The Le Moyne brothers, Jean-Baptiste and Pierre, were among the first explorers of the Gulf Coast. Class members read biographical information and journal entries about these men, study maps showing where the settlements they established...

Students examine primary resources to analyze pictures and documents related to the Pontysyllte Aqueduct (built by Thomas Telford) in Britain. In this critical-thinking lesson, students answer questions based on primary source documents...

Students examine primary sources as related to Nevada and the Civil War. In this United States history instructional activity, students gather and analyze various primary sources in small groups and interpret unknown vocabulary words by...

Students read primary source documents to examine what a typical school day was like in the early 1900s. They discover how African-American children were taught differently than whites. They compare and contrast past school days to...

“Sometimes things are lawful yet are actually wrong.” Researchers examine primary and secondary source materials as they study five legal cases involving civil rights attorney William Kunstler in which he attempted to use the legal...

One of the most striking pieces of evidence for Darwin's Evolution of Species was his observations of finches and how their beaks differed from island to island, depending on their primary food sources. So what would happen to the theory...

Writing teaches us so much. One can identify the many characteristics of a newspaper, use the Internet to gather information, and communicate with others. Primary students create a class newspaper for publishing and dispersal.

Data, data everywhere. Challenge your class to begin thinking about data, the ways people collect information, and what we can learn from this data. Class members discuss sources of data and then individuals answer questions in the...

If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...

What was the Children's Crusade and how did it impact the civil rights movement in the United States? Your young learners will learn about this incredible event through a variety of instructional activities, from reading a poem and...

To war! To war! Every nation in the history of the world has had to deal with warfare on some level. Scholars go through a series of activities and discussions surrounding the development of the Constitution to help them better...

Students explore jazz's primary elements. They identify the basic definitions of terms associated with jazz. In addition, they listen to Song for My Father.

Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...

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 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.

Besides serving as awe-inspiring monuments of human achievement, skyscrapers are built to perform a wide range of functions in urban communities. The second lesson in this series begins by exploring the history of the Empire State...

Was the medieval Black Death the same disease as the modern bubonic plague? Your class members become the top investigators in the case, examining a variety of exhibits (i.e. disease descriptions, sample historical letter, map, etc.) in...

Considering the expressed and implied powers of Congress, was it constitutional for the United States to establish the Second National Bank in the early nineteenth century? What is the constitutionality of the Federal Reserve...

What was the main cause of European colonization in America? How did Thomas Paine's Common Sense play a role in the establishment of the United States? What was the trans-Atlantic slave trade? These are just a few of the many questions...

Taking on the roles of a fiery Boston patriot, a Philadelphia merchant's wife, and a prominent abolitionist, your young historians will consider the reactions of these early Americans to the creation of the Declaration of...

What rights do citizens in a democracy have? Learners compare the rights of citizens in the United States and Croatia, and examine the personal and civil responsibilities that go along with those rights through a great series...

Here comes the sun! Primary graders engage in activities that teach them how to protect themselves from the effects of UV rays. They learn that each season (fall, winter, spring, and summer) offers its own special challenges so they...

America's entrance into World War I drastically changed the scope of the conflict. An interactive map and timeline takes learners through the Meuse-Argonne Campaign, which lasted from September 26, 1918, to the eventual German armistice...

Young historians have the opportunity to see photos from the war in the Pacific and learn more about what each photo represents. Scholars use their knowledge of WWII to match dates and descriptions to real-life photos from the war. The...