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Jackie Steals Home
Students read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan to...
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Life as a Pioneer
Students examine historical documents and research why early pioneers settled on the Iowa prairie. They review maps, describe the impact of railroading, describe life in pioneer times, and identify the effects of drought, prairie fire,...
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Signature History
Students review the meaning and application of primary and secondary sources in research. They determine how researchers locate primary source documents before looking at signatures as a validating factor on many primary sources....
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George Washington: The President Without Precedent
Students explore time period and events surrounding George Washington's inauguration, demonstrate how Washington set precedent for each action he took as American Republic's new president, and compare and contrast traditions and events...
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Our Unique Legacy of Giving
Students view The Gift of All, a Community of Givers. In this philanthropic lesson plan, students discuss the gifts of philanthropists they've seen. Students research and write a two page paper with four bullet points. Students include a...
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Exploring Islamic Lands
Students explore the culture of the Middle East. In this Islamic culture lesson, students conduct research to create personal narratives that reveal what life is like in the Middle East for Islamic teens today.
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George Washington: First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen
Learners interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this George Washington lesson plan, students research the details of Washington's military successes, his role at the Constitutional Convention, and...
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Civil War Photojournalism: A Record of War
Students view photographs of the Civil War. In this photojournalism lesson, students look at Mathew Brady's photographs of the Civil War. They discover the evolution of photographic equipment and analyze Civil War photographs.
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The Grapes of Wrath: Scrapbooks and Artifacts
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary sources. In this Great Depression lesson, students read John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and use ethnographic research processes...
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Ninteenth Century Women: Struggle and Triumph
Young scholars examine the role of women in US society during the 19th century and how this role evolved and changed in time. They then write a persuasive letter that domonstrates their comprehensin of the subject.
Library of Congress
Oral History and Social History
Students examine the Great Depression. In this oral and social histories instructional activity, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the America in the 1930's.
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Out of the Dust: Visions of Dust Bowl History Lesson Overview
Students complete activities with the book Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse. In this literature lesson, students read this story and view the Dust Bowl history from the eyes of a child. They discover the Great Depression and life in the...
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Twentieth Century Entertainment: When Work is Done
Students determine how Americans enjoy leisure time. In this 20th century America lesson, students research primary sources to study how Americans gained leisure time during the century and what they did with it.
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American Lives in Two Centuries:What Is an American?
High schoolers decide what it means to be an American. In this historical perspectives lesson, students read Crevecoeur's "Letter from an American Farmer," and interviews with everyday Americans from the Works Progress Administration....
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Drake's West Indian Voyage 1588-1589
Young scholars investigate several maps detailing Sir Francis Drake's voyages. In this geography lesson, students practice reading maps and locating the precise locations of where Sir Francis Drake visited. Young scholars create an...
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Waldseemuller's Map: World 1507
Learners investigate the 1507 word map. In this world geography lesson, students examine the details of each section of the map and then draw conclusions about how the people of 1507 understood the world. Learners are evalated on...
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How Transportation Transformed America
Eleventh graders focus on the role of transportation. In this transportation instructional activity, 11th graders look at the lives of Americans at the turn of the centuries. They compare and contrast 2000 to 1900.
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Women's Suffrage: Their Rights and Nothing Less
Students explore women's rights. In this women's history activity, students examine primary and secondary sources regarding the women's suffrage movement in the United States. Students compare and contrast the states' methods for...
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Waldseemüller’s Map: World 1507
Learners take a closer look at historical maps. For this primary source analysis lesson, students examine the first world map produced by Martin Waldseemuller. Learners complete the included map analysis worksheet and then write letters...
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Tools to Live By
Third graders compare life in the early 1900's with the life today. In this technology lesson, 3rd graders research about the development of a certain technological tool. They collect data and report findings in class.
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Mapmaker, Mapmaker, Make Me a Map!
Learners evaluate the different types of historical and geographical information that one can gather through close study of historical maps from the 16th through the 19th centuries. They create their own maps.
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On the Oregon Trail
Learners work with primary documents and latter-day photographs to recapture the experience of traveling on the Oregon Trail. Working in groups, they write a scene for the movie that is historically accurate and based on the kinds of...
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Immigration to the Golden Land: Jewish Life in America
High schoolers examine waves of Jewish immigration during three time periods and analyze a variety of primary sources, including letters, memoirs, and laws, to gain insight into both the American immigrant experience and American society...
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A Soldier's Letters
Learners explore the role letters play in a soldier's life and learn background information about Vietnam in the 1960s.