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Reconstruction: America After the Civil War
Excerpts from Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, Henry Louis Gates Jr.’s documentary series provide young historians with insight into the struggles the country faced in the years after the Civil war. Viewers learn about the...
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The Constitutional Convention of 1787
By 1786, it became apparent to many American founders that there were serious problems with the Articles of Confederation. A three-lesson unit focuses on the debates that lead to the 1787 Constitution Convention, as well as the...
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Alexis de Tocqueville on the Tyranny of the Majority
The writings of a French diplomat and political philosopher, Alexis de Tocqueville, offer young scholars much to think about. In the three-lesson unit, class members examine Tocqueville’s arguments about the power of the majority and...
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The Diplomacy Challenge
A seven-lesson unit module offers high schoolers an opportunity to investigate the role diplomats play in an interconnected world. Acting as Early Modern era (1450-1750) diplomats, groups negotiate treaties to further the interests of...
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Freedom Is Coming: Songs of Freedom, Resistance, and the Underground Railroad
Young historians examine song lyrics and slave narratives to uncover the realities of life for enslaved people. The six-lesson unit looks at the way enslaved people used music to provide hope, as well as to fight against oppression....
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The Reconstruction Era and The Fragility of Democracy
Seven lessons examine the Reconstruction Era that followed the United States Civil War. The series of detailed lessons provide background information on the era, teaching strategies, videos, and primary source materials.
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A President's Vision
A seven-resource curriculum set presents primary source materials that permits young historians to examine the programs and initiatives advanced by Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt,...
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A President's Vision: Thomas Jefferson
Former president, Thomas Jefferson, is the focus of seven lessons that challenge pupils to analyze primary source documents associated with his presidency. Pupils perform a close reading of several messages to Congress and an excerpt of...
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A President's Vision: Theodore Roosevelt
Teach young historians how to analyze primary source documents, including speeches and editorial cartoons with a collection of worksheets. The six resources in this collection focus on documents associated with the presidency of Theodore...
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A President's Vision: Ronald Reagan
The programs of Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, are the focus of seven worksheets that teach young historians how to analyze primary source documents—including a poster, excerpts from speeches, and political...
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A President's Vision: Lyndon B. Johnson
The 1964 Civil Rights Act, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 are all statues pushed by Lyndon Baines Johnson. Presdient Johnson also established programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start. Young...
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Learn About the Dreyfus Affair
Innocent man or traitor to France? That is the question addressed in a five-lesson unit that looks at multiple interpretations of the Dreyfus Affair. As young historians examine primary sources, they also consider the bias that history...
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Center for Civic Education: Black History Month
Six lesson plans in the Black History Month collection introduce middle and high schoolers to nonviolent actions as a means to resist oppression and encourage reform. Lessons look at the Children’s March, music, and citizenship schools...
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Ben Across the Curriculum: High School
Benjamin Franklin: The man, the scientist, the inventor, the statesman, the legend. A 10-lesson collection introduces high schoolers to the many facets of Franklin’s character. Although developed for the International Traveling...
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History Blueprint: The Civil War
Northerners, Southerners, and abolitionists all had a different perspective on the American Civil War. To understand these different points of view, class members analyze primary documents including speeches by Abraham Lincoln, the...
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The American War for Independence
Imagine the chances of a ragtag militia taking on the disciplined army and the majestic navy of the world’s largest empire. What were the colonialists thinking and what were their chances of success? Using primary source documents and an...
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C-SPAN Classroom: Middle School Civics
Introduce middle schoolers to the roles and powers of the three branches of the United States government, with the 21 resources in the C-SPAN Civics collection. Sorted into the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial...
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2020 Election Lesson Plans
With all the hyperbole of an election year, it can be difficult to find the facts, just the facts about candidates, issues, and ballot measures. Young political scientists, with the help of 21 resources from a nonpartisan, information...
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The Crisis of American Diplomacy, 1793–1808
The tangled web of the United States’ diplomatic alliances and foreign policy during the French Revolution comes under scrutiny in a three-resource collection. Young historians examine how Great Britain and France challenged both the...
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American Battle Monuments Commission Interactives
A collection of 14 resources celebrate the men and women who served in the U.S. Armed Forces overseas during World War I and World War II. Young historians use Interactive timelines to follow events as they unfolded and maps to track...
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Revolution '67
Like many US cities in the 1960s, Newark, New Jersey was the site of conflicts, protests, and civil disobedience. A two-lesson case study of events there in 1967 permits middle schoolers to gain insight into the civil rights era and the...
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The Spanish-American War
If you are looking for curriculum on the Spanish-American War, you just hit the jackpot! Find three options for teaching either a one, three, or five-day lessons. Learners consider why the United States invaded Cuba, and use primary...