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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Non-Importation Movement

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Boycott for free trade! An eye-opening lesson plan explores the non-importation movement created by American colonists in response to the Stamp and Sugar Acts. Scholars specifically look at the impact the boycott had on colonial women...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Brown v. the Board of Education: Success or Failure?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Desegregation does not mean equality. An eye-opening lesson plan focuses on the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision to end school segregation. Scholars review a series of political cartoons to understand how the public...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Untold Story: The Black Struggle for Freedom during the Revolutionary War in Maryland

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The American Revolution brought freedom to select groups and ignored others. An enlightening resource highlights the struggle of African Americans during the American Revolution and their efforts to escape slavery. Scholars analyze...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Borders with the World: Mexican-American War and U.S. Southern Borderlands

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
The Mexican-American War created social borders—not just physical ones. Scholars learn about the effects of the Mexican-American War on the people living in the borderlands using text excerpts, maps, and partnered activities. Academics...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

American Indian Voting Rights through History

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Vote ... it's your right! An enlightening lesson examines the history of voting rights for Native Americans. Leaners analyze primary documents and place them in chronological order. Academics also create a list of other events that took...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Comprehension: Context Clues

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders use context clues to help them understand unknown words. In this context clues lesson, 5th graders practice identifying context clues on a worksheet, then work with a peer to write their own story. Stories are peer edited...
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Lesson Plan
2
2
National Endowment for the Humanities

Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who is on that Bill? Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students, who are adult learners, participate in an Internet scavenger hunt in order to assimilate information about the biography of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalist Papers. They look at the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critical Ways of Seeing The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers complete a unit of lessons examining the cultural context of the novel, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' They write a critique of the novel, compare/contrast two published critiques, and explore various websites.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

America's History in the Making: Classroom Applications One

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...
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Activity
Orlando Shakes

Julius Caesar: Study Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What makes a good leader? Use the curriculum guide for William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar to help scholars answer that question. Pupils research the play's historical context and other background information before engaging in...
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Lesson Plan
Urbana School District

Knocking Down Fences

For Teachers 3rd
After reading The Other Side and guiding children through a picture walk, third graders investigate evidence of the civil rights movement. In the mini unit, 3rd graders analyze photographs of the past and make connections between...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Investigating the Harlem Renaissance

For Teachers 11th - 12th
The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Preamble to the Constitution: How Do You Make a More Perfect Union?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners analyze the Preamble of the Constitution and identify the historical context that led to its wording. They, in groups, interpret phrases from the Preamble, examine relevant court cases and create illustrations for their portion...
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Lesson Plan
AMCO

Clay Face Masks

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Let your class explore their sculpting skills with a instructional activity on making clay masks. Each step in the process is fully described alongside a helpful image. Kids of any ages will be able to construct fantastic representations...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Beyond Vietnam

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-lesson unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications of King's stance. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bambara's The Lesson

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders read the short story The Lesson. They research the socio-economic and cultural context of the story and author. They examine the author's point of view. They analyze the first person narration in the story. They rewrite...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
American Chemical Society

Joseph Priestley, Discoverer of Oxygen

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Do you want to hear a joke about nitrogen and oxygen? NO. We all know there is oxygen in the air and that plants produce oxygen, but how was it discovered? Scholars read a handout, answer questions, and analyze material in the...
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Unit Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
How do barns serve as a window to a community's past? Here are a series of lessons on the symbolism and historical context of barns throughout American history. Topics include community-building, in-depth primary and secondary source...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Center for Civic Education

The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
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Lesson Plan
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

Lesson 3: What Makes Attitudes Towards Education Change over Time?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...
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Lesson Plan3:16
The New York Times

Kiev in Chaos: Teaching About the Crisis in Ukraine

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Provide a historical context for the political unrest between Russia and Ukraine that began in late 2013. Learners review their prior knowledge and chronicle new understandings with a KWL chart, watch a video explaining the Ukrainian...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Inventive Women - Part 1

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed Standards
While a woman didn't invent the parasol, three women received patents for their improvements to the original design of umbrellas. In the first of a two-part series on inventive women, class members investigate the patent system to...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
National Endowment for the Humanities

García Márquez’s Nobel Prize Speech: “The Solitude of Latin America”

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To conclude a study of One Hundred Years of Solitude, class members analyze Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Nobel Prize in Literature acceptance speech. After a whole-class discussion of the main ideas in the speech, individuals draft a...