Curated OER
The History and Poetry of In Flanders Fields
Students examine the inspiration for the John Mc Crae's poem, In Flanders Field. They study sonnets and the use of tetrameter before discussing is considered to be a sonnet although it does not follow the pattern. They discuss the...
Curated OER
Living Yesterday's History Today
Students explore the colonial period to describe and contrast the life and experiences of people who lived at that time with the lives of individual's in the current era. the lives of researched characters are dramatically enacted and...
Curated OER
Celebrating Modernism at the A Century of Progress World's Fair
Students examine aesthetic movement known as modernism, discover why organizers chose modernism as World Fair's design pattern, interpret photographs of modernist fair buildings and identify artifacts that reflect modernist ideas, and...
PBS
Myth of the West: Kit Carson to the Rescue
There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...
Curated OER
The Great Depression and Everyday Life
Examine everyday life during the Great Depression, as well as the effects if the Depression on American population, society, and economy. Learners write who, what, where, when, and why summaries of a person who relocated to California...
Curated OER
Queen Min
The Empress Myeongseong is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to examine a historical record and a first-hand account of one of Korea's most intrepid and controversial women.
PBS
Using Primary Sources: Wide Open Town
A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...
Curated OER
Statehouse Time Capsule
Fourth graders create a time capsule that is representative of their community. They explain why the chosen objects are representative of themselves or their community.
Curated OER
The Diversity of Filipinos in the United States
ELLs are introduced to the experiences of Filipino immigrants to the United States. As a class, they discuss the various waves of immigration to the United States and state the reasons why they would leave the Philippines. They compare...
Channel Islands Film
Cache: Lesson Plan 3 - Grades 4-5
Should the excavation of what is believed to be the cave of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island be allowed to continue? As a practice exercise designed to prepare pupils for a timed writing exam, individuals read two Los Angeles...
Smithsonian Institution
Stamp Stories of Westward Expansion
What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the...
Australian Broadcasting Cooperation
Sherpas
Climbing Mount Everest is a dream for many mountaineers, and for a lucky few, it's a hard-fought accomplishment. Learn more about the important role Sherpas play in Mount Everest expeditions, including Sir Edmund Hillary's famous...
Curated OER
Prometheus Bound: Rebel with a Cause
If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...
Curated OER
American Minority Groups
Explore the contributions individuals have made in the lives of American minority groups. Twelfth graders write a five-page expository piece providing a social history, examples of discrimination, and patterns of assimilation for an...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Tea Overboard
While less well known than the event in Boston, the Yorktown Tea Party was equally decisive in turning community sentiment against Great Britain. To gain an understanding of why the colonists objected to the Tea Act, young historians...
Curated OER
Advanced Art – Cultural Place-setting Still life
Upper graders view a series of films that depict rituals or celebrations as they occur in different cultural settings. They conduct a cultural investigation about one culture, brainstorm and research objects that have cultural or...
Curated OER
The blues highway: An integration of music with geography
Learners analyze the movement of the blues from rural Mississippi to urban Chicago and how place and the environment affected the development of the blues. They define the blues, where it originated and how and why it moved to Chicago....
Annenberg Foundation
Analyzing Artifacts
If only a mask could talk! Using the interactive tool along with historical thinking skills, pupils uncover the meaning behind the various materials the resource presents. History becomes more relevant as the artifacts tell their stories...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Holocaust: Bystanders and Upstanders
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...
American Museum of Natural History
Being an Archeologist: Chuck Spencer
Meet Chuck Spencer, an archeologist who studies the Zapotec people who lived in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico over 2000 years ago. Spencer shares in print his response to questions posed by kids.
Curated OER
Figurative Language
What is figurative language, and why do we use it? Introduce your high schoolers to some examples and discuss the importance of including this element in your writing. After studying a text and searching for examples, writers will...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Photography: Photography as a Primary Source
Can we learn a thing or two about history by looking at pictures from the past? As young historians view 2-D and 3-D primary source photographs, they respond to a series of worksheets that guides them toward unveiling clues...
State Bar of Texas
Baker v. Carr
Can the federal government override the state government to protect the citizens of the United States? The 1962 Supreme Court case Baker v. Carr outlines the issue of equal protection under the law. Scholars investigate with a short...
State Bar of Texas
Miranda v. Arizona
You have the right to remain silent—but why? Scholars analyze the nature of what has become known as the Miranda Rights. A short video along with paired group work and discussion opens the issue of the rights of the accused upon arrest....