Curated OER
Memorandum of a Conference with President Eisenhower after Sputnik
Students document and list excerpts from a document that shows how calmly officials reacted to the launching of Sputnik. They research contemporary magazines and newspaper articles of the day as well.
Curated OER
Understanding the Election of 1800 and the Twelfth Amendment
Eleventh graders examine the election of 1800. In this American Government lesson, 11th graders summarize the events that made the election controversial. Students advocate for a candidate during a short role playing...
Curated OER
Minting a New Mint
Students explore why the Founding Fathers felt it was necessary to have a solitary form of money used throughout the land. Students create their own money systems and have a class sale to simulate the confusion of multiple forms of...
Curated OER
The Cost of Saving
Tenth graders compare accounts provided by the two newspaper articles with the visual account provided by Sue Coe. They articulate how those accounts are alike and different. Students consider the economic choices that made the Hamlet...
Curated OER
The Right and Responsibility To Bear Arms
Students write a paragraph summarizing the rights and responsibilities of owning a gun, including penalties for owners of guns which injure or kill. This less is designed for students acquiring English.
Music Publishers Association of the United States
I Made It. I Own It. Please Don't Steal It.
Explore the world of copyright law with a variety of activities to instill the importance of respecting creative property. Scholars watch an animated tale then take part in a grand conversation detailing the video's main idea, details,...
ProCon
Electoral College
The Electoral College's role in elections is sometimes confusing and controversial. Pupils use a debate topics website to research the pros and cons of the practice to debate whether the United States should still use the Electoral...
Middle Tennessee State University
Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
Curated OER
The Federalist Papers
What were The Federalist Papers? If you're preparing your class for a quiz on this topic, consider providing them with these thought-provoking study questions. Ten questions are provided, although only three contain possible answers.
Curated OER
The Executive Branch
Students study the federal government, which is divided into 3 branches. They have a minimal understanding of the responsibilities of each branch.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Runaway Slaves in Alabama: Individual Freedom Fighters in the 1800s
Class pairs examine eight runaway slave advertisements from the mid-1800s to develop an understanding of the conditions slaves faced and of race relations.
Curated OER
Understanding Tax: Your Role as a Tax Payer
Every adult should know that it is their responsibility to help fund public goods and services by paying taxes. Help young people get a handle on the history, evolution, purposes for, and reasons why they should pay taxes too.
Curated OER
The American Revolution: 1775 - 1783
Track the ins and outs and wartime strategies used by both the British and the Americans during the Revolutionary War. Multiple comparisons are made between both factions, maps, statistical data, images, and light text is used throughout...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I
As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...
Curated OER
The Decision to Americanize the War in Vietnam
Students research the major events of the Vietnam War and construct a timeline. They do the same with the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson or the 1960's. They act as an advisor to President Johnson to recommend a course of action...
Curated OER
High Crimes and Misdemeanors
Students gather information about the meaning and process of impeachment through reading and discussion. Next, students role play hypothetical cases.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conservation, Preservation, and the National Parks
Going green? Scholars investigate the creation of the US National Park program. Through diary entries as well as expert testimony, they synthesize information and analyze the need for conservation and preservation. Finally, they display...
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: Sioux Treaty of 1868
Students study the Sioux and their lives in the Black Hills before 1868. They engage in a wide variety of cross-curricular activities which give them a good understanding of the Sioux culture.
Curated OER
Meet the Press: American Presidents
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this presidential history lesson, students research the accomplishments of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Frankiln D. Roosevelt, and Barack...
Curated OER
Cuban Missile Crisis: Teaching Activities
Learners create a timeline of the important events of John F. Kennedy's presidency. They construct a timeline of the major events of the Cuban Missile Crisis. They compare the Missile Crisis events with their presentation in the movie...
Curated OER
Rome: Republic to Empire
Sixth graders discuss the rise of Rome from a republic to a dictatorship. In small groups, they role-play as congress people debating whether or not to give the president more powers. In another activity, 6th graders produce television...
Curated OER
D-day Message from General Eisenhower to General Marshall
High schoolers analyze a "top secret" document written by Eisenhower. They identify and chart cliches for those about to go into battle and read related poetry. They invite a veteran to describe the D-Day invasion.
Curated OER
Andrew Jackson and the Use of Martial Law and the Suspension of Habeas Corpus
High schoolers explore the use of martial law at the Battle of New Orleans. In this Andrew Jackson lesson, students analyze primary documents pertaining to the move by Jackson to use martial law in the battle. High schoolers then...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Arizona v. United States — States and Immigration Law
As part of a study of immigration law, class members read a summary of the Supreme Court case, Arizona v. United States. They then examine a series of examples and acting as federal court judges, must determine if the scenarios...