Curated OER
Cold War into Guerilla War
Students examine the Cold War and the War on Terror. In this American history lesson plan, students research print and nonprint resources regarding both wars. Student compare the experiences of youth at the time so both the Cold War and...
Curated OER
Dinosaur History (Part 4)
Students read the scripture that cooresponds with this lesson on dinosaurs. Using the text, they determine the types of animals on the ark with Noah. They identify the factors necessary for fossil formation and discuss how the ark...
Curated OER
Tracing Our Own Family Pilgrimages
Students observe a world map and are introduced to vocabulary like: cities, continents, rivers, lakes, and oceans. They discuss the names of the cities they live in and locate them on the map; then using a colored pushpin indicate: the...
Curated OER
Nepal in the Family
Students consider the implications of travel to politically unstable regions. They establish criteria to determine risks and benefits and analyze the political unrest in Nepal following recent murders in the royal family.
Curated OER
Family Picture Quilt
Learners explore family backgrounds and traditions while discussing how memories are preserved. In this patchwork quilt activity, students create a keepsake by compiling pictures, drawings, and magazine clippings of things that are...
Curated OER
NCTA Lesson Plan on Japan
Students investigate a controversial issue of discrimination based upon a caste system in Japan. It is compared to India and they use research methods to make discoveries concerning the history and similarities to the two systems.
National Endowment for the Humanities
“Twelve Years a Slave”: Analyzing Slave Narratives
Readers of Solomon Northup's brutally frank slave narrative Twelve Years a Slave examine passages that support the argument that slavery "undermined and corrupted" the institution of marriage. Background information is provided by a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
On This Day With Lewis and Clark
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...
Curated OER
Games Children Play
Help your middle schoolers recognize the similarities and differences between the games they play and those played by pioneer children. Using the Internet, they research a game of their choice and discover how it has evolved over time....
Curated OER
Planning to Parent: Am I Qualified?
In small groups, teens take on different roles to discuss the qualifications for parenthood. An instruction sheet for group discussion is provided, as well as homework worksheets. Throughout these exercises, young adults take the time to...
Curated OER
Susan B. Anthony Day
The history of women's suffrage and Susan B. Anthony are examined in this social studies instructional activity. Third and fourth graders participate in a simulation of a vote, develop slogans for women's suffrage, complete a KWL chart,...
Curated OER
Learning From the Past
Coming up on the Olympics? Be sure your middle schoolers understand the dynamic and ancient history of this global tradition. They begin by recalling traditions parents have passed down, considering their relevance and ways they might be...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Military Conscription in World War I: Alabamians Express Their Opinions
If called, would you go? Should the US government have the power to impose a draft during any war? The Selective Service Act of 1917 (aka the Conscription Act of 1917) authorized the drafting of men into the military for only the second...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
A Worse Death: War or Flu?
In a instructional activity that integrates history and mathematics, class members create graphs that compare military death statistics from World War I with those that resulted from the influenza pandemic of 1918.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Beyond Birmingham, Summer 1963
The assassination of Medgar Evers. The integration of the University of Alabama. The March on Washington. The "I Have a Dream" speech. Created by the Alabama History Education Initiative, this resource examines how the events that...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Conflict in Alabama in the 1830s: Native Americans, Settlers, and Government
To better understand the Indian Removal Act of 1830, class members examine primary source documents including letters written by Alabama governors and the Cherokee chiefs. The lesson is part of a unit on the expansion of the United...
Curated OER
Learning Through Autobiographical Situations
A special education classroom examines a variety of literature from Latin American authors. In groups, they read excerpts from many autobiographies and compare them with their own life. After writing their own autobiographies, they...
Curated OER
African American Women Before and After the Civil War: Slavery and Freedom
Students listen to data on African American women in Texas before the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students compare and contrast the lives of slave and free women, and discuss case studies, locating areas on a map. Students...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's New South Era
The industrialization and urbanization of Alabama during the New South era (1865-1914) is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to use primary source documents to examine the impact of industrialization on Alabama workers and...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama's Secession in 1861: Embraced with Joy and Great Confidence. Why?
From December 20, 1860 to June 8, 1861, eleven states seceded from the Union. Alabama seceded on January 11, 1861. Why did so many white Alabamians want to secede? Why did they believe the South could win the war? These are the essential...
Smithsonian Institution
Autobiography through Objects
Show youngsters how objects can tell a story! Here your class will learn about Cuban salsa dancer Celia Cruz by analyzing pictures of her dress, her shoes, and her marriage certificate. After describing Cruz's items and imagining what...
Curated OER
Celebrate With Silhouettes
Students explore history of silhouettes, and help create keepsake silhouettes, frame them, or use them to make a special Mother's Day card.
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Infectious Diseases Classroom Activity
Here is a different approach: emerging epidemiologists first go home to interview family on the topic of infectious disease. Then they come to class and view a video and PowerPoint that explore how climate change may increase the...
Curated OER
Huichol Yarn Painting
Young artists of many ages apply yarn painting techniques in combining their ideas and their art. After viewing actual examples of yarn paintings created by the Huichol people, learners choose an important scene from their own lives...