Curated OER
Causes of America's Great Depression
High schoolers identify principal causes of the Great Depression. They analyze causes including a decline in worldwide trade, the stock market crash, and bank failures and explain the legacy of the Depression in American society.
DocsTeach
Twelve Years a Slave
It's difficult to truly grasp the effects of slavery. Young historians use historical analysis to understand the struggle of slavery on African Americans. The resource provides text from the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave to help...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Audacity of a Vote: Susan B. Anthony’s Arrest
Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...
American Chemical Society
Norbert Rillieux, Thermodynamics and Chemical Engineering
The man who invented the earliest examples of chemical engineering was an American-born, French-educated, free man of color before the Civil War, and went on to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. There is something of interest for almost...
Arizona Department of Education
American History Impact of the Women’s Movement
Take a look at important images that depict the women's suffrage movement, the support for the Equal Rights Amendment, and wage equity for women over the last two centuries. As class members work through a instructional activity on...
National Constitution Center
Interactive Constitution
Did you know there are seven Articles and 27 Amendments to the US Constitution? Explore each and every one of them, including the Bill of Rights and other rights around the world, in a super neat US Constitution interactive.
Curated OER
Immigration Illumination Project Curriculum Materials
Gain an understanding of the complex topic of immigration with a collection of resources. Class members engage in a series of activities designed to give them insight into the factors that influence immigration policies and the effects...
Judicial Learning Center
Law and the Rule of Law
We hear a lot about the importance of the rule of law, but most people do not really know what those words mean. The lesson is a webpage that defines the rule of law, explains why it is important in a democratic society and provides...
Missouri Department of Elementary
How I Act Is Who I Am
A lesson centers itself around the topic of family roles. A whole-class discussion uses puppets and posters to go in-depth into the following character traits; caring, responsibility, respect, and cooperation. The discussion closes with...
PBS
Alexander Graham Bell: Scientist, Inventor, and Teacher
Hello? Hello? Scholars investigate the impact Alexander Graham Bell's telephone had on the American landscape. Using drawings, video clips, and primary sources, the mind of the inventor comes to light as pupils dream of new inventions to...
Rice University
U.S. History
How did the discovery of the Americas change the world? A US history textbook covers topics such as the Americas, changes in European society, and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Young academics also complete the assessment included in...
DocsTeach
Exploring America's Diversity: Luther Powell (Beginner)
Luther Powell immigrated to the United States to live the American dream—and create a better life for his son, four-star general Colin Powell. Elementary academics look at documents, such as, ship records to understand the immigration...
Voices of a People's History
Voices in The Classroom
Everyone's perspective of the past is different. A thought-provoking unit gives young academics the opportunity to explore their perspectives on history and their neighborhoods. Based on the work of Howard Zinn, each lesson explores...
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...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
The Junto Meets Again
Out of the classroom and into the streets! With Ben Franklin’s Junto society as inspiration, learners develop their ideas for improving their communities and put them into action. After analyzing meeting notes to discover what the Junto...
American Chemical Society
Does Temperature Affect Dissolving?
When making sweet tea, why do people dissolve the sugar in hot tea instead of cold tea? The class discusses the previous lab and builds upon it. Working in groups, they design an experiment to determine how temperature affects the...
California Department of Education
Safe at Work
From minimum wage to minimizing injuries, young workers need to know their rights! The sixth and final instructional activity in a series of college and career readiness activities gets eighth graders thinking about safety and labor laws.
Curated OER
Smogasbord
When your environmental or earth science class is studying air pollution, you will want to take the time to go over this resource. Pupils peruse the history of air pollution regulations and examine outstanding diagrams of what...
California Historical Society
Understanding California
Here is a beautiful handout through which learners can explore the history of California, from the earliest Europeans to visit the Golden State up through its experiences during the Great Depression and position in the modern world.
California Department of Education
Learning the Skills to Pay the Bills
Is CTE the right choice for me? Introduce the class to career and technical education through an exploratory lesson, fourth in a series of six career readiness activities. After an introductory video, scholars determine possible careers...
California Department of Education
Workplace Skills
What skills do employers look for in potential employees? Introduce scholars to the skills that pay the bills during the second of six career and college readiness lesson plans. Once they have defined critical 21st-century skills, groups...
California Department of Education
Preparing for My Future
Your future is what you make it! Eighth graders launch their career searches in the first of six career and college readiness lessons. Scholars research to discover their extracurricular options both in and out of school, then locate...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Conflict Mediation – Part 1: Getting Ready
Two scholars walk into a room arguing, what is happening? Peers observe the two actors in preparation for a whole-class discussion about conflict. Learners establish a conflict, name the three approaches—passive, aggressive, and...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Gold
Cell phones are likely made of gold—at least part of them! An interesting lesson explains the conventional and not-so-conventional uses of the popular element gold. From the Inca empire to modern-day technology, learners discover gold...