Most Americans have heard of the Gettysburg Address, but may not know what it means and why is it so important. Following guidance and scaffolded prompts, scholars analyze the short document that left an undeniable impact on the American...

A good diplomat needs to know how world events can affect their country. First, class members examine the Papal Bull that excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I from the Roman Catholic Church. Then, learners playing the role of diplomat from...

Pupils are transformed into detectives in the case to solve the motive behind the assassination of Julius Caesar. This resource includes eight engaging "exhibits" of unique primary and secondary sources for students to analyze...

Mexican folk songs offer an authentic look at WWII immigrant workers. This study of the U.S. Bracero Program sets historians up with context information so they can write their own corrido. The class reviews themes and formulas of...

The ultimate legacy of Emmett Till's violent death is its role in the non-violent roots of the Civil Rights Movement. A instructional activity compares contemporaneous articles with the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till"...

The high school activity explores what hate crimes are and how the government has responded to those crimes. Academics read legislation, analyze political cartoons, and complete hands-on-activities to understand what motivates...

When Jim Crow Laws ended, the intent behind them did not. Academics read "The New Jim Crow Laws" and an interview from the author to understand how racism has not ended, but rather changed over time. The lesson plan explains how...

The 2020 election is not the only unpredictable one in history. The Election of 1800 highlighted an unforeseen event in a presidential election. The activity reviews documents from the elections and what happened when the electoral...

Finding good primary source materials to support any study of history can be a challenge and time-consuming. A set of 11 primary source letters, images, and text excerpts provide young historians with an opportunity to sharpen their...

How did the founding of the American colonies lead to a revolution? Use the essential question and sample activities to guide learners through a series of history lessons. Additionally, the packet includes effective strategies to...

While the Constitutional Convention lay the foundation of the new government for the United States, the protections given under the Bill of Rights were controversial. Using documents, such as James Madison's and Thomas Jefferson's...

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...

Young scholars examine how religion affected arguments justifying American independence. They read and analyze primary source documents, and write an essay analyzing how Americans used religious arguments to justify revolution against a...

The various peace proposals, made by both sides, to end the Revolutionary War come under scrutiny in this final lesson of a three-part series on the war. Class members read primary source documents and compare them with military...

Eleventh graders examine the evolution of women's rights in America. As they analyze primary documents and discuss historical events, learners determine how Abigail Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, Margaret Sanger, and James...

"Love it or leave it." "You're either for us or against us." Rhetoric and it's polarizing effects are the focus of a lesson that uses John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry as an exemplar. Groups examine primary source documents,...

Young historians examine Lyndon Johnson's vision for a rich, powerful, and upward society as detailed in this excerpt from his famous "Great Society" speech presented at the University of Michigan in 1964.

The epilogue to former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill's memoir provides readers with an opportunity to practice their informational text reading comprehension skills. 

"I want to be the president who educated young people to the wonders of their world." Readers examine the vision Lyndon B. Johnson presented for his presidency in this excerpt from his "The American promise" message delivered to Congress...

President Lincoln believed in the Thirteenth Amendment so strongly that he signed 14 copies of it, but died before he could see it passed on December 18, 1965. Explore the text that forever abolished slavery in America with a document...

Harriet Beecher Stowe's plea for abolition is not only laid plain in her acclaimed novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, but in her written correspondence as well. High schoolers read a letter written by Stowe to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria to...

The British and Spanish both had footholds in the New World, yet they had different approaches. Scholars explore the dynamics, along with the reasons behind immigration to the United States and business practices of the Gilded Age in a...

Freedom of speech is not always free. Scholars investigate how the First Amendment provides for the right to express opinions. Through the court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, they analyze free speech using primary documents—and hopefully...

Students use primary sources to analyze advertisements, prices, and styles of Lincoln Logs from Carson Pirie Scott catalogs from 1952 to 1960. Students then compare modern-day toy to Lincoln Logs of the 1950s by analyzing differences in...