Explore the enormity of World War II, including its causes, prominent battles, and historical figures, with an interactive map and timeline. Divided into each year from 1939 to 1945, as well as sections pre- and post-war, the resource...

This multi-faceted, progressive project includes an array of activities for analyzing and evaluating a theme of American history. Learners begin by constructing a timeline of events in United States history using Google docs, create a...

Learners will shout "Eureka!" in this quick but deep activity replicating the famous bathtub experiment of Archimedes. Given the scenario of a king with a suspected fake crown, young investigators develop formulas using density to...

Writers compose an original shape poem. Scholars choose a subject to write about and create a visual representation by forming a corresponding picture using the poem's words.  

Everyone knows that George Washington was the first president, but do your scholars know why that was so important? The lesson plan, the third in a sequence of three, allows learners to understand how George Washington set a precedent...

Scholars play a historical version of the telephone game when they analyze the dispatch from the Pearl Harbor attack. The quick activity uses primary sources to help academics analyze an historical event. Young historians also complete a...

Who had power over trade in the early days of the United States? Who has power now? Viewers investigate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. Using an AP Exam review video, learners examine issues surrounding authority...

Scholars analyze the role of bystanders during the Holocaust. The investigation explores the roles of the bystanders, upstanders, and rescuers with primary and secondary resources to determine actions taken—or not—and their implications...

Luckily for those who aren't history buffs, anyone can guess that the War of 1812 happened in ... 1812. But how to cover the rest of the story? The resource does just that with effective direct instruction that includes statistics,...

Decode primary sources in a fast-paced activity. A quick guessing game helps pupils use visual clues to understand primary sources. Academics look at a picture of the cotton gin and must guess what it is without other knowledge or clues....

Individuals expressed the Harlem Renaissance in diverse forms of art, ranging from poetry to photography to painting. Learners explore pieces using a carefully curated collection from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Included lessons ask...

Teach young learners that they can have any job they want, no matter their gender! An elementary lesson emphasizes that while some jobs may be more closely associated with men or with women, people of either gender can complete...

Students investigate and answer questions about the people, places, and events of ancient Egypt and their contributions to world civilization. In small groups they participate in a game answering review questions about ancient Egyptian...

Newspapers are the perfect medium through which to explore different perspectives in informational text. After researching the fur trade and resultant colonization, groups write a newspaper, including an editorial page, selecting one of...

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. 

While humans have always been on the move, the period between 1400 and 1800 saw vast migrations of people between the East and the West. These migrations—whether through slavery or a desire to colonize new lands—shaped the modern world....

Bring the sounds of the deep South vocal blues to the classroom with a Smithsonian Folkways lesson. In preparation, scholars listen to and count the 12 bar blues patterns in several works and identify the I, II, IV, and V chords as well...

Was it all about the bananas—or the fear of a communist threat? Young historians use a history lab to examine documents from the American-led 1954 Guatemalan coup. Using graphics, government documents, and speeches, they examine the...

Ready for an educational movie day? Use a resource based on the movie Whale Rider to learn more about the Maori culture. Class members answer a variety of questions and listen to music from the soundtrack to further analyze and...

Pictures and photographs help build background knowledge about a topic. Scholars participate in a gallery walk to learn more about the Jim Crow era of US history and the desegregation of schools following Brown v. Board of Education....

This is a treasure-trove of multimedia resources to help your scholars analyze transportation methods. They discuss different forms of movement, utilizing several infographics to spur conversation deeper and get visual learners engaged....

Here is a very interesting graphic of a world map where each country's size is adjusted accordingly to its population. The bottom row of the document also includes several maps depicting the major shifts and growth of the world...

A perfect resource for an art teacher of any grade. First, click on the resource's second tab, entitled "Activities," to find four unique grade-specific lesson all based on the theme of cityscapes.  Each activity utilizes the...

A lesson on photo analysis, compare and contrast, and an art project are here for the taking. Fourth graders analyze photographs of gas stations from now and from the past, focusing on how the cars and building designs are a form of art....