Students justify how alliances lead to war. They compare the conflicts of war that arose because of imperialist interest. Students explain the cause of World War I. They compare and contrast European maps before and after World War I....

Young scholars debate which power was responsible for the outbreak of World War I. In this cause and effects lesson, students research the causes of the outbreak of World War I on ProQuest in preparation for a (limited) reenactment of...

Seventh graders explore, analyze and study World War II through primary sources to assess the differences and impact of a "world war" vs. "a small war." They critique liberated prisoner letters, describe what they see in photographs and...

Ninth graders read first hand accounts of soldiers' lives during World War I, examine historical timeline of major events during war, and research and listen to clips of popular music of the time.

High schoolers examine reasons for going to war. In this foreign policy lesson, students analyze the reasons the U.S. entered the the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the...

Eleventh graders take a closer look at the weapons used to fight World War I. In this World War I lesson, 11th graders complete a reading assignment, discuss it, and form research groups. Students work in the groups to...

Welcome to the code side. The interactive activity introduces coding in a game format with familiar characters. Young computer experts learn to develop code to control the interaction of the characters in the game. The activity ends with...

Students explain why the Cold War took place and ended. They analyze its significance as a 29th century event. Students identify the differences between the USA and USSR during the Cold War.

Students research, brainstorm and analyze the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. They critique a piece of artwork depicting a scene from the Revolutionary War. Each major battle is plotted on a map to show a visual...

Here is a wonderful template for learners to use as a way to show what they know about WWII. Each slide is prepared with three to four photos of wartime memorabilia for your class to research and write about. There are nine slides total...

Third graders explore WWII by analyzing technological advances. For this invention lesson, 3rd graders discuss the use of the Enigma machine which decoded private German messages that communicated with U-boats. Students utilize a...

Students establish what war signifies to them. They demonstrate this by voting on statements. Students are invited to ponder about how they feel about issues, their world history, and to defend their positions.

Middle schoolers, after analyzing how World War II affected life at home, plan a balanced meal on rationed food. They assess the experiences of Mainers on the home front during the war and how rationing food helped the war effort. In...

Students identify components of war. They connect relationships by developing webs. Students illustrate their comprehension of war in multimedia and produce a dialectical analysis of this illustration.

Sixth graders, after taking a pretest, write a paragraph describing the difference between Athens and Sparta and write an article about the ancient Phoenicians, describing their contributions to world history. They compare democracy in...

High schoolers research how the capture of a German submarine by the Allies affected the outcome of WWII. In this WWII lesson plan, students complete a KWL chart. High schoolers research primary source documents online and answer...

Eighth graders explore post World War II America.  In this American History instructional activity, 8th graders analyze primary and secondary sources to research how the automobile influenced the growth of suburbs, and how the...

Scholars learn how to crack secret codes as they continue reading from the Blown to Bits and try to crack the random substitution cipher. They also begin learning about the Vigenere cipher. 

Second graders explore world history by writing newspaper articles. In this Greek history lesson plan, 2nd graders investigate the geography and society of Ancient Greece by utilizing the Internet as a research tool. Students collaborate...

High schoolers identify reasons genocide occurs through group research into specific Genocide incidents of the 20th century. They put into perspective why an organization such as the United Nations is necessary by introducing them to one...

Eighth graders assess different ways that significant individuals and events influenced economic, social and political systems in the United States after 1880. They experience a Navajo code talker's dictionary to create and decode messages.

Young scholars explore the controversy surrounding the ban of Nazi memorabilia and other hate-related artifacts from online auction sites.

Seventh graders assess the conflict and change that occurred in the westward expansion following the Civil War. They list specific reasons why different groups moved west and the interaction between the "white" European civilization and...

Students investigate international aid by researching the history of Angola.  In this world crisis lesson, students investigate the history, civil wars and poor economy of Angola and discuss ways to turn the poor nation around....