Northerners, Southerners, and abolitionists all had a different perspective on the American Civil War. To understand these different points of view, class members analyze primary documents including speeches by Abraham Lincoln, the...

Use these four detailed lesson plans (and extra materials) to explore the rich history of influential women in the United States. Use this unit in celebrating Women's History Month, or while studying women that have shaped the history of...

In Module 3b, eighth-graders study the American Civil Rights Movement and the story of the Little Rock Nine. The central texts of the module,  A Mighty Long Way by Carlotta Walls LaNier and Shelley Tougas' photo essay Little Rock Girl...

The tangled web of the United States’ diplomatic alliances and foreign policy during the French Revolution comes under scrutiny in a three-resource collection. Young historians examine how Great Britain and France challenged both the...

What if the people of the United States started over and, knowing what we know now about how things are working, redesigned the government created by the founding fathers? That's the central premise of the 11 resources in the American...

A collection of 22 interactive resources provides learners with information about the United States federal courts. The pages are divided into five sections: The role of the federal courts; The organization of the federal courts; How the...

The Price of Freedom: Americans at War is a collection of 13 resources from a printable exhibition curated by the Smithsonian Museum of American History.  Each resource begins with a summary and a table of contents. The resources...

Immigration and immigration reform are hot button topics, now more than they have been. The Energy of a Nation curriculum is designed to dispel myths about immigrants, build empathy, and provide up-to-date facts. The 13 lessons in the...

Introduce middle schoolers to the roles and powers of the three branches of the United States government, with the 21 resources in the C-SPAN Civics collection. Sorted into the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial...

The Civil Rights Movement is the focus of a collection created for young scholars, kindergarten through fifth grade. The unit begins with an introductory lesson that sets the stage for discussion, written assignments, interactives,...

Designed for social studies classes, this collection of lessons examine both the history and the current state of US government institutions, policies, and economic programs.

Designed for teachers, a 15-lesson collection curated by the Smithsonian, examines how wars have impacted American society. Each resource includes a lesson plan, background information, a materials list, maps, images, and worksheets. An...

A five-part lesson collection introduces young learners to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s principles of  Non-violent Direct Action. Through children's literature, photographs, first-person narratives, and songs. as well as links to...

A five-resource collection looks at the complex series of events that led to the American Civil War. Using primary source documents, scholars research the social and economic issues that led to the country-fracturing conflict.

Designed to be used in conjunction with the Women in Congress publication, seven lesson plans look at the women pioneers who served in congress from 1917 to 2006. The collection includes essays, photographs, artifacts, and quotations.

Used with the PBS film The Armenian Genocide (Two Cats Productions), the eight lessons in this collection teach high schoolers about the Armenian Genocide. Students use primary and secondary sources to research the history of the Ottoman...