Lesson Planet Curated
From Colonists to Revolutionaries
What was America like before it became the United States? Set the stage for the American Revolution with a collection of resources focused on Colonial America, including the cultural, political, and religious conflicts of the time.
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National Constitution Center: Hall Pass Videos
The National Constitution Center offers this collection of informative and entertaining videos intended to start conversations and develop critical thinking skills. Viewers learn about the rights granted by the constitution, about the...
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Who Was Really Our First President? A Lost Hero
Three lessons in the series “Lost Heroes of America” unit module send young historians on a quest to determine who was the first president of the United States. To find clues, scholars watch a short video that provides background on how...
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Ben Across the Curriculum: Middle School
Ben Across the Curriculum is a set of interdisciplinary lesson plans that highlight the five central themes in the international traveling exhibition Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World. These themes are Character Matters, B....
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Crash Course: Economics
Nudge Theory, Game Theory, and Oligopoly? A 35-part video Crash Course goes beyond supply and demand and provides young economists with everything they need to know about economics. Based on the 2015 AP Economics guidelines, the...
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Colonial America and Revolution
The first series of lessons in this unit module examines George Washington's contributions to the Revolutionary War and as the first president of the United States. Scholars also consider Washington as a slaveholder and discuss attitudes...
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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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Ben Across the Curriculum: Elementary School
Benjamin Franklin, statesman, inventor, President is the subject of a collection targeting young historians. The interdisciplinary lesson plans were originally designed to accompany the 2018 international traveling exhibition, “Benjamin...
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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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The Price of Freedom: Americans at War Printable Exhibition
The Price of Freedom: Americans at War is a collection of 13 resources from a printable exhibition curated by the Smithsonian Museum of American History. Each resource begins with a summary and a table of contents. The resources...
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Changes in a Democratic Society
Democracies are not static. To learn more about how the United States form of democratic government has changed over time, class members examine primary and secondary sources, including works of art, and reflect on what these sources...