Curated OER
Friar Margil and the Spanish Missions
Students examine the concepts of diversity and assimilation. They identify the validity of sources and recognize bias, and create original illustrations from the students' point of view which show the impact of the Spanish friars on the...
Center Science Education
Weather in the News
Tornadoes, blizzards, and hurricanes, oh my! In this activity, meteorology majors compare stories of historical storms written by two or more different sources. As a result, they understand how the media portrays such catastrophes and...
Curated OER
Slavery: Acts of Resistance
Historical accounts of various events have proven to differ depending on the point of view of the person documenting the event. Learners read and analyze two first person accounts of acts of slave resistance seen at a southern...
Curated OER
Remembrance of Things Past
Engage critical and social thinking by exploring the value of language and word choice. The class considers the article "The Silence of the Historic Present" and analyzes several presidential speeches. They engage in class discussion,...
Curated OER
Major Events Leading to the American Revolution
Students explore the causes of the American Revolution. In this taxation without representation lesson plan, students analyze political cartoons in order to gain an understanding of the efforts of the colonists to resolve conflict with...
Curated OER
Anne Frank: One of Hundreds of Thousands
Middle schoolers conduct research to put Anne Frank's diary into historical context. They use maps, timelines, essays and websites to examine the early victories of the German army, paying special attention to the Netherlands and...
Curated OER
Secrets of the Mummies
How did the ancient people of Egypt preserve their dead so well that their bodies are still recognizable today? Learn the painstakingly complex process they used for preservation. Young scholars read and summarize a narrative detailing...
US Holocaust Museum
Time Capsule in a Milk Can
Imagine dumping out a milk can and finding letters from one of the darkest moments in history! Scholars use Holocaust Reading Passages and research to discover how people recorded and hid history during the events of World War II. They...
Annenberg Foundation
Modernist Portraits
How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...
Curated OER
Nationalism in North Africa and the Middle East
Africa and the Middle East are the focus of this Social Studies PowerPoint. After viewing many slides that are packed with historical facts, viewers answer questions such as, "How was the struggle for independence in Algeria different...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Issues of Asylum in the U.S.
Who gets to come to the United States? Examine cases of individuals seeking asylum with an informative reading passage that includes examples, statistics, and representations of public opinion regarding asylum. Groups then go on to...
Curated OER
The Armenian Genocide: The American Ambassador in Constantinople
Students analyze America's reaction to the Armenian Genocide. They write a journal response, read and discuss text, compare/contrast reactions around the world to the Armenian Genocide and the genocide in Rwanda, and write an essay.
Curated OER
On the Road with Marco Polo: Homecoming
Students role play as Marco Polo to detail his travels. They include the terrains, foods, religions, people and cultures that were encountered. They write a journal entry as if they were Marco Polo detailing one aspect of his travels.
Population Connection
Meeting Human Needs
How to meet the needs of people around the globe—a question many ask. The fifth in a six-part series about human population and its effects on the globe, the eye-opening lesson includes discussion, a homework activity, and an in-class...
Smithsonian Institution
Mary Henry: Journal/Diary Writing
A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...
Curated OER
How Hard Were the Times? Investigating the Meaning and Significance of the Great Depression
Students examine causes and effects of Great Depression and its significance on twentieth-century life, analyze value of various types of historical information, specifically primary sources, and relate events, issues, problems, and...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Those "Other Rights:" The Constitution and Slavery
Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to or...
Curated OER
Father Knows Best
Learners recognize that history describes events and people of other times and places identifying George Washington by historical account. They describe everyday life in the present and in the past and begin to recognize that things...
Curated OER
The Chinese Massacre of 1871
Students discover the events that led to the migration to California for the Chinese people. They examine the effects that a cultural background has on specific historical events with respect to the establishment of a people.
Western Illinois University
Holocaust Unit Plan
Would it have been you? Scholars investigate the horrors of the Holocaust during World War II. They view, interpret, and analyze the video The Holocaust to gain insight into who exactly was impacted by the events Europe. They then...
Center for History Education
Should the Colonists Have Revolted Against Great Britain?
Should the Americans have taken the plunge and revolted against Great Britain? Using documents, including the famed Common Sense and a Loyalist response, pupils conduct a lengthy investigation of the question. The interesting resource...
Curated OER
Indian Removal
Fourth graders read The Trail of Tears and create a timeline to show the sequence of events that effected the Native American tribes during Andrew Jackson's presidency. In this Native American lesson plan, 4th graders discuss the...
Software MacKiev
WORLD BOOK - This Day in History for iPad
A simple but useful reference app, this resource provides short entries about historic leaders, entertainers, writers, inventors, and events of the past.
Curated OER
The Impact of History: A Conversation with a Parent
Seventh graders interview parents about certain historical events. In this historical interview lesson, 7th graders create a web of events about historical events. Students interview their parents or grandparents about the event and...