Young voyagers face the challenge of the wide dark sea, travel with Yunmi and Halmoni, and even get trapped by the ice as they explore the reading selections offered in these enrichment activities designed for the Houghton...

America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...

A rich series of activities introduces learners to the concept of culture by closely examining the behaviors, practices, and art of three distinct peoples: the Highland Maya of Guatemala, the Hmong of China and Southeast...

Mexican folk songs offer an authentic look at WWII immigrant workers. This study of the U.S. Bracero Program sets historians up with context information so they can write their own corrido. The class reviews themes and formulas of...

Here's a packet of activities, designed to be used with the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt textbook, that will engage and challenge learners who have already mastered the basic skills in a thematic unit study of traditions.

Here is a unit consisting of activities designed to challenge your scholars. The extended learning opportunities include planning a celebration, making a presentation to the class, poster making, writing poetry, a problem-solving...

Give your WWI study collaborative energy using a group research project. Groups are assigned one of the six main themes (included). Each group has an outline to guide research but will need an assignment guide. Consider supplementing the...

Under construction, this instructional activity focuses on Canto Familia, a collection of poetry about Gary Soto's experiences growing up in California's Imperial Valley. Representative of the experiences of many Latinos, the poems also...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

The second module in a series for high school seniors focuses on tracking the central idea of a text across genres and from multiple author and character perspectives. Twelfth graders read a speech by Benazir Bhutto entitled "Ideas Live...

ELLs are introduced to the experiences of Filipino immigrants to the United States. As a class, they discuss the various waves of immigration to the United States and state the reasons why they would leave the Philippines. They compare...

Generate interest in current events, the theme of a new unit, or a research project. Individuals select a question from the list generated by the class, conduct one-on-one interviews, analyze the responses, draw conclusions based on...

Oedipus may be the king, but he certainly does not rule—or see—all. Analyze his interaction with Teiresias in an instructional activity focused on the central idea of Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As pairs of ninth graders discuss...

If you are previewing the film Glory for your young historians, this packet may help you spark ideas for discussion and offer some interesting facts and quotations that may add to your presentation of this Civil War narrative. It...

What was the main cause of European colonization in America? How did Thomas Paine's Common Sense play a role in the establishment of the United States? What was the trans-Atlantic slave trade? These are just a few of the many questions...