Out of the mouth of babes ... often times comes gems. The activity uses a letter written by a third-grader in 1974 regarding President Ford's pardon of Richard Nixon. Scholars analyze the letter, complete a worksheet, and participate in...

The legacy of Japanese American internment impacted America for decades, including Congress. Class members consider the tenure of Asian American representatives in Congress and how the legacy of World War II affected their service. Other...

Chicago is one city, four neighborhoods, and countless nationalities. The lesson explores the ethnic division of Chicago in the early twentieth century. Academics read primary sources, analyze maps, and tour an online exhibit to...

 "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses" has even more meaning for some children. The resource explores the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Scholars analyze primary sources and participate in...

Most people know of the Boston Tea Party, but it was only one of similar protests throughout the colonies. Using a case study from Maryland, learners explore primary sources, including images and newspaper accounts of similar tea...

Ideas take flight in an exciting activity exploring the Wright Brothers. Scholars view the Wright Brothers' patent for their flying machine and makes educated guesses as to the purpose of the document. Scholars discuss the purpose of...

Young historians travel back to the past to explore immigration in the United States. Scholars match images of immigrants to Angel and Ellis Island. The activity also includes a worksheet and a short group discussion to understand...

World War II turned nations against each other and neighbors into enemies. An eye-opening lesson explores the dark past of Japanese-American internment camps during WWII. Scholars learn of the fear and distrust toward Asian Americans...

A 16-slide PowerPoint presentation introduces readers to the themes, motifs, and literary devices used by Octavia E. Butler in her time-travel, first person slave narrative.

The lesson focuses on slavery in the ancient world and asks academics to decide if it was always about race. Scholars view primary sources, participate in a short discussion, and complete a worksheet to understand how slavery in the...

Behold, the Great Aztec empire! Scholars use primary sources to understand the impact of the Aztec city Tenochtitlan. Academics complete a worksheet and participate in group discussion to understand how Tenochtitlan was a melting pot for...

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper's poem "Learning to Read" is the focus of a instructional activity that teaches middle schoolers how to do a close reading of a text. The instructional activity introduces them to a brief biography of the...

Philanthropists, revolutionaries, or money-hungry businessmen? An interesting instructional activity examines four of the men who impacted business and industry in the nineteenth century. With group discussion, writing prompts, and...

After learning about the growing revolutionary sentiment among colonists, class members work in small groups or pairs to design a political cartoon.

Just what is jurisdiction and why does it matter? A helpful activity takes academics on a journey to understand how judicial jurisdiction works. Scholars read excerpts from the Constitution and court documents to understand the process...

Delve into the world of political cartoons in a lesson on the American Revolution. Scholars practice analyzing an original political cartoon, answer questions, and participate in group discussion. Young academics gain an understanding of...

Patriot or traitor? Scholars debate the line between patriotism and treason in a short activity. Academics analyze a political cartoon and discuss varying viewpoints between different groups living in the American colonies. The activity...

Scholars play a historical version of the telephone game when they analyze the dispatch from the Pearl Harbor attack. The quick activity uses primary sources to help academics analyze an historical event. Young historians also complete a...

Historians follow FDR's Infamy speech from rough draft to the official address to the Senate. An intriguing activity compares and contrasts FDR's original speech to the official version. Academics also listen to FDR address the Senate....

How reliable is oral history? The resource uses the oral history website to help academics understand the pros and cons of using recollections to teach others. Scholars complete a worksheet, draft a letter to a representative, and...

To fight or not to fight, that is the question. A thought-provoking activity focuses on the Dunmore Declaration that promised to free enslaved people who chose to fight for the British during the American Revolution. Scholars read the...

Young archeologists discover the significance of ordinary objects from the past in an interesting lesson on artifact analysis. The activity focuses on examining the image of a powder horn from the Revolutionary War to understand what it...

Young historians turn into detectives in a thought-provoking activity on the Challenger Explosion. The activity uses an image of President Reagan watching the Challenger explode on live TV to help academics practice historical analysis....

During World War II people saw how far the government's control would go, but it was at the expense of its citizens. The resource brings the conditions of Japanese American internment camps to light using primary documents. Scholars...