Search

231 Items

50
Title
Lesson Plan

"City upon a Hill"

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

For a resource on John Winthrop from the Gilder Lehrman Collection click here . Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style to fulfill the...
Lesson Plan

"Contagious Liberty": Women in the Revolutionary Age

Government and Civics

Background The American Revolution, a byproduct of events both on the North American continent and abroad, unleashed a movement that focused on egalitarianism in ways that had never been seen before. Even John Adams commented on these changes in a letter to his wife Abigail. He wrote, "We have been told that that our Struggle has loosened the bands of Government everywhere. That Children and Apprentices were disobedient—that schools and Colledges were grown turbulent—that Indians slighted their Guardians and Negroes grew insolent to the Masters. But your Letter was the first...
Lesson Plan

"Father" of Our Country v. "Father" of the Bill of Rights

Government and Civics

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Essential Questions To what extent does the Bill of Rights provide a "blanket of protection" for American citizens? Why do many Americans believe that the Bill of Rights is especially relevant today? Objectives Students will be able to: Identify the parts of the Constitution and their purposes Explain the first ten amendments and how they affect people today Describe the rights and responsibilities of American citizens Historical Background At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, delegates analyzed, argued, and debated the new Constitution. George Mason, a Virginian,...
Lesson Plan

"Men of Color: To Arms! To Arms!"

5, 6, 7, 8

Overview Approximately 200,000 African American men served as soldiers during the Civil War. This lesson seeks to teach fifth grade students not only the skill of analyzing a primary source but also the methods that were used to entice free Blacks to serve in the Union Army during the war. Students will read and then rewrite a recruitment broadside and then will create a visual that contains four reasons why African Americans should fight in the Civil War. Introduction On March 21, 1863, Frederick Douglass asserted that “a war undertaken and brazenly carried on for the...
Lesson Plan

A Different Perspective on Slavery: Writing the History of African American Enslaved Women

9, 10, 11, 12

Introduction The accounts of African American slavery in textbooks routinely conflate the story of enslaved men and women into one history. Textbooks rarely enable students to grapple with the lives and challenges of women constrained by the institution of slavery. The collections of letters and autobiographies of enslaved women in the nineteenth century now available on the Internet open a window onto the lives of these women and allow teachers and students to explore this history. Using the classroom as a historical laboratory, students can use these primary sources to...
Lesson Plan

A Lesson on Détente

World History

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Materials "Memorandums of Conversation," National Security Archive, George Washington University Notes and Excerpts from Nixon’s Meeting with Mao, February 1972 , National Security Archive, George Washington University "Nixon and Kissinger’s Meeting with Mao Zedong," February 21, 1972 , National Security Archive, George Washington University "Nixon’s Trips to China," February 22, 23, 24, 1972 , National Security Archive, George Washington University A Poem for Two Voices (PDF) Lesson Activities Select appropriate excerpts from the documents provided below for your students....
Lesson Plan

A Look at Slavery through Posters and Broadsides

Art

6, 7, 8

Overview Students will examine posters and broadsides from the 1800s to examine attitudes about slavery in the United States at that time. Materials Overhead or copies for all students of the poster packet (PDF) Poster Inquiry Sheet for each student (PDF) Chart paper Essential Question How can the posters and broadsides of the 1800s help us to understand various attitudes towards slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War? Introduction During the 1800s, people used public notices such as posters and broadsides to advertise slave sales, rewards for missing slaves, anti...
Lesson Plan

Abraham Lincoln on Slavery and Race

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Background Slavery played a prominent role in America’s political, social, and economic history in the antebellum era. The "peculiar institution" was at the forefront of discussions ranging from the future of the nation’s economy to western expansion and the admission of new states into the Union. The public discourse in the first half of the nineteenth century exposed the nation’s ambivalence about slavery and race. Politicians were increasingly pressured to make their opinions known, and Abraham Lincoln was no exception. Objectives Students will: Read the letters and speeches...
Lesson Plan

Abraham Lincoln: A Man for All Seasons

8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Overview At one time in our country’s history we stood divided as a nation over the issue of slavery. It was Abraham Lincoln’s ideology and sense of purpose that helped to unite our country and set us on a path toward realizing the principles of the Declaration of Independence. "All men are created equal" are words that Abraham Lincoln took literally, from a moral and economic standpoint. After all, as Lewis Lehrman argues in his book Lincoln at Peoria , Lincoln felt slavery was grounded in coercion. It was an involuntary economic exchange of labor. In commercial terms, slavery...
Lesson Plan

Alamo Simulation

Geography

9, 10, 11, 12

Overview Through a simulation, in which Canadians try to seize the state of Maine, students will gain an understanding of the circumstances surrounding the Battle of the Alamo, February 23–March 6, 1836, between approximately 200 Texans and 4,000 Mexicans. Background San Antonio, the second most populated city in Texas (Houston is the first), is home to the beautiful Riverwalk, Spanish Missions, and one of the most famous clashes in the history of the United States. In 1836, Texas was part of Mexico. Tensions were high between American colonists and native Mexicans, due to...
Lesson Plan

Alice Paul: Suffragist and Agitator

9, 10, 11, 12

Background The American women’s suffrage movement has always been identified with its two founders, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, whose strong, enthusiastic leadership defined the movement. When they retired from active participation in the cause, the loss of that personal connection naturally affected the movement’s future. The transition was not an easy one. As the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), the organization that Stanton and Anthony had led, headed into the twentieth century, it lost the dynamism and direction of the nineteenth...
Lesson Plan

All Aboard: Making Connections with the Transcontinental Railroad

5, 6, 7, 8

LESSON 1 Objectives Students will Read and understand primary source writings from two key documents that encouraged settlers to go west and that established congressional support of what would eventually become the transcontinental railroad. Use a graphic organizer to guide them as they read and analyze the legislative acts. Materials Excerpts from Homestead Act of 1862 , Our Documents , www.ourdocuments.gov . Graphic Organizer for Homestead Act of 1862 Excerpts from Pacific Railway Act of 1862 , Our Documents , www.ourdocuments.gov . Graphic Organizer for Pacific Railway Act...
Lesson Plan

America in Song

Government and Civics

3, 4, 5

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 significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material. Overview Students will understand the history and significance of several of America’s most iconic songs: "The Star-Spangled Banner," "Yankee Doodle," "America the Beautiful," and "America (My Country ’Tis of Thee)." The...
Lesson Plan

America’s First Ladies on Twentieth-Century Issues

8

Unit Overview Over the course of three to four lessons the students will analyze five primary source documents. These documents are the abridged transcripts of speeches by five of our country’s first ladies: Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, and Hillary Clinton. All of the speeches address the subject of rights: women’s rights, human rights, or both. Students will closely analyze these primary sources with the purpose of not only understanding the literal message but also inferring the more subtle messages. Students’ understanding will be determined...
Lesson Plan

American Music Goes to War

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Entertainment is always a national asset. Invaluable in time of peace, it is indispensable in wartime. —Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1943 Background Music during World War II had an unprecedented impact on America, both on the home front and on troops serving overseas. Unlike World War I, which occurred in the pre-radio era, by December 1941, virtually every American household, 96.2 percent, owned radios. Never before had recordings of songs and live musical performances been broadcast to so many millions of Americans, both to those supporting the war at home and to troops serving...
Lesson Plan

American Symbols: The Flag, the Statue of Liberty, and the Great Seal

Art, Government and Civics

K, 1, 2

Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. The lessons are built around the use of visual evidence and critical thinking skills. Students will understand the significance of several iconic American symbols: the Flag of the United States of America, the Statue of Liberty, and the Great Seal of the United States. The iconic symbols of America are those objects that create an...
Lesson Plan

An "Unconstitutional" Act? The Suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Background At the beginning of the Civil War, as the number of dead increased daily, a force of opposition to the war efforts began to intensify in the Congress and in the voices of the American people. Abraham Lincoln, in an effort to silence the Southern sympathizers, or "Copperheads," suspended the writ of habeas corpus, a clause of the Constitution that forbids unlawful imprisonment. The suspension of this clause was first mandated only in the state of Maryland due to its proximity to the capital, but in September of 1861 Lincoln ordered the suspension within all the Union...
Lesson Plan

Analyzing Protest Songs of the 1960s

Background In January 1969, America’s recently elected conservative president Richard Nixon took office, young Americans were engaged in a radical and vivacious counterculture, and a devastating war in Vietnam continued amidst a diminishing degree of popular support. While President Lyndon Johnson had largely inherited the Vietnam crisis, his Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 allowed for his complete control as the commander in chief over Congress. While Johnson relied on his advisors for support and success in Vietnam, his original hopes for a brief conflict ending in 1966...
Lesson Plan

Analyzing the Great Compromise, 1787

Government and Civics

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Essential Question How could our Founding Fathers balance the needs of the states as we created a national government? Materials The Virginia Plan, 1787 (PDF). Source: Virginia (Randolph) Plan as Amended (National Archives Microfilm Publication M866, 1 roll); The Official Records of the Constitutional Convention; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789, Record Group 360; National Archives. Online at 100 Milestone Documents, http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=7 Variant Texts of the Plan Presented by William...
Lesson Plan

Andrew Jackson and the Bank War

9, 10, 11, 12

Introduction When Alexander Hamilton called for a Bank of the United States in his Report on a National Bank , he envisioned a central bank that would sustain a developing national economy. The bank would, through the creation of bank "notes," replace some of the gold and silver money in circulation. This would allow for the growth in business activity without the need to rely solely on exports to increase money supply. Additionally, Hamilton argued that the bank would strengthen the national government by lending money to its treasury. As it turned out, the First Bank of the...
Lesson Plan

Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress Concerning the Indian Removal Act of 1830

Geography, Government and Civics

7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

View a copy of Jackson’s Message to Congress in the Gilder Lehrman Collection by clicking here . For additional resources click here . Unit Objective This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering...
Lesson Plan

Articles of Confederation

Government and Civics

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Essential Question How could our Founding Fathers best meet the governing needs of the various factions after the Revolutionary War? Materials Articles of Confederation (PDF). Source: Transcript of the Articles of Confederation , 100 Milestone Documents, www.ourdocuments.gov Land Ordinance of 1785 (PDF). Source: National Archives, ARC Id. 1943531 Northwest Ordinance of 1787 (PDF). Source: Transcript of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 , 100 Milestone Documents, Our Documents, www.ourdocuments.gov Post-It Paper Lesson Activities JIGSAW: Create 7 groups of 3 or 4 in each group and...
Lesson Plan

Back in 1734

K, 1, 2, 3

Introduction Present the following scenario to your students. You can either read it to them or enlist students to act it out. The scenario is about two children who lived in 1734 and were the age of your students. "Anna Elizabeth and her brother Samuel live in a small house with a thatched roof. Their father built the house himself. Both children help their parents by completing many chores each day. Anna Elizabeth is learning how to run a home. She feeds the chickens and gathers eggs each morning. Her mother is teaching her how to spin yarn and weave cloth on a loom. She...
Lesson Plan

Banking Basics

Economics

1, 2, 3, 4

Introduction Many elementary school students are unaware of how banks make money and what causes them to fail. This lesson will provide students with a basic understanding of those two issues, linking them to the Great Depression and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Banking Holiday in 1933. Essential Question How do banks make money? What causes banks to fail? How did Franklin Delano Roosevelt try to stem the failure of banks in 1933? Background During the late 1920s and early 1930s, many banks became insolvent because they were unable to meet the demands for withdrawals that...
Lesson Plan

Baseball and Race in the United States

9, 10, 11, 12

Background On April 15, 1947, 27,000 fans packed Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York, to watch the Dodgers' new first baseman take to the field. They came to watch a baseball game, and they came to see a talented 28-year-old rookie, Jackie Robinson, become part of history. Jackie Robinson is widely known and celebrated as the man who smashed the color barrier in baseball. He became the fearless standard bearer who represented the hopes and dream of black Americans. However, he did not simply turn this page in history on his own. By 1947 others had been fighting for years to...
Lesson Plan

Beyond Rosie the Riveter: Women's Contributions During World War II

Art, Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

9, 10, 11, 12

Overview Although often understated, the social, economic, and political contributions of American women have all had profound effects on the course of this nation. For evidence of this, one needs to look no further than the many roles that women have played during wartime. From the Revolutionary War's "Molly Pitcher" to the thousands of women serving the United States military today, women have not only had a direct impact on the conflicts of their times but have also successfully transformed such experiences into opportunities for future generations. Never was this more...
Lesson Plan

Bruised Egos, Battles, and Boycott: The 1980 Moscow Olympics

World History

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Background Politics and sports have intermingled since the inception of the Olympic Games in Greece, but not until the 1980 Olympics did people fear that politics might destroy the Olympic movement and spirit. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America battled each other ideologically, economically, militarily, culturally, and politically in a very long Cold War that spanned more than forty years (1948–1991). In the midst of the Cold War, the two countries often met in sporting arenas around the world to compete for medals. In 1980, Moscow hosted...
Lesson Plan

Celebrating Labor Day

Government and Civics

4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Essential Question To what extent have the conditions of American workers improved over the past 100 years? Background After the Civil War, the United States witnessed an accelerating movement of people westward, a rapidly increasing number of immigrants, and the large growth of urban areas. Along with these trends, the massive changes in how corporations were organized and operated and the growth of the labor movement during this period wrought significant changes in American life. The right to organize, to bargain for wages and working conditions, the equitable distribution...
Lesson Plan

Challenging Segregation in Public Education

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Background The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, during the congressional Reconstruction era. The amendment’s most significant provision —"No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." —created the potential for two interpretations. It seemed to some that Congress intended for a broad view of civil rights protections...
Lesson Plan

Children on the Home Front

World History

2, 3, 4, 5

Overview While American soldiers were fighting abroad, those left at home, including children, contributed to the war effort in many ways. Background Although World War II wasn’t fought on US soil, its effects were deeply felt by all Americans. With a majority of the male population overseas, remaining citizens dedicated themselves to the task of keeping the country running efficiently while supporting the soldiers. Women, previously discouraged from working in industry, became the work force out of necessity. Young people experienced childhood that included carrying out their...
Lesson Plan

Children’s Attitudes about Slavery and Women’s Abolitionism as Seen through Anti-slavery Fairs

6, 7, 8

Overview Over two days, students will examine the attitudes that children from northern states had about slavery during the 1830s to 1860s and how abolitionists tried to change their way of thinking. They will also explore how woman abolitionists used anti-slavery fairs to generate support for the anti-slavery cause. Materials Chart paper Rose and Miss Belle , MerryCoz.org The Slave-Boy's Wish The Slave’s Friend, two covers , MerryCoz.org A Child’s Anti-Slavery Book cover , Cornell University Anti-Slavery Fair Poster #1 , Cornell University Anti-Slavery Fair Poster #2 , Ontario...
Lesson Plan

Colonists Divided: A Revolution and a Civil War

Government and Civics

6, 7, 8

Background The Stamp Act, the Quartering Act, the Declaratory Act, the Sugar Act, and the Tea Act were just a few of the many policies Great Britain enacted in the British North American colonies in the eighteenth century. To many colonists these policies were oppressive and unjust since the colonists had no direct representation in Parliament. The British government felt that the colonists were protected by the British army and navy, and there was stability under a constitutional monarchy, which was more than other, longer-established countries could boast. As more and more...
Lesson Plan

Common Man and Contradictions: A Mock Trial of Andrew Jackson

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Overview The election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 marked a change in American politics. For the first time a presidential candidate had been elected from west of the Appalachian Mountains, marking an end to the streak held by wealthy eastern elitists. Jackson represented the emergence of a new middle-/working-class America. The war hero from the Battle of New Orleans who did not have a college education, chewed tobacco, and dueled with pistols to defend his wife’s honor reflected the ideals of the western portion of the United States. The appeal of Jackson to the ordinary man...
Lesson Plan

Comparison of Ideas: Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois

Economics

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Essential Question Which of the two views presented below, W.E.B. Du Bois’ or Booker T. Washington’s, offered a better strategy to put our nation on a quicker path to equality for African Americans at the turn of the twentieth century? Documents Booker T. Washington, 1895 Atlanta Compromise Speech, History Matters, George Mason University Excerpt from W.E.B. Du Bois, Souls of Black Folk, 1903, History Matters, George Mason University Marcus Garvey, "The Conspiracy of the East St. Louis Riots," July 8, 1917 , PBS Procedure Select appropriate excerpts for your level of students...
Lesson Plan

Conflict and Captivity in the Colonies

Literature

6, 7, 8

Background The early seventeenth century was punctuated by a series of small wars between Native Americans and colonists. Many colonists were captured and taken prisoner, but two women, whose ordeals were published as books, stand out. Mary Rowlandson wrote an account of her 1675 capture and escape, The Narrative of the Captivity and the Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson , in which she described her captivity and treatment by the Native Americans during King Phillip’s War. Hannah Dustin was captured in 1675, during King William’s War, and fought her way to freedom. Her story...
Lesson Plan

Dashes and Dots: A Product of the Nineteenth Century

Economics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Overview Students will examine primary sources including letters, a patent, photos, and diagrams to identify and describe the technological invention and development of the telegraph that evolved during the nineteenth century. Background Prior to 1830, communication across the country was limited to overland mail, which took approximately a month to reach its destination, or by the pony express, which took about two weeks. In 1837, Samuel F. B. Morse invented a faster way to communicate. His invention, the telegraph, sent messages from one machine to another along a wire. A...
Lesson Plan

Deadly Diseases: A Fate Worse than Dying on the Battlefield

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

9, 10, 11, 12

Background Cannons blasted and bayonets tore through flesh in America’s worst war, the American Civil War. This war was gruesome for many different reasons. It tore the country apart and created divides that exist to this day. One of the more ghastly aspects of the war concerned medical practices. Being wounded and sent to the hospital was as much a death sentence as being sent to the front lines. Medical equipment was bulky and hard to move. It was a lower priority than ammunition and food, so the doctors rarely had what they needed. At the time, people had little to no...
Lesson Plan

Declarations of Independence: Women's Rights and the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions

Government and Civics

6, 7, 8

Background Under the leadership of Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a convention for the rights of women was held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. It was attended by between 200 and 300 people, both women and men. Its primary goal was to discuss the rights of women—how to gain these rights for all, particularly in the political arena. The conclusion of this convention was that the effort to secure equal rights across the board would start by focusing on suffrage for women. The participants wrote the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, patterned...
Lesson Plan

Democracy in Early America: Servitude and the Treatment of Native Americans and Africans prior to 1740

World History

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Essential Questions How did European explorers and colonists who came to the New World for "Gold, Glory and/or God" justify their treatment of Native Americans, enslaved Africans, and indentured servants? To what extent were there discrepancies between agreed-upon political ideals and the treatment of these minority groups? Background The nations that explored and colonized North and South America during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries used a variety of approaches for subjugating Native Americans, enslaved Africans, and indentured servants. Once Jamestown...

Showing results 1 - 50