Facing History and Ourselves
How Should We Remember?
We must remember the past in order to avoid its mistakes. Young historians analyze the importance of historical remembrance using primary and secondary documents, as well as video clips. They then study the creation of a World War II...
BBC
Local Democracy
Middle and high schoolers explore how democracy works. After a teacher-led discussion, pupils go to websites embedded in the plan which lead them through activities that are all about the democratic process. The first website has them...
Smithsonian Institution
We Have a Story to Tell: Native Peoples of the Chesapeake Region
How did colonial settlement and the establishment of the United States affect Native Americans in the Chesapeake region? Your young historians will analyze contemporary and historical maps, read informational texts, and work in groups to...
Federal Reserve Bank
Keep the Currency
Each day, people throw currency away in different ways because of a lack of financial knowledge. Introduce your learners to the importance of financial literacy and assess their understanding of banking and personal finance.
Deliberating in a Democracy
Crime and Punishment
Should the United States ban the death penalty? Scholars use real-life examples of criminal activity to come to their own conclusions on the death penalty. Primary source documents, as well as video clips, open the issue of capital...
PBS
The Supreme Court: Early Civil Rights Cases Facing the Supreme Court
Imagine being an ex-slave after the Civil War and not understanding if you were considered a citizen of the United States. Scholars analyze the early Supreme Court battles in civil rights cases and especially the Fourteenth Amendment....
PBS
The Supreme Court: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
While World War II changed the international order, it also led to a fundamental shift in the concept of civil rights within the United States. Using a video and discussion questions, class members consider the effects the war had to the...
Health Smart Virginia
Mindfulness Breathing
The more you practice, the better you get. That's the big idea behind a lesson for middle schoolers about using mindfulness breathing techniques to reduce stress. Class members practice Star Breathing and Rainbow Breathing exercises and...
Curated OER
Social Life in the 1950's and Domestic Politics and Policy
Eleventh graders examine the cultural mood and politics of the 1950's in the United States. They read a section of their text and take notes, view a clip of the movie "Pleasantville" and discuss societal roles in the 1950's, and listen...
Curated OER
The Civil War/ A Unit Overview
Eleventh graders will look at the causes of the Civil War in detail. A brief unit on the war itself will follow. Battles, historical figures, and daily life will be studied. The webpage is a link to many different related lessons.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: U.S. Government
Students examine reasons for studying government. In this U.S. government lesson, students brainstorm the reasons for rules. Students draft their own class constitution in the style of the U.S. Constitution.
Curated OER
The Inauguration of Barack Obama the 44th President of the United States
Eleventh graders explore the process of inauguration in the United States. Students describe the symbolic and political significance of the ceremony of the inauguration of the President of the United States. Students role play the...
Curated OER
United States All the Way
Students create patriotic books about the United States and some of its special symbols.
Curated OER
Social Studies: African Clothing Tour
Students identify examples of African clothing for casual and special occasions. After the teacher models types of African garb, they brainstorm reasons why people wear certian types of dress. They view pictures of various African...
Curated OER
What is History and Why Do We Study It?
Students examine why it is important to study American history. In this American history lesson, students discuss why it is necessary to study history, arrange an outline of American history events in chronological order, and write an...
Curated OER
United States Map - Lesson 4: States
Learners use a United States Map to locate their state and use map symbols to determine the boundaries of a state. In this states lesson plan, students learn the definition of a state and identify their own on a map.
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan:Launching the New U.S. Navy
Students demonstrate understanding of the issues related to the creation and ratification of the United States Constitution and the new Government it established.
Curated OER
Planning: To Get Enough Money for Food
Students investigate methods that families use for planning meals and budgeting for them. In this nutrition lesson plan, students complete activities that require them to determine how much it costs to feed children at different ages....
Curated OER
Fourth Grade Earning and Learning Podcast
While this lesson is connected to social studies curriculum that is not identified, the activity could be used as a template for a review of any material. The lesson focuses on a review of vocabulary relating to the economy. Pupils...
Curated OER
Kennedy Lesson Plan: Best Buddies
Students discuss disabilities. In this "Best Buddies" lesson, students take a look at programs that help people with disabilities and discover what role those people play in those programs. They work in pairs to explore the "Best...
Curated OER
D. A. M. Agriculture Lesson Plan
Students explore agricultural concepts and how humans modify the physical environment. They participate in card sorting activities to determine agricultural concepts: Dependence, Adaptation, Modification (D. A. M.). Students identify...
Curated OER
First Day Lesson Plan
Students participate in a first day icebreaker activity. In this icebreaker lesson, students are paired up and film their partner doing something unique. Students continue to film eachother while conducting a short interview.
Pace University
Community Helpers
Differentiate instruction with a unit focused on community helpers. A pre-assessment levels scholars into three groups. Learning contracts offer participants the choice of activities to complete and show what they know about specific...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...