Classroom Resources Study Aid: Major European Explorers Foreign Languages, Geography, World History 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 View this infographic as a PDF.
Classroom Resources Breaking from Great Britain, 1776 World History 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Sid Lapidus Collection: Liberty and the American Revolution By 1776, Thomas Paine had become the most influential writer defending the break from Great Britain. Born in England, Paine arrived in the colonies in 1774, at age 34. His...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The British evacuation of Boston, 1776 Art, Government and Civics 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 On March 25, 1776, only eight days after the British evacuation of Boston, the Continental Congress authorized a medal, “George Washington before Boston,” to commemorate the event. During the war, Congress commissioned eleven medals...
Spotlight on: Primary Source A World War II poster: "Starve the Squander Bug," 1943 Art, Government and Civics, World History 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 Before he became world-renowned as Dr. Seuss for his children’s books and illustrations, Theodor Geisel worked for the US government during World War II designing posters such as this one, encouraging patriotism and investment. The...
Classroom Resources Cultural Encounters: Teaching Exploration and Encounter to Students Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Some 40,000 years from now, give or take a few millennia, someone, somewhere in the universe may find and listen to the Golden Record, NASA’s attempt to describe Earth and its peoples to anyone out there who might be interested. There...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Late seventeenth-century map of the Northeast, 1682 Geography, World History 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Like many other explorers, Henry Hudson stumbled upon North America almost by accident. Employed by the Dutch Republic to find a sea passage to the Far East, Hudson and the crew of his ship the Halve Maen landed at what is today New...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Henry Knox’s Order of March to Trenton, 1776 Geography, Government and Civics, World History 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On Christmas Day in 1776 the American Revolution was on the verge of collapsing. Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American forces had been driven from New York City to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and reduced...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Jefferson on British aggression, 1815 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In this letter in defense of American nationalism, Thomas Jefferson denounced the blustering of certain members of the British House of Lords who blamed the War of 1812 on US aggression. Jefferson’s letter followed a report from James...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Eyewitness account of the sinking of the Titanic, 1912 Geography, World History 6, 7, 8, 9 Shortly before midnight on April 14, 1912, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg roughly 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. Two and a half hours later, at 2:20 a.m., the ship sank with approximately 1500 people still on board. This...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Japan declares war, 1941 World History 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On December 7, 1941, two hours after the Japanese attack on American military installations at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Japan declared war on the United States and Great Britain, marking America’s entry into World War II. The Japanese...