Students become familiar with the concepts of human rights and constitutional rights. They have an increased awareness of the historical record as to the cessation of these rights, especially in regards to children during WWII. It is...

Students examine democracy and the role of a citizen. They contrast rights and responsibilities of individuals, groups, and organizations. Students identify two forms of democratic action and describe demoncratic values. Students observe...

Students discuss the power of using petitions to show support for a specific action. In groups, they create a petition for an issue of interest to them related to human rights following specific steps. They can take their petition...

Students compare and contrast lifestyles of women from two different societies or two historical periods. They describe the rights and freedoms of different groups. Students write a brief summary and share their findings.

When Ruby Bridges entered an all-white school in New Orleans in 1960, she also entered history. Scholars consider what the experience must have been like for the young girl using two books that document her experience as well as a double...

Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 

The anti-busing movement in Boston is the focus of a lesson plan that asks young historians to examine primary source documents to identify the causes and consequences of busing pupils from one area of the city to another in the attempt...

"Redlining," "Blockbusting," and "White Flight" may not be terms familiar to young historians. Here's a lesson that introduces middle schoolers to these terms and the actions associated with them. Class members examine a series of...

Why did African American voters switch from the Republican Party to the Democratic party during the Depression Era? That is the question young historians attempt to answer as they study primary source documents from the period. The focus...

After analyzing both examples and non-examples of a variety of protests conducted by ethnic groups in Seattle and the state of Washington during the twentieth century, your class members will work to identify the key ideas and...

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...

Explore the contributions individuals have made in the lives of American minority groups. Twelfth graders write a five-page expository piece providing a social history, examples of discrimination, and patterns of assimilation for an...

After listening to a story about Martin Luther King Jr., first graders answer questions about the text. They discuss the importance of the illustrations, identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and complete a writing...

Why did many Tennesseeans support the 1925 Butler Act, which forbade the teaching of evolution? Using several primary source documents and a brief video clip, your young historians will draw connections between the broader historical...

Was the Scopes trial more complicated than a simple debate between evolutionists and creationists? As part of a structured academic controversy (SAC) activity, pupils consider multiple perspectives of the Butler Act and engage in close...

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...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-lesson on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then consider how this...

Who exactly was George C. Wallace? A great lesson plan provides young historians with a hands-on activity, direct instruction, and discussion to learn about Wallace, why he was an important figure, and why he changed his mind about...

Designed as the final project concluding a study of Mississippi Trial, 1955, readers select a character from Crowe's novel and craft a portfolio of six entries that reveal not only aspects of the character, but similarities between...

Students view a television program that depicts the history South African Apartheid and the United States' system of segregation. They discuss how laws were used to uphold these institutions and compare and contrast racism and...

Students examine the use of quotas and Jim Crow laws. They discuss discrimination against minority groups both historically and in contemporary society. Students examine an affirmative action case and discuss the controversies involved.

Students explain the importance of equality of opportunity and equal protection of the law as a characteristic of American society and evaluate the validity and credibility of different historical interpretations.

Students solve the mysteries of why Karl Vogt and Erich Braemer were on the Christmas Train. They review the definitions of the terms constitutional, human rights, due process, discovery, and the writ of habeas corpus. They review the...

Learners, through discussion, internet and video resources, study the history of Northern Ireland and the religious segregation between Catholics and Protestants. They evaluate the current political situation and predict what the future...