Curated OER
George Washington's Foreign Policy
Students compare George Washington's foreign policy to the policies of presidents who followed him. In this primary source analysis lesson, students compare Washington's Farewell Address to the Roosevelt Corollary, the Monroe Doctrine,...
Curated OER
Participating in Democracy
Students analyze film clips in class. In this democracy lesson, students identify the differences between civil liberties, democracy and freedom. Students view a video regarding Japanese internment and answer study questions as well as...
National Endowment for the Humanities
James Madison: Madison Was There
Madison was there! Scholars go on a journey to discover the person behind the founding father label as they explore James Madison's role in the formation of the United States government. The culmination is a writing assignment and...
Curated OER
The Arab-Israeli Wars (1956-present)
A striking contrast of Israel in 1947 versus 1949 begins this presentation, helping to set the context of the ongoing strife between the Arab and Israeli peoples throughout the 20th (and 21st) centuries. Providing a good background to...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Composers
High schoolers identify various pieces of music that are familiar to them and define how the music made them feel. Then they select their favorite piece of music heard and the activities in which they like to do. Students also attend a...
Curated OER
Debating Iraq
Learners analyze the main themes of President Bush's UN Speech and discussion of the NewsHour report on the Iraq Debate. In this debate lesson, students answer pre-listening questions and view a transcript of the speech. In groups of two...
Curated OER
The Medici Popes
Students explore Italian politics and warfare of the Renaissance. They explain the origins and effects of the Protestant Reformation and contrast Renaissance and Medieval attitudes.
Curated OER
Reconstruction: A Time of Turbulence
Students utilize knowledge and understandings of the Civil War to look at the reconstructive era that followed. In this reconstructive era lesson, Students gain understanding of the definition of reconstruction by building, taking apart...
Curated OER
Liberty Vs. Safety: an American Dilemma
Students study the process of consensus and the value of studying history as we try to craft a more perfect society. They examine President Franklin D. Roosevelt's decision to incarcerate Japanese Americans in the Western United States,...
Curated OER
A More Perfect Union: Women's Suffrage and the Constitution
Students reflect on the pros and cons of Women's Suffrage and it was viewed during the late 1800's. In this history lesson, students will analyze documents on women's suffrage so that they can compare and contrast the rights of...
Curated OER
Homer's Civil War Veteran: Battlefield to Wheat Field
Students examine Civil War-themed artwork. In this visual arts lesson, students compare and contrast paintings by Winslow Homer and Timothy O'Sullivan. Students analyze the symbolism in the artwork representing Civil War...
Curated OER
Stamp Stories of Abraham Lincoln
Students build a 5 stamp collection based on the Abraham Lincoln unit theme. For this historical lesson plan, students discuss their collections within their group and build a new collection of 10 stamps. As a class, students debates the...
Curated OER
The Electoral Process
High schoolers study the history and mechanics of the Electoral College and formulate opinions as to whether this institution should be preserved, modified or eliminated. They compare and contrast electoral and popular votes in the...
Curated OER
America 2000: Federal Round Table Discussion
Eighth graders examine the United States Constitution and identify the beliefs and values Americans follow today. In groups, they compare and contrast state's rights and federal rights and the issues affecting them. They debate the...
Curated OER
On the Leading Edge
Students write an op-ed piece concerning presidential leadership. After reading an archived article from The New York Times, students compare and contrast the leadership styles of former Vice President Al Gore and President George W....
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.9
With a nice description of what the standard means, an idea for a class activity, and a quiz with answers, this resource should deepen your (and your pupils') understanding of the targeted Common Core standard. The provided activity is...
Curated OER
Learning From Document - Public Laws
Students research primary sources about the Bracero worker program. In this primary source activity, students investigate two public laws along with other documents to determine if the Bracero worker program was implemented properly....
Curated OER
The Election of 2008: Primaries and Caucuses
Students examine the American presidential election process. In this presidential election instructional activity, students discover details regarding the campaigns of McCain and Obama in the 2008 election. Students create timelines that...
Curated OER
Civil War: A Terrible Swift Sword
Students explore the Civil War. In this American History instructional activity, students use guiding questions and primary resources to better comprehend the events of the Civil War. This instructional activity actually includes 3...
Curated OER
Advanced Critical Reading: The Great Debates
In this critical reading worksheet, students read a passage about The Great Debates between Kennedy and Nixon and answer questions based on the reading.
Curated OER
World Awaits Bush Global Policy
Students read an online article in order to participate in a discussion and writing activity based on it.
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: William Mc Kinley: The Campaign and Election of 1896
Read about the campaign of 1896 in which William McKinley represented the Republican Party and William Jennings Bryan the Democratic Party. One big issue was the contrast between the use of the gold standard as opppsed to free silver.
Digital History
Digital History: The Philippines [Pdf]
Read about how the United States gained the Philippines as a territory as a result of the Spanish-American War. Find out how several senators felt about this acquisition. The resulting Philippine-American War resulted in extreme hardship...
A&E Television
History.com: The Soviet Response to the Moon Landing? Denial There Was a Moon Race at All
Until 1989, Russians claimed they were not trying to reach the Moon first and that the U.S. was in "a one-nation race." Until 1989, a group of American aerospace engineers went to Moscow and finally saw the Soviets' failed lunar-landing...