Use this presentation about Thomas Paine's The American Crisis series to guide any number of assignments. The slides provide instructions for a literary terms assignment, an open response journal entry, two research writing...

From the First and Second Banks of the United States to the founding of the Federal Reserve, discover how the American nation attempted to reform its financial history throughout the years.

Students explore the debates over American slavery and the power of the American federal government for the first half of the 19th century and how the regional economies and political events produced a widening split between the states.

As scholars examine a simple political cartoon, they consider some of the crises of 2009: oil, foreign wars, energy, global warming, Swine Flu, etc. A list is provided for background information, and 3 talking points (or writing points)...

How bad is the opioid crisis in America? Has it gotten worse in the last few decades? Why? High schoolers delve into these questions with a thorough and thoughtful lesson plan from The New York Times on heroin prescription opioids....

World War II not only resulted in major loss of life, but it also displaced thousands of people. An eye-opening activity uses primary documents to explore the refugee crisis during World War II. Scholars compare the event to modern-day...

As the first American president to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and only one of four presidents to do so in United States history, Theodore Roosevelt's foreign policy achievements and preservation of peace are often overshadowed by his...

Though the Statue of Liberty welcomes political refugees to her shores, the welcoming sentiment has not always been reflected in the American citizenry. High schoolers read about the regrettable period in United States history...

Intended for use with atlases, this presentation details the causes and effects of the Civil War. It includes historical pictures of battles and discussion points about the technology which emerged during (and for) the war. The final...

Fifth graders view primary documents to become familiar with the causes of the American Revolutionary War.  In this Causes of the American Revolution lesson, 5th graders answer questions based on the documents. Students complete a...

Wondering what dinosaurs have to do with the debt crisis? This analysis handout includes two political cartoons using dinosaur metaphors, and prompts pupils to consider the symbolism to understand the cartoonist's point. You may want to...

High schoolers work in four different groups to examine the many factors that led to the American Civil War. They research an assigned topic, prepare questions, and finally engage in a class discussion using the Socratic Seminar method.

Political cartoons are interesting and motivating, and they provide a great opportunity for critical informational analysis. This resource includes background information on the current credit crisis, a political cartoon, and three...

High schoolers examine the controversies over slavery's expansion and how the federal tariffs further entrenched the dividing line between northern and southern interests.

Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...

The United States may have pulled its troops from the Vietnam War in 1973, but the conflict was far from over for the citizens living in Asia at the time. An informative resource lets learners know about the wave of over 220,000...

Provide learners with an excellent resource focused on the Cold War Era. Starting in 1945 and going all the way to 1991, the Cold War Era included major historical events, such as the Berlin Wall, Warsaw Pact, the Korean War, and the...

What does social security reveal about the political and social culture of the 1930s? After beginning with a brief introductory video on the impact of the Great Depression and how various Americans, such as Huey Long and Francis...

How did the United States respond to the Holocaust refugee crisis during World War II? The activity focuses on the United States' foreign policies and the arguments for and against offering assistance. Scholars analyze historical...

Students determine how President Lincoln promoted emancipation. In this slavery lesson, students examine primary documents, including the U.S. Constitution, to reconstruct Lincoln's attempts to end slavery and deliver the Emancipation...

Does history really repeat itself? Encourage your middle and high schoolers to answer this age-old question by reading the attached articles on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Iraq Crisis of 2002. How similar or different are...

The United States—specifically John F. Kennedy—played a large role during the Cuban Missile Crisis. A history resource poses questions that encourage critical thinking as well as in-depth analysis of images from the time period.

Despite how it sounds, Boston's busing crisis wasn't a transportation problem. Academics address the problems faced by African Americans following school desegregation and the struggle to receive equal educational opportunities. Scholars...

Cold War tensions led to hostile actions. Scholars use primary sources to understand the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis during President Kennedy's administration. The lesson provides primary sources and a graphic organizer to...