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Your turn to Vote
Students develop an understanding of the legislative process. They role play as legislators and witnesses commenting on the proposed bill.
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Is Government Necessary?
Students investigate the purpose of Congress and determine how it affects them. They explain what life would be like without government.
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A Picture: Worth One Thousand Words?
Learners examine photographs from the Civil War. Using a primary source document, they discover the conditions of a private during the Battle of Chickamauga. In groups, they use the sources to determine the authnecity of the documents.
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Lincoln’s Political Theology
Students consider the weight of Lincoln's spiritual life on his political life. In this Abraham Lincoln lesson, students read excerpts from speeches delivered by Lincoln and determine whether they reveal information about Lincoln's...
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Sediment Sleuths
Are you looking for a good, solid instructional activity on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a instructional activity. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing...
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Art: Drawing Ducks in Their Natural Habitats
Sixth graders explore various waterfowl species and discover how duck stamps are used. After researching specific types of birds for a stamp competition, they draw the birds in various natural settings. Before sending the submissions,...
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El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Fifth graders describe ways in which people in the United States remember and honor the dead. They identify the similarities and differences between El Dia de los Muertos, Memorial Day, and Halloween.
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Harvesting the River Lesson: Commercial vs. Sport Hunting of Waterfowl: How Did One Lead to the Other?
Students investigate the environmental impact of market hunting leading to new laws and sport hunting. They conduct Internet research, and summarize their opinions on the need for and formation of public policy on waterfowl hunting.
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Geography Crossword Puzzle
In this history worksheet, students answer nine questions concerning a variety of states and compass directions including north, south, east and west. Students complete a crossword puzzle.
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The Underground Railroad in the I and M Canal Area
Students discuss provocative statements about the Underground Railroad and form opinions. They locate and read a selection on the Internet that either supports of discredits their written opinions. They then read a speech by John Hossack.
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Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Students analyze the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. They read the background to the Vietnam War and the social, political, and miliary issues surrounding the War and how they affected President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society Program. ...
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Famous People and Cultural Diffusion
Students use the internet to identify cultural traditions throughout the world. In groups, they examine each culture and determine the effect they had on life in the United States. They use this information to write a family history...
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The Art of Construction
Students research the architecture. in this architecture lesson, students examine buildings from the point of view of the architect or builder. They draw their own building and have a classmate build it.
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Life Story of an Artifact
Students write about an artifact that they are studying. In this artifacts lesson plan, students analyze details of the artifact and answer short answer questions about it.
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Kidding Around In The 1980s
Learners examine pop culture of the 1980s. In this historical time period lesson, students view a Smurfs cartoon from the 1980s and discuss its similarities and differences to cartoons today. Learners work in groups to...
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Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
Students examine the transcripts of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates and create a platform for each candidate in the 1858 Senate race. They utilize the candidates' arguments to explore the historical and political impact.
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"Heritage" - "Hey, That's the Name of Our School!"
Seventh graders gain a better understanding of the canal period in U.S. History, and more specifically, discern the importance of the Illinois and Michigan Canal on the development of Illinois as a state and Chicago as a prominent city.
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From A Different Perspective
Emerging writers create a response to their reading. They read Notes from the Trail and discuss whose perspective the journal entry is written from. Then, they write a response to the journal entry in first person perspective as if...
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The Odyssey of a Coin
Students create a fictitious newspaper article to document the travels of an ancient Greek coin. They evaluate the economic conditions that existed in ancient Greece and analyze the impact Alexander the Great had on the ancient world.
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"I've Been Working on the Railroad" - Federal Land Grants and the Construction of the Illinois Central Railroad in Mid-nineteenth Century Illinois
Eleventh graders, in groups, design a self-sufficient community. Groups present the communities they've designed. They compare and contrast the communities presented. They research the theories of Johann Heinrich von Thunen online and...
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Vocabulary of Ancient Rome (Grades 4-6)
Students define and presents definitions of words that relate to ancient Roman cultural life.
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A Matter of Proportion
Students measure the relative heights of the mosaic giraffe and its trainer and compare their proportions to an actual giraffe and zoo trainer.
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Hands-On! The Invention of Writing
Students are introduced to the way writing was invented in Mesopotamia. In groups, they participate in re-creations of events that occured in a traditional Mesopotamian school. They practice writing in cuneiform script on clay using...
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Natural Resources and Transportation in the United States
Students study thematic maps (included with the lesson) to determine possible relationships. They develop three hypotheses about the relationship. Students choose one of their hypotheses to explain. The explanation is to include reasons...