High schoolers experience and enjoy the sounds of poetry. They erform sound experiments with sonnets and closely read and analyze a sonnet by Shakespeare. Students write an analysis of how sound affects meaning in a sonnet chosen from...

Tenth graders examine the role of Jewish Americans in the 1900s. They examing the changes in industry and inventions. They also identify how Jewish Americans changed society and religious organization.

Discuss the history of slavery by analyzing historic photography depicting slavery. Learners write fictional stories based on these photographs. This is a creative and motivating way to launch a discussion of these topics. 

Students explore the impact of the Klondike Gold Rush on the development of Skagway, Alaska. Lesson can be used in units on western expansion, late 19th and early 20th-century commerce, and urban history.

Learners examine the Wild West as it was depicted in films and books. In groups, they compare this information to what it was really like as they find out in books. They also discover the role of the Native Americans in the Wild West...

Vladimir Lenin is on trial in an engaging, animated video where the merits and consequences of the formation of the Soviet Union and Lenin's actions are reviewed. This is a great way to illustrate how to establish and argue unique...

Middle schoolers gain understanding of economic history of United States in twentieth century by examining role of Department of Commerce. Student groups each analyze one quarter of twentieth century by researching role of Department of...

Students interview a grandparent/elder to as part of a history and writing project. In this grandparent/elder project lesson, students record an interview of an older person who is willing to share their past. They look at pictures and...

Students conduct research on the events of the end of the 18th century in order to identify critical factors leading to the development of the Federalist and Democratic-Republican political parties. They summarize the key positions of...

Students explore U.S. foreign policy. In this diplomacy lesson, students discuss and analyze the evolution of U.S. foreign policy between 1970 and 2000. Students research their textbooks, the Internet, videos, and filmstrips.

Students are put in the role of historians and develop strategies for applying methods in historical inquiry:

Students analyze the passage of the 16th through 19th amendments during the Progressive Era around the turn of the century. Using research skills, they write papers and create portfolios supporting and opposing the adoption of each...

Students examine African American issue between the years 1897 and 1953. In this African American history lesson, students research the social, economic, and political conditions of African Americans during the aforementioned time span...

Students invsestigate cocoa producing regions in the world. In this geography skills lesson, students examine how the 5 themes of geography affect the Hershey Chocolate Company as they compare and contrast cocoa production in America,...

Students study the history of the Holocaust. it is complex; therefore, understanding its implications is complex as well. Elie Wiesel refers to the Holocaust as a question within a question. Questions lead to further questions, and still...

Young scholars research patterns of immigration throughout American history. The focus is on the process of how immigrants came through Ellis Island. Students reflect upon the topic to develop critical thinking skills.

While the Industrial Revolution may have fueled America's rise to the top of world markets, the child laborers often faced dangerous conditions. Using primary source images and other information, scholars consider what these children...

Here's a art project that lets kids use bold colors to express their inner wild beasts, and maybe even attract a few wild birds. Using old picture frames, canvases, and screen mesh, young fauvists craft bird feeders and...

Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...

Students study how Deerfield became prosperous because of the river trade and improved agricultural practices. They make connections between the changing ideals of "decencies" of life, new modes of behavior, and consumption.

Learners investigate the industrial developments of the twentieth century and the development of urban environments. For this industrial art lesson, students compare and contrast graphics and analyze industrial developments on...

Fifth graders summarize a decade in the twentieth century and compare it to another decade. They present facts in a Hyperstudio document that includes text, photos, and audio to describe the decade.

Students take a virtual tour of the Deerfield Meeting House, circa 1700's, and other turn of the century homes and locations and compare them to modern homes and locations of today.

Students, after discussing and analyzing the value of reminiscence for people of all ages, write a reminiscence essay on their own lives and then create a story form the perspective of an older person.