Our Link To The Past

Empty rhetoric in Washington timelessly inspires political cartoons. Examine this concept through an analysis handout, which features a cartoon by Pat Oliphant (archived work is linked for possible extension activities). Although this...

Explore the inventions of the past with a project on ancient tools. After reading an article about hunting during the Archaic period, the Late Prehistoric period, and the Historic period, kids fill in a cause-and-effect chart about the...

Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final lesson in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings made of Wall...

Students, in small groups, simulate an ancient civilization and the art they created, another group represents vandals, and the final group represents archaeologists who try to figure out what life was like for the "ancient peoples". ...

Examine the evolution of various species of hominids from their earliest existence approximately 4.5 million years ago to today. In small groups, learners research one of the ten stages of hominid evolution and then create a poster and...

Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...

Grab your feathers and your hat! And perhaps some macaroni! It's time to investigate the evolution of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Groups do a close reading of sheet music covers, lyrics, and even YouTube videos to see how this political song...

Students analyze artifacts from an early society to determine information relating to daily life in that society. They consider which artifacts from our society would be most valuable to future archeologists.

Middle schoolers find out about the social changes that caused the collapse of important ancient civilizations in Central America, Mesopotamia, the southwestern United States, and western Africa.

Students examine archaeological discoveries. In this learning about the past lesson, students view a "Magic School Bus" video, discuss the role of an archeologist, and complete a graphic organizer. Students discuss a variety of artifacts...