Making Meaning from the Past

How much does the environment affect how and what man creates? Children explore the effect of the environment on primitive man as they research raw materials from a specific location. They use their findings to write a short essay about...

As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...

Making decisions can be very difficult. Show your class one way to evaluate choices with this lesson, which is inspired by the book Glo Goes Shopping. Learners practicing using a decision-making grid with the content of the story and a...

Make a study of producers and consumers with an updated version of the classic story The Little Red Hen (this one is called The Little Red Hen Makes a Pizza). After reading and discussing the story and terms, learners practice being...

Explore the causes and effects of the Mexican-American War with this fantastic resource, a two-week unit of eight lessons on such topics as Manifest Destiny, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and the annexation of Texas. The unit...

3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them, are...

What would future archeologists learn from your scholars' personal belongings? Have them bring in a box of "primary sources" from their home. Discuss the difference between observations and inference, using some of your own items to...

How does Harriet Tubman embody the characteristics of a hero? Young historians analyze primary sources and read excerpts from Harriet Tubman's biography to identify her character traits. 

The big idea for this lesson is that the past enriches our present and future. Learners explore the origin of the Olympic Games and how one man took an event from the past and reinvented it for modern times. They compare and contrast the...

Skeletons may not be able to speak, but they can still tell us a lot. High schoolers watch a short video about the ways biological anthropologists can use a skeleton's bone structure to determine age, gender, place of birth, and social...