Curated OER
Regents High School Examination: United States History and Government, June 21, 2005
In this United States history and government standardized test practice worksheet, students respond to 50 multiple choice, 1 essay, and 12 short answer questions that require them to review their knowledge of history and government in...
Smithsonian Institution
Borders within the United States: Indian Boarding Schools and Assimilation
Native American Nations ... sovereign entities or removable tribes? A thought-provoking lesson explores the relationship between Native American tribes and the United States, including forced assimilation and removal from their ancestral...
Curated OER
Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
Curated OER
California's Golden History: 1848-1880
Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...
City University of New York
The 15th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a lesson plan based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American suffrage...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: The United States, France, and the Problem of Neutrality, 1796–1801
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...
West Virginia Department of Education
History Scene Investigators - John Brown's Raid
An informative resource covers the event of John Brown's Raid, an event that became an important part of West Virginia history. It serves as a standalone and covers the event and John Brown's life in depth using group work, online...
PBS
African American History: Climbing the Wall
Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...
Curated OER
Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources
Learners access oral histories that contain slave narratives from the Library of Congress. They describe the lives of former slaves, sample varied individual experiences and make generalizations about their research in journal entries.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Early English Settlements History Detectives
Young historians play the role of history detectives as they investigate some primary source texts and images related to the early colonization of America, The Jamestown Settlement, and the Mayflower Compact.
Curated OER
Puerto Rico: The 51st State?
Learners research the history of Puerto Rico, its culture, and geography. In this Puerto Rico lesson, students find Puerto Rico on a map and find specific regions or cities. Learners discuss Puerto Rico's statehood and listen to salsa...
Curated OER
Puerto Rico: The 51st State?
Learners explore Puerto Rico. In this Puerto Rico current events lesson, students conduct a Webquest to answer questions about Puerto Rico's culture. Learners discuss whether Puerto Rico is a country or a state, and defend their...
Curated OER
Putting History in its Place
Examine ways in which historic places and landmarks represent significant themes and events in American history. Then create theme-based travel guides for related historic locations. This lesson requires informational reference materials...
Carolina K-12
African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
Curated OER
Arkansas State Rock
Here is a lesson which shows the value of a mineral called bauxite to Arkansas during the early 1900's. Learners relate the five themes of geography to the history of bauxite and aluminum production in Arkansas. For teachers of...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Contested History
Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a instructional activity that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of...
Teaching for Change
History Detectives: Voting Rights in Mississippi, 1964
Promises made and promise broken. Spies and activists. Voting rights in Mississippi are the focus of a lesson that has class members research the history of the struggle in Mississippi. Learners take on the role of voting rights...
Anti-Defamation League
Indian/Native American Boarding Schools: Their History, Harm and Impact
Encultureate, assimilate, or eliminate? The 2021 discovery of a mass grave of over 200 children on the site of a former Canadian Indian Boarding school led to the creation of the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. High schoolers...
Center for History Education
Maryland: A Middle Ground?
Is Maryland in or out? Using primary source documents that examine the state's geopolitical location, learners discuss whether the Old Line State is Northern or Southern to its core. The resource includes numerous documents and...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Arizona v. United States — States and Immigration Law
As part of a study of immigration law, class members read a summary of the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States. They then examine a series of examples and acting as federal court judges, must determine if the scenarios meet the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 4 James Madison: Internal Improvements Balancing Act—Federal/State and Executive/Legislative
Who has the power? The founding fathers asked the same question when the United States was formed. Learners explore issues that arose during Madison’s presidency that raised constitutional questions. Through discovery, discussion, and...
Curated OER
The South, the North and the Great Migration: Blues and Literature
Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...
Curated OER
The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments
Students examine the pros and cons of state sovereignty vs. federalism, as argued by the Founding Fathers. They identify the basic positions of each side, complete a worksheet, and write a persuasive essay arguing for Jefferson or Hamilton.
Museum of Tolerance
Oral History Activity
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate where they...