Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...

A New Order in Europe calls for a new lesson plan! This third plan in a series of four sequential lessons encourages high schoolers to read primary sources about the development of the New Order and follow up their knowledge with a...

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a pivotal moment in American history, but what were the immediate effects throughout the newly unified country? A document-based question focuses on the consequences of the first...

Scholars analyze the impact Eleanor Roosevelt had on not just the nation, but also on the world. Primary sources and video clips help form a picture of the First Lady and her accomplishments. As a final activity, individuals create...

Make the fathers of our country proud with a writing assignment for Presidents' Day! An image of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln accompanies a writing template page.

How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold...

The transition of power between former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump may be the first political process that your students have followed. Fill out the details between these two leaders with a set of vocabulary...

Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest presidents ever ... right? Scholars research the accomplishments and struggles of the Lincoln presidency. They uncover facts, materials and information via video clips, primary, and secondary...

Remember learning to spell “encyclopedia” by singing along with Jiminy Cricket? How about using a singing exercise to learn the names of the presidents? “The Presidents Song,” includes the names, in order, from Washington to Coolidge....

Students engage in a lesson which addresses George Washington's leadership as President of the United States. They review a variety of letters written by Washington online, and prepare reports for the class.

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

In this everyday editing worksheet, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the first White House baby. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling.

How much power is too much power for the federal government? Scholars use primary documents and constitutional research in groups to analyze the creation of the Second National Bank under James Madison. This is the second lesson of a...

While the French Revolution could be considered inspired by the American Revolution, it created thorny problems for the new United States. Should the United States get involved and be drawn into a European drama? Was the US strong...

In this George Washington reading comprehension worksheet, 3rd graders will read a 2 paragraph passage about the life of our first President and answer 4 multiple choice questions.

Explore the origin of political parties in the United States. Learners work in groups to read and analyze copies of the "Report on Manufactures" written by Alexander Hamilton. Then, they complete a worksheet comparing the Federalists to...

Julie Otsuka's haunting novel, When the Emperor Was Devine, is the subject of a 14-page teacher's guide. The guide includes the text of an interview with Otsuka, background information about Japanese immigration to the United States, and...

The Battle of Fort Sumter was both the first and the least deadly battle of the American Civil War, with no soldiers lost during the lengthy bombardment. Learn more about the first shots of the Civil War with a short reading passage and...

Famous quotations by American Presidents are the focus of this Six Trait writing activity, which could be used in a U.S. History class or in language arts. After reading the picture book Theodore by Frank Keating, have your 7th graders...

Free Trade and Sailor's Rights! Pupils dive into America's first declared war, the War of 1812. They analyze the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison through diary entries and historical reasoning. To conclude the lesson, they use their...

Young readers practice their comprehension skills by responding to a series of text-based questions on a passage about Patricia Bath, the first black woman medical doctor to receive a patent.

Start your class on the Emancipation Proclamation. The entire text of the Proclamation is included here along with two questions to answer. Space is provided to allow pupils to write their responses right on the page. Use this as a quick...

"The Gettysburg Address" is the basis of a series of activities that not only model for learners how to conduct a close reading of a text, but also how a close reading can help them comprehend a difficult text. The detailed, step-by-step...