Agriculture, deforestation, and urbanization. How have human's changed the planet and how might we mitigate the effects of human activity on the planet? To answer these questions class members research the changes in human land use from...

How did the struggle for Civil Rights during the 1950s transform American society and politics? Why are American schools integrated today? Class members explore these essential questions by examining a series of primary and secondary...

Introduce a study of the presidency of Andrew Jackson with a instructional activity that uses video clips, primary source documents, group activities, and debates to examine Jackson's early life and career. The instructional activity...

As part of a study of the Civil War, class members conduct a WebQuest to create a timeline of battles fought by the 10th Alabama Infantry Regimen. They then use Google Earth to pinpoint these battles of the Civil War on a map of Alabama.

The post-Civil War convict leasing program, rarely covered in textbooks, is the focus of a instructional activity that asks class members to use information drawn from primary source documents to assess the program. While the focus is on...

To better understand the Indian Removal Act of 1830, class members examine primary source documents including letters written by Alabama governors and the Cherokee chiefs. The lesson is part of a unit on the expansion of the United...

The benefits and drawbacks of convict leasing following the Civil War are the focus of a lesson plan that asks groups to examine primary source materials to gain an understanding of the program before individuals decide whether...

From December 20, 1860 to June 8, 1861, eleven states seceded from the Union. Alabama seceded on January 11, 1861. Why did so many white Alabamians want to secede? Why did they believe the South could win the war? These are the essential...

The industrialization and urbanization of Alabama during the New South era (1865-1914) is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to use primary source documents to examine the impact of industrialization on Alabama workers and...

The tenant farming and sharecropping systems that developed in the South after the Civil War, the reasons for their development, and the eventual decline of these systems are the focus of this two-day plan.

Who should be able to vote? As part of a study of the 1901 Alabama Constitution, class members examine primary source document that reveal the reasons the authors gave to support their positions on this question and their assumptions in...

"We, the People of the State of Alabama. . ." Did you know that the Alabama State Constitution has 357,157 words while the US Constitution has only 4,400? And that it has 798 amendments while the US Constitution has...

Project Paperclip, the Redstone Arsenal, and the Huntsville Space Center are all featured in a resource that investigates the contributions of Dr. Werner von Brawn and other German scientists to the US space program....

The release of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the Birmingham jail, the Children's March, and the bombings of the Gaston Motel and the home of Reverend A.D. King's home. As part of a study of the civil rights movement, class members...

Did you know that prior to the American Revolution, Alabama was a part of the British empire and called New West Florida? Class members research the economic, political, and social realities of this territory and compare...

As part of a study of the 1963 quest for civil rights in Birmingham, Alabama, class members view a PowerPoint that details the struggle and analyze Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail."

If called, would you go? Should the US government have the power to impose a draft during any war? The Selective Service Act of 1917 (aka the Conscription Act of 1917) authorized the drafting of men into the military for only the...

Imagine children working long hours in factories, coal mines, and in the fields. Class members examine a series of pictures and read about early attempts to regulate child labor and current child labor laws.

In a instructional activity that integrates history and mathematics, class members create graphs that compare military death statistics from World War I with those that resulted from the influenza pandemic of 1918.

What should be the role of the federal government during an economic crisis? That is the question at the center of this introduction to a study of the New Deal. Class members examine letters to the state government asking for help,...

How significant was the Cold War during the 20th century? After reading and analyzing speeches by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, learners consider the historical context of foreign policy decisions made during the Cold...

Class members work to translate the Declaration of Independence into their own words, as well as design a Facebook page within the context of 1776 to raise public awareness about the document and its meaning for citizens.

Why did the Black Panther Party feel colonized, and what methods did they employ to achieve empowerment? Your class members will engage in an online PowerPoint presentation, analysis of several documents, and discussion in order to...

Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...