University of Minnesota
Making an Immigrant Story
Budding historians research the trip immigrants to the United States take and the reasons behind their willingness to start over in a new place. Groups create their own video lessons outlining the story of human migration from departure...
iCivics
Mini-Lesson: Congressional Committees
How exactly do both houses of Congress come to a formal decision on an issue? Scholars research the use of congressional committees as part of the legislative process. By using current events to analyze information, they see the role...
iCivics
Mini-Lesson: Presidential Appointments
Can the president of the United States hire anyone he or she wants for any position in the executive branch? The answer may surprise scholars! After investigating the appointment process, historians, by themselves or in pairs, analyze...
Woodrow Wilson International Center For Scholars
The Fiscal Ship
Can young economists right the fiscal ship of the United States before it sinks? Learners use an interactive simulation to navigate the waters of the federal deficit in an effort to curb the federal deficit. They make active decisions of...
Council for Economic Education
Inflation Data: Is the Economy Healthy?
What stories do current trends tell about society, fashion, and the future? Scholars investigate the concept of inflation and its impact on the future of the American economy. They compile current economic data to determine the level of...
Mrs. Robbins' Social Studies Site
The Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade may not take up as much space in the history books as other events of the Cold War, but for the citizens of west Berlin in 1948—and the events to follow between the Soviet Union and the United Stattes—those 318 days...
Jersey Heritage
A Victorian Christmas
In many ways, Victorian Christmas is alive and well today! Class members read an informative passage to learn more about traditional Christmas gifts, decorations, crackers, and visits from Santa Claus in nineteenth-century England—as...
State Bar of Texas
Grutter v. Bollinger
A university decides not to allow a qualified scholar to enter its institution based on skin and gender—but this case is about a white female? The 2003 Supreme Court case Grutter v. Bollinger lays the foundation for open discussion and...
State Bar of Texas
Edgewood ISD v. Kirby
Have you ever wondered where the money comes from to pay for your school, teachers, supplies, and building? The 1989 Supreme Court case Edgewood ISD v. Kirby lays a framework for open discussion on the funding of public schools. Using a...
State Bar of Texas
Tinker v. Des Moines
Freedom of speech allows anyone, even those in school, to say and do what they feel—right? The 1969 Supreme Court case Tinker v. Des Moines serves as the backdrop for a study on First Amendment rights. Scholars use a short video along...
State Bar of Texas
Gideon v. Wainwright
How does a trial begin without a lawyer for the defendant? The 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright serves as the backdrop for the study of the rights of the accused. Scholars use a short video along with paired discussion and...
State Bar of Texas
Mapp v. Ohio
Do you have a search warrant? Scholars investigate the concept of illegal search and seizure through the eyes of the Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio. A short video clip along with paired group work opens discussion on the concept of how...
State Bar of Texas
Brown v. Board of Education
You walk each day over 20 blocks to school as a 9-year old because the color of your skin does not allow you to attend a school in your own neighborhood. Scholars use the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education to investigate...
State Bar of Texas
Mendez v. Westminster and Delgado v. Bastrop ISD
You arrive at school only to be told you have no place there. Scholars research the Supreme Court cases Mendez v. Westminster and Delgado v. Bastrop ISD, both dealing with school segregation. Two short video clips as well as small group...
Independence Hall Association
American History: From Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium
Need an online resource to supplement the paper textbook in your classroom? An all-encompassing website covers historical events throughout the last half of the second millenium, leading right up to the third. From the pre-Columbian...
Tidewater Community College
Assignment: The “Big Mac” Index
Young economists learn about the method of predicting changes in the exchange rate with Big Macs in an instructional video. After an understanding the index, learners write a post on a discussion board and respond to class members' posts...
Reading Through History
Tulsa Race Riots
How did the 1921 riots in Tulsa start? Pupils read information about the riots that occurred in Tulsa. Following the reading, they answer multiple-choice questions and guided reading questions to help them along the way.
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 47
The path to a more perfect union was rockier than most history books would lead you to believe. Young historians read “Antifederalist No. 47,” written by James Madison (under the pen name “Centinel”), which sharply criticizes the...
Reading Through History
Anti-Federalist Paper No. 3
Who were the Anti-Federalists and what do primary sources tell young historians about their beliefs? Learners read Paper No. 3 to understand their values in relation to government, such as their discussion on foreign policy and the pros...
Reading Through History
The Federalist Papers: Federalist Paper No. 51
How did Federalists feel about the federal government? Learners search for the answers in the Federalist Paper No. 51, which discusses the powers of the presidency. Then, they answer various questions to test for their comprehension of...
Judicial Learning Center
How to Create a Law
Laws affect everything from a scholar's favorite public park to rules in the classroom. Express the importance of lawmaking and teach how they relate to every facet of life with a resource on how a bill becomes a law.
Law Focused Education
Federalist — Anti-Federalist
Deciding how to rule a nation is no easy task. Scholars use an online quiz to test their knowledge of Federalist and Anti-Federalist positions, ideas on the Articles of Confederation, and finish with questions on the United States...
Law Focused Education
Objection! Your Honor Game
Objection! Scholars research the rules and regulations of trial law. Using a trial game simulation, class attorneys choose whether to object to questioning during various trial scenarios. Once objecting, they must also choose the...
Federal Judicial Center
Amistad and Dred Scott—a Comparative Activity
What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....