Lesson Plan The Soldier's Experience: Letters from Four American Wars 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this four-lesson unit.
Lesson Plan The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Essential Question What lessons have been learned about space travel from the Challenger incident? What makes someone a hero? Materials "The Shuttle Explodes," January 28, 1986 , New York Times Speech on the Challenger Disaster,...
Lesson Plan The Trail of Tears 5, 6, 7, 8 Historical Background In 1830, under President Andrew Jackson, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act directing the executive branch to negotiate for Indian lands. The act set the tone for President Jackson in dealing with Indian...
Lesson Plan The Transcontinental Railroad in Images and Poetry Art, Literature, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 4, 5, 6 Unit Objectives Students will analyze a variety of primary sources related to the completion of the transcontinental railroad. investigate celebratory images and a poem to discover some of the key outcomes that arose from the ability...
Lesson Plan The Treaty of Tordesillas: Resolving "a Certain Controversy" over Land in the Americas Foreign Languages, Geography, World History 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Background Imperial rivalries have often been resolved through war; however, the Treaty of Tordesillas is an important example of a rivalry that was resolved without hostilities through the demarcation of areas of influence by the...
Lesson Plan The United States Constitution: Federalists v. Anti-Federalists Government and Civics 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical...
Lesson Plan The US Government and Indigenous Peoples before the Trail of Tears, 1770-1839 Government and Civics 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this five-lesson unit.
Lesson Plan Thomas Jefferson, Renaissance Man 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Background Thomas Jefferson has often been called a “Renaissance man,” someone who is talented in many areas. The term is often used to describe the Italian painter Leonardo Da Vinci, who not only painted the Mona Lisa , but who also...
Lesson Plan Understanding President Washington through His First Inaugural and Farewell Addresses Government and Civics 8 Lesson Overview In this lesson, students will read and analyze excerpts from two of George Washington’s most important addresses. The first is the speech he gave to Congress on the day of his first inauguration in 1789; the second is...
Lesson Plan War, Immigration Policies, and Dissent: Landmark Moments in Latina/o History 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click here to download this three-lesson unit.
Lesson Plan Washington's Farewell Address 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 View a copy of Washington’s Farewell Address in the Gilder Lehrman Collection by clicking here . For a resource regarding the possibility of Washington staying on for a third term click here . Click here to download this five-lesson...
Lesson Plan What Events Led to Lincoln’s Assassination? 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Overview Fourth-grade students often associate Abraham Lincoln with three things: He wore a tall hat, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and he was assassinated. The murder of Lincoln, whom most historians consider one of the...
Lesson Plan Who Was John Brown? Government and Civics 6, 7, 8 "Did John Brown fail? John Brown began the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic." —Frederick Douglass Background The late 1840s and the 1850s were a turbulent and complex time in American history as the...
Lesson Plan World War I, African American Soldiers, and America’s War for Democracy 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this lesson plan.