Curated OER
Archeological Finds
Learners explore archeology and it contributions to human history. They write a magazine article describing the discovery of a dig.
Curated OER
Planning A Railroad Online Lesson
Students plan a route across Donner Summit using topographical maps in order to understand the challenges involved in constructing the railroad in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. For this history lesson, students first discover how to read...
Curated OER
How Do We Balance Environmental Conservation with Human Needs?
Learners role play a meeting between conservation biologists and local representatives who want to advance the livelihood of local population. In this history instructional activity, students research the necessities and conservation...
Curated OER
refugees From Vietnam and Cambodia
Tenth graders explore the massive immigration from Vietnam and Cambodia. In this World History lesson, 10th graders examine the crisis that led to this immigration. Students participate in a debate on whether the United States owes a...
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students use art to analyze a period in history. For this lesson about the effect of art on history, students study many different pieces of photography by Dorothea Lange. Students will observe photographs from certain time periods and...
Curated OER
The See Family
Third graders examine photographs as primary source documents. Students are broken into groups and are given photographs of the See Family.
Curated OER
Call to Arms: A Service Project
Sick of selling candy and washing cars? How about hosting a Digital Day or a Learning Lunch? The suggestions here make fund raising fun and rewarding. Raise money to preserve important maps and other primary source documents.
TPS Journal
Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event.
Museum of Tolerance
The Price of Personal Responsibility
A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...
Los Angeles Unified School District
River Systems
Scholars must react to the ecosystems of a river. They use inquiry-based learning along with maps and visuals to better understand the impact of rivers on everyday life. To finish, they create final written projects and presentations.
Curated OER
Debating the bomb
Students research how the development of the atomic bomb affected people in World War II. In this American History instructional activity, students participate in a debate about the bombs use. Students investigate how it has affected...
Curated OER
Documents of Natural Rights: The Declaration of Independence and The Plan of Delano
Eighth graders analyze the philosophy of government in the Declaration of Independence. As a class, they discuss how this philosophy has caused other revolutions in history and how well it supports our natural rights. In groups, they...
Curated OER
Flawed Democracies
Ninth graders examine the struggle for equal opportunity. In this American Government lesson, 9th graders create a timeline outlining various groups' struggles for equal opportunity. Students research and construct a timeline to...
Curated OER
Sculpting a Modern Hero
Sixth graders examine the sculpture of the Greek hero Herakles (Hercules). In this Ancient History lesson, 6th graders discuss how heroes were depicted and what it meant to be a hero in ancient Greece. Students create a clay sculpture...
Museum of Tolerance
My Experience with Injustice
As part of their preparation for a visit to the Museum of Tolerance, individuals are asked to write about a time when they witnessed or experienced unjust, biased, or prejudicial treatment. A great way for writers to make a personal...
Museum of Tolerance
Influence of Media
We are bombarded with media images expressly designed to influence viewers. Learning how to analyze the intended effects of these images is essential and the focus of an activity that asks viewers to use the provided questions to guide...
Curated OER
Patriotic Slaves
Eleventh graders listen to a song and read the lyrics and discuss what patriotism means to them. After viewing pictures of important patriots throughout history, they describe their contribution to society. They write in their journals...
Curated OER
Theatre Lesson Plan - Pantomime
Second graders study heroes, inventors, and explorers and role-play as one of the people. In this theatre and history lesson plan, 2nd graders review the people and their accomplishments using a Promethean flipchart. Students then act...
Curated OER
Celebration and Satire
Students compare and contrast different perspectives of the French Revolution. In this visual arts lesson, students discuss the use of satire and caricature in history and create satirical cartoons based on contemporary issues.
Curated OER
Flawed Democracies, Human Rights
Students investigate the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In this U.S. History activity, students discover the Japanese internment camps and why our government chose to relocate the Japanese. Students examine photographs from the era and their...
Curated OER
Molly Pitcher -- "Out of Many, One"
Students research, brainstorm and analyze the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. They critique a piece of artwork depicting a scene from the Revolutionary War. Each major battle is plotted on a map to show a visual...
Curated OER
About Life: The Photographs of Dorothea Lange Going to the Promised Land
To better understand the migrant experience during the Great Depression, pupils analyze two primary resources: photographs by Dorothea Lange and a U.S. Map that shows the Dust Bowl. They compare and contrast Lange's images to Steinbeck's...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Immigration Enforcement Raids
Class groups take on the role of advisors to the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Policy & Planning of ICE. Their charge is to prepare a report for the secretary on the effectiveness of enforcement actions of the ICE in stemming...