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-instructional activity on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then...

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...

How do you determine what law enforcement agency has jurisdiction when a crime has been committed? That's the challenge facing class members in this role-play activity.

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...

After finishing The Red Badge of Courage, readers complete a grammar worksheet  to identify the chain of events in the plot, the enduring issues, and major themes of Stephen Crane's novel.

Young scholars examine the African-American migrants entry into the political process. They summarize their findings in a short essay.

Middle schoolers have to decide if they would continue the war from the Union's perspective and how would they go about doing it. Students need to read excerpts from the Congressional Globe to decide their argument. Finally, a poster...

Learners explore the similarities of the Japanese-American experience in WWII and Arab-American experience in post-September 11 US policy. They create presentations on their reflections and express themselves through poetry, dance,...

Sixth graders explore, analyze and study how one's personal experiences impact one's perspective and actions. They interpret ideas and events of slavery from the different perspectives of an abolitionist, slave owner, United States...

Students view a film about the fall of Peru's president. They develop possible solutions for governments to follow when dealing with terrorism. They work together to research civil liberty limitations put in place during war. They...

Middle schoolers examine the rate of institutional racism in the United States. Individually, they write in their journals about how they can make better choices and increase their self-esteem. Using historical documents, they identify...

Students consider which aspects of world around them have roots in 1960s, research and compare 1960s to today with regards to Civil and Women's Rights, Vietnam, counterculture, music, voting, and economic rights, and explore legacy of...

Students participate in a simulation and compare and contrast the arguments for and against womens' right to vote. In this civil rights instructional activity, students simulate disenfranchisement of women by allowing only half of the...

Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...

The struggles of Sam McCulloch, a free black man, to be recognized as a citizen entitled to own land in Texas are the focus of research project that ask groups to examine a series of primary source documents and piece together...

Learners explore non-violence and investigate the difference between passive and active voice.

Students model the writing style of the author of a piece of literature and present them to the class.

Young scholars 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 research primary documents to identify when Confederate troops burned the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. They describe how the city was damaged and create a fictionalized newspaper account of the city's burning.

Students read about the Northern Migration of African Americans in the 19th century, and create an eight panel cartoon depicting the means of communication between freed slaves in the North and those still enslaved in the South.