It's Time to Put Our Money Where Our Mouths Are

Here is a fascintating instructional activity which relates how the motto "In God We Trust" came to appear on all US currency. It turns out that a man from Arkansas came up with the idea and petioned his congressman and President...

What does it mean to "be of good character"? What are the qualities that define such a person? The 1825 Colonization Law of Coahuila y Texas required that all new immigrants into Mexican Texas present documentation that they were of good...

Students discover people long ago hand-carried letters to recipients, to keep the letters private, they folded the letter and put a spot of melted red wax over the edges. They make their own seal from a tiny ball of Crayola Air-Dry Clay,...

Explore the discrepancies in Florida's vote counting process in 2000 and 2002 with this New York Times reading lesson. Middle schoolers study the viewpoints presented in informational text, paying attention to how word choice can...

The PBS film, Bronx Princess, launches a study of complex parent-child relationships. Using the provided reading guide, viewers respond to clips from the film and compare Rocky and Yaa’s relationship to other parent-child relationships....

Students acquire a pen pal in a foreign country and write letters at least twice a month throughout the year to exchange with them. At the end of the year, they write an essay that compares one important difference and one important...

Revive the art of letter writing with a project that enables class members to craft their own, personalized stationary. Young scholars add their name, address, and country to three different templates that features images of mythic...

Whether recognized or not, extraordinary women were integral to breaking gender barriers and putting Americans into space. For Women's History Month, explore a series of video clips and biographical information that profile these...

Middle schoolers put themselves in the shoes of American Civil War soldiers. In this Civil War instructional activity, students compose letters to their families from the the perspective of soldiers in the war. 

Students examine the need for a national library. In this Library of Congress lesson, students analyze primary sources to investigate the persuasive techniques that Thomas Jefferson used in a letter meant to show his support of the...