Library of Virginia
Antebellum Freedom
From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...
Curated OER
Jazz Exploration: A Collage Project
Middle schoolers explore and experience jazz through collage. They listen to improvisational jazz, discuss the origins of jazz, then design and create a collage that shows jazz being played. This project will result in amazing works of...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Join, or Die: Reenacting the Albany Conference
The Albany Congress was one of the first attempts at colonial unity. While it was an effort against the French during the French and Indian War, it was one of the events leading up to the American Revolution. Scholars consider the...
American Institute of Physics
Optics and Anthony Johnson
Message sending has come a long way since the days of Morse code's dots and dashes. Young scientists study the research of optical physicist Anthony Johnson and his work in fiber optics, lasers, and the principle of total internal...
Curated OER
Underground Railroad Mini-Unit
Students watch a film about slavery. Students view a PowerPoint about the Underground Railroad and use various resources to make a timeline for the topic. Students research a historical figure from the Underground Railroad era and give a...
Curated OER
Antebellum Revivalism and Reform
A gold mine for American history teachers, this presentation cascades through the middle of the 19th century with the central themes of moral and social reform. Between the blossoming Mormon church, the tightening of the Temperance...
Crafting Freedom
Thomas Day's Letter to His Daughter, Mary Ann
Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....
K20 LEARN
Analyzing The "I Have A Dream" Speech
The famous words of Martin Luther King still resonate with scholars today. An enlightening lesson helps pupils examine the "I Have a Dream" speech in more depth and learn what impact it had on the civil rights movement. Young historians...
Shell Education
A Tribute To Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
How much do your learners know about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.? Set up an opportunity for kids to learn about Dr. King while practicing reading fluency with a reader's theater activity. The script is for four voices and includes...
Curated OER
South Carolina Jeopardy
One of the better PowerPoints I've come across is a "Jeopardy"-style game whose focus is South Carolina. Some excellent photographs and maps make the slides especially good. The "Final Jeopardy" clue is especially challenging. An...
Lee & Low Books
Classroom Guide for Sacred Mountain: Everest
The most famous climbers of Mount Everest could never have made it to the summit without the assistance of the local Sherpa. Christine Taylor-Butler's nonfiction children's book Sacred Mountain: Everest is the focus of an extensive...
National Woman's History Museum
The National Woman’s Party
Two parties led the women's suffrage movement. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was a moderate organization while the National Women's Party (NWP) was more militant. Young historians investigate why members of the...
Curated OER
1863: Shifting Tides
The victory at Gettysburg is forever immortalized in the famous speech given by Present Abraham Lincoln. Designed for secondary pupils, an interesting lesson plan explains how 1863 was a pivotal year for the Union. Academics explore the...
Curated OER
Delaware Challenge
In this Delaware instructional activity, students answer multiple choice questions about Delaware's famous people, places, and history. Students answer 10 questions.
Curated OER
Official Statements
Young scholars research the viewpoints of famous Americans, and then write commencement speeches reflecting these viewpoints to be delivered to high school graduates of today.
PBS
Malcolm X: Minister and Civil Rights Activist
Any study of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement would be incomplete without an examination of the life of Malcolm X. Class members view a short biographical video and analyze primary source documents to gain an understanding of the...
Curated OER
Sojourner Truth
Students research Sojourner Truth. In this African-American history lesson, students read the speech "Ain't I A Woman?" and brainstorm descriptive words that describe Sojourner Truth. Students discuss why her acts were considered...
Curated OER
Mark Twain- Teaching About American Authors
Mark Twain lesson plans can shed light on his famous works, like "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
Curated OER
Civil War Trading Cards
Students research important figures in the American Civil War. In this research skills lesson, students create trading cards about selected key figures in the war that list details about the figures and their accomplishments.
Curated OER
Early America: Jeopardy Game
Fifth graders can put their knowledge of early American life, the 13 colonies, and maps to the test when they play this Jeopardy game. The game covers terminology, famous people, and geography related to Colonial American times. Note:...
Curated OER
Women and the Law Ladies of the 80's: 1780's, 1880's, 1980's
Young scholars examine laws that have affected women in history: the 1780's, following the United States independence from England; the 1880's, the time of westward expansion, the silver/gold era, and the coming of the Industrial...
Curated OER
Interesting Facts about the Historic Trails
The Oregon trail is a very interesting part of American history. The class, having read or discussed the events leading to the westward expansion and settling of the Oregon Territory, can answer each of these fill-in-the-blank...
Soft Schools
Civil Rights
Informational text about the Civil Rights Movement challenges young historians to prove their reading comprehension skills with six multiple choice questions. After answers are submitted a new screen displays a score, answers—correct and...
Penguin Books
Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald
A reading of Tanya Lee Stones' biography of Ella Fitzgerald lets middle schoolers get up close and personal with the First Lady of Jazz. Stone recounts details of Fitzgerald's life from her early days through her experiences as a teenage...