Carolina K-12
Turn of the Century Immigration
In an engaging simulation, class members imagine immigrating to the United States in the late nineteenth century and arriving at Ellis Island. They then write creative journal entries about their experience and chart their journeys.
Carolina K-12
What Is the American Dream?
How do you describe the American Dream? What motivates others to immigrate to the United States, and why do some groups have trouble attaining the American Dream? Your learners will consider these questions as they explore figurative...
National Endowment for the Humanities
“Every Day We Get More Illegal” by Juan Felipe Herrera
A study of Jan Felipe Herrera's poem "Every Day We Get More Illegal" opens the door for a discussion on immigration. To begin, class members examine the photograph "Desert Survival," record their observations of the image, and then...
Teaching Tolerance
Mass Incarceration as a Form of Racialized Social Control
Mass incarceration: A result of a tough stance on crime or racial discrimination, you decide. Academics explore the history and reasons behind mass incarcerations in the United States and its impact on ethnic communities. The...
Polk Bros Foundation
Chicago: Choices and Changes
Chicago, a city that is ever changing. A thought-provoking lesson, geared toward third-grade social studies, explains how the city of Chicago has changed over time. It discusses important leaders to the founding of the city, like Daniel...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2011
Those who lived during the Great Depression could clearly draw a line between the roaring 1920s and the desolation of the following decade. Class members examine these two periods and compare them using an essay question prompt and...
California Department of Education
What’s A Hot Job?
What jobs are the next best thing? Curious career scholars explore their options in lesson three of a five-part series. Pupils research job trends and labor statistics before discussing the factors that influence occupation trends.
University of the Desert
Fact and Opinion within the Media
How can the media foster cultural misunderstandings? These activities encourage learners to distinguish between fact and opinion in the media
American Psychological Association
How Psychology Benefits Society
How do people form their opinions about certain social issues? Scholars research current global issues to find out how psychology plays a role in swaying thoughts. Using blogs, writings, and presentations, they uncover why people think...
Curated OER
A New Society Project
Ninth graders examine the social and political movements of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. In this American history lesson, 9th graders work in groups to form their own society and laws. Students make a diagram of their town and...
Curated OER
American Society Since 1970 (1)
In this online interactive American history worksheet, students answer 13 multiple choice questions regarding 1970's American society. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
The Poet's Message-"The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes
High schoolers analyze the poem, "The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes to gain a greater experience of how poets use language to create meaning, influence thinking and thus become pioneers of change in American society. They work on...
Curated OER
Bigger Than Life, But Not Necessarily Better
Young scholars evaluate images of health in American society, then students examine where one develops his or her views about health.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Meet Young Immigrants
Interesting stories of immigration in the 21st century. Read the accounts of three young girls and their families as they start their lives over in America.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Eyes on the Prize: Civil Rights Today, 2006
PBS American Experience website documentary on race relations and the current struggles for equality. Site offers primary and secondary resources and links to related material.
Other
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
MALDEF offers many resources to the Mexican American community. Here anyone can learn about public policy, have access to laws regarding citizenship and equal access, and read news and events regarding the Mexican American community.
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution: Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon
The Smithsonian Institute provides a teacher's guide full of lessons to accompany its traveling exhibition "Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon". This exhibit explores the roles of barns in American society both past and future.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Global America
Comprehensive teaching unit on globalization's influences on the political and social structure of America at the turn of the twenty-first century. Includes a look at how immigration has affected a changing America. Contains video and...
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: The Immigration Debate
An excellent in-depth report from NPR that examines immigration issues in the United States today and its affect on America's economy. Delves into the debate Congress is having over proposed new immigration law.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us
Online home of the sixteen-part PBS series on American history, A History of US is a storehouse of information and resources to enrich any study of America. Includes an interactive timeline, an image browser, games, quizzes, first-person...
Choices Program, Brown University
Choices: Black Lives Matter: Continuing the Civil Rights Movement
Learning module with multi-media resources, including interactive timeline, video, photos and articles, from which students can explore the current Black Lives Matter movement and make connections to activism of the past and the role of...
US Census Bureau
U.s. Census Bureau: Gazetteer Files
The U.S. Gazetteer Files provide a listing of all geographic areas for selected geographic area types. The files include geographic identifier codes, names, area measurements, and representative latitude and longitude coordinates. There...
Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian American Art Museum: Scenes of American Life
A stunning array of art from the Smithsonian American Art Museum depicting everyday life and work in America from American masters such as Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, and Paul Cadmus. Use the right navigation to click through over 60...
Other
Museum of Pop Culture
The Museum of Pop Culture (formerly the Science Fiction Museum) is located in Seattle, Washington, and this site provides information on the exhibits connected with the museum and information on educational outlets at the museum.