Curated OER
Slavery and the Legal Status of Free Blacks: Rhetorical Analysis of Debates During the 1847 Illinois Constitutional Convention
Eleventh graders read actual arguments regarding the status of free blacks in Illinois and slavery in the United States more generally.
Curated OER
Press Perception of Jack Johnson
Students role-play the role of journalists during the 19th and 20th centuries. They create their own sports newspapers. They report on Jack Johnson's life and career.
Curated OER
Learning from Photos
Students use photographs to study the Bracero Labor Program. In this analyzing photographs instructional activity, students are broken up into groups and given a photograph of Bracero laborers. They predict the answers to questions about...
Curated OER
America's First Pictures
Fifth graders visit the Smithsonian website to search online for early photo archives about life in the mid-nineteenth century.
Curated OER
Underground Railroad
Students research and discuss the use of the Underground Railroad by fugitive slaves. They debate the actions of abolitionists and slave owners according to the laws of the time, create drawings and write narratives.
Curated OER
Black History in Music
Students relate musical styles with US historical context through research and presentation.
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Presentation of Pilgrims
Students are given a category to research (clothes, life before the New World, the voyage, etc.) about Pilgrim life. s Students, in groups, create presentations using software program such as PowerPoint.
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Lesson Plan on Landmines
Students take a look at how landmines are being used all over the world (with specific focus on Cambodia). Students identify the physical and emotional impact of the use of landmines and how the international community is working to...
Curated OER
Perseverance
Students examine how the failure of Reconstruction led to the systematic passage of Jim Crow laws in states across the South and the negative impact these laws had on the growth and development of the US.
Curated OER
Quilts, Warmth with History
Students examine numerous quilts that show the culture and history of Nebraska. Using the internet, they view quilts from different points in history and discuss them as a class. They examine the role quilts play in discovering...
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Geography and Social Sciences
Students identify and explain how geography is connected to other academic areas and historical events.
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Conservation: California Quarter Reverse
Students examine the California quarter reverse and discuss conservation measures. They discover the concept of conservation by a snack-eating experimen and relate it to John Muir's conservation interests. After evaluating the design...
National First Ladies' Library
Government: Defending the Bill of Rights
Pupils examine the proposition of a country without the Bill of Rights. In a role-playing activity, teams of students gather information to build a case for retaining the Bill of Rights and present it before their congressperson.
Curated OER
"Lost Boys of Sudan" Lesson Plan - Lost Childhoods:
Students analyze the connection between history and identity, explore what is gained and what is lost in learning a new culture, and develop a working definition of the word refugee.
Curated OER
South Carolina's Constitution
Eighth graders explore the definition of political culture. After viewing a movie, 8th graders discuss how the political culture of the 1600 and 1700s is reflected in early drafts of the South Carolina constitution.
Curated OER
Historical Scavenger Hunt
Students engage in a game of History Scavenger Hunt to research significant figures found in History. The focus of the activity coincides with the curriculum being studied for review.