The Western Migration Lesson Plan: Socratic Seminar

High schoolers work in four different groups to examine the many factors that led to the American Civil War. They research an assigned topic, prepare questions, and finally engage in a class discussion using the Socratic Seminar method.

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

From stagecoach to railroad tracks, your class will discover how advancements in travel in the United States during the nineteenth century played an integral role in the industrialization and development of American society. The main...

Teach your English language learners about Christmas with a holiday lesson. Pupils read a brief informational text and complete a series of related activities that cover reading comprehension and vocabulary. They then discuss holidays...

Key in the struggle to gain the rights of democratic citizenship was the April 1963 arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil disobedience. To deepen their knowledge and understanding of events during the civil rights movement,...

Students examine the western migration in the United States in the early 19th century and identify the factors that caused the migration as well as how government adapted to meet the needs of an expanding country.

Photographs from the freedom movement in Selma, Alabama serve as the basis of two Socratic Seminars. Class members prepare for the seminars by closely observing the images, form a hypothesis, and use evidence from photo to support a...

Origin stories aren't just for comic books. Learners explore the Inca origin story and compare it to other familiar creation myths with an installment of the Native American Stories series. An easy-to-use lesson plan includes an...

A mysterious woman. A humble sharing of a meal. A generous gift. The universal value of generosity is threaded throughout a core Choctaw legend on why the tribe began to grow corn. Using part of the Native American Sacred Stories series,...

Students read and discuss Socrates's "Crito" and examine the arguments he made supporting his own death penalty. They consider the still-relevant debate between the rights of the individual and the rule of law.