High schoolers view a video about the Food and Drug Administration. They research its history and functions. They examine problems facing society today. They compare and contrast these issues with those faced during the Progressive Era.

"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members...

Pupils investigate American slavery from colonial times through the Civil War. They incorporate primary sources, video clips, and firsthand accounts to understand how the slavery issue gripped the nation. Essays, presentations, and...

Eighth graders bring early America to life. For this George Washington lesson, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the first president, explore the relationships he had with his slaves, and research the backgrounds of some of his...

Fourth graders tour Woodlawn plantation and apply their previous knowledge of the colonial era in order to compare and contrast the roles of farmers (past and present) in Virginia.

Fifth graders investigate the causes of the American Revolution. They explore how political, religious, and economic ideas and interests brought about the Revolution (e.g., the Stamp Act, the Townshend Acts, taxes on tea, coercive Acts)....

Seventh graders construct a historical timeline of events leading up to and during the Revolutionary War. They give a speech pleading the cause of independence and compare and contrast today's news media with the ideals of the...

Students examine how drying flowers was a popular hobby for Colonial women during the Colonial era in America. They read and discuss an instruction sheet, and create dried-flower bouquets that are hung upside down and tied with a string.

Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration lesson plan, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through middle America...

Students visit the Memorial Art Gallery's exhibit, "About Face: Copley's Portrait of a Colonial Silversmith." They complete a worksheet based on the career of John SIngleton Copley as a colonial American artist. They experience the role...

Study the Revolutionary War era practice of recruiting seamen to prey upon the British shipping industry, and discuss the impact this practice had on the Colonial war efforts. Learners read and interpret recruiting advertisements for...

From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...

For this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a historical passage about the British American war. Students then answer 10 true/false questions based on their reading.

Students identify the interdependence among various ethnic groups in early Arkansas history. They illustrate timelines and visit historic sites. They make maps of the site and give class presentations.

The Mongols, Spanish, and Ottomans all rewrote history with their conquest and control of empires. Yet, each made its mark differently. Using a variety of secondary and primary sources, pupils consider the similarities and differences...

Students analyze the effects of colonization. They explore the role of nationalism as a force opposed to colonialism. Students identify the important figures and events of the apartheid era.

Students review the Colonial period in American history and read literature from this era. They assume the roles of a colonial young person and an adult to compose letters from each and communicate their ideas through the letter writing...

Fifth graders practice creative writing  by describing events from the Colonial era.  In this U.S. History lesson, 5th graders identify King George III and George Washington, the roles they played, and the differences between...

Seventh graders research styles, construction, fabrics, colors, and cost of Colonial era clothing. They create a life-sized model of themselves wearing Colonial period clothing and write a report about the clothes they designed.

Young scholars access websites for background information and learn how to interpret political cartoons. They incorporate higher-order thinking skills to determine if the information presented in the cartoons is accurate, what the...

Young scholars explore colonial history, the antebellum era and the cotton economy and the rise of cities in the U.S.

Sixth graders examine the different aspects of life in Colonial America. At home, they make traditional colonial recipes to share with the class. In groups, they read a book about the purpose and act of quilting and create their own...

Students examine the class systems of New Spain. In small groups, they create a five-day diary about the family life, food, occupation, and government involvement of an assigned personality from the time of Colonial Latin America.

Eleventh graders use a map and locate and define the Caribbean region and then work in groups to read the passage and timeline. The groups' reader will read the passage aloud and the recorder makes a list of why colonists used slave...