Curated OER
New York State Government
Fourth graders identify key democratic values and explain the function of the three branches of New York State Government. They describe the history and purpose of the New York State Constitution.
Curated OER
Solving the Puzzle
Students create a map showing the United States borders at a specific period in history and produce three questions to be answered by examining the map. They also write a productive paragraph explaining who, what, when, where, how/why a...
City University of New York
Women's Suffrage and World War I
Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect with...
Curated OER
Coming to America
Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...
Stanford University
Japanese American Incarceration
Using documents, such as reports from government sources and civil rights activists, budding historians explore the justification for forcing hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans to leave their lives and re-evaluate that tragic...
Curated OER
White House Havoc
The president of the United States must be able to keep a cool head in moments of crisis to lead his or nation out of the darkness. A history instructional activity encourages learners to study the ways various presidents have handled...
Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
Advocates for Human Rights
Who are Immigrants?
What do Jerry Yang, Patrick Ewing, John Muir, Charlize Theron, Peter Jennings, and Saint Frances X Cabrini all have in common? They are all immigrants to the United States. Famous and not-so-famous immigrants are the focus of a resource...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lost Hero: Was John Hanson Actually the First President?
The first president of the United States was ... John Hanson? Scholars investigate the notion that the initial leader of the nation was not George Washington. Using research, articles, and open discussion, individuals create a quest for...
Curated OER
History of the Masons
Students are divided into groups and follow directions of their group leaders and complete a worksheet while on site.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Preamble to the Constitution: A Close Reading Lesson
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." These familiar lines begin the Preamble to the Constitution, but do learners know what they mean? A close reading exercise takes a look at the language of the...
University of California
Containing Communism Abroad
Learn more about the policy of the United States to contain communism during the Cold War. The fifth installment of an eight-part series looks at primary and secondary materials about a challenging time in history. After analyzing the...
Curated OER
Book: Crossing the Seas
As learners read each chapter of Eric Schwartz's Crossing the Seas, they analyze the actions of United States in Venezuela, Hawaii, Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the intent of the Monroe Doctrine. They then compare American...
University of California
The Civil War: The Road to War
The United States Civil War resulted in the highest mortality rate for Americans since the nation's inception. Delve deeper into the causes for the drastic separation of states with a history lesson plan that features analysis charts,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 3: Britain, Napoleon, and the American Embargo, 1803–1808
While the French were once the allies of Americans, the Napoleonic Wars saw the United States almost drawn into a war with its one-time friend. Wars in Europe threatened to draw in the early republic. A primary source-based activity...
Curated OER
Immigration Illumination Project Curriculum Materials
Gain an understanding of the complex topic of immigration with a collection of resources. Class members engage in a series of activities designed to give them insight into the factors that influence immigration policies and the effects...
Stanford University
Chinese Immigration and Exclusion
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first race-based restriction on immigration in American history. Why was the act passed after Chinese immigrants helped build the Transcontinental Railroad? A series of documents, including speeches and...
Curated OER
Blasphemy! Salman Rushdie and Freedom of Expression
Learners explore the concepts of blasphemy, censorship and freedom of expression through the lens of Salman Rushdie. They also consider how these issues have been reflected in US history.
Library of Congress
Understanding Immigration Through Popular Culture
Class members are introduced to a project-based learning unit on US immigration with an activity that asks them to analyze sheet music and other primary source materials to uncover issues raised by immigration.
Stanford University
Iraq Resolution
The 9/11 attacks propelled the United States into a period of low-grade war that has existed from that day all the way to current times. By looking at documents from the decision to send troops to Iraq in 2006, scholars connect the...
National Woman's History Museum
Martha Hughes Cannon: Doctor, Wife, Mother, Senator
Each state is entitled to two statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C. After reading about Utah's debate over whether or not Martha Hughes Cannon should be represented by one of their statues, individuals...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Was the War of 1812 Our Second War of Independence?
Though it occurred almost 40 years later, could the United States have been fighting for their independence again in the War of 1812? Using appropriate primary source material from each of the two wars, compare and contrast the situation...
University of California
The Civil War: Lincoln’s Speeches
Abraham Lincoln is responsible for uniting the states during the most tumultuous periods in American history, and for his elegant oratory that kept the Union believing in its cause. Young histoians analyze various speeches by America's...
University of California
The Civil War: Final Assessment
Pupils discover the true nature and purpose of the Civil War in the eighth and final installment of an informative series. Using primary and secondary documents, history buffs merge social study knowledge with English skills to create a...