Lesson Plan The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere: Literature v. History Art, Government and Civics, Literature, World History 3, 4, 5 Click to download this three-lesson unit.
Video: Book Breaks Jeffrey Rosen - "The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America" Government and Civics Jeffrey Rosen is a legal scholar who serves as the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School. Order The Pursuit of Happiness at the Gilder Lehrman Book...
Spotlight on: Primary Source World War I poems: “In Flanders Fields” and “The Answer,” 1918 Literature, World History Ella Osborn’s 1918 diary provides insight into the experiences of an American nurse serving in France at the end of World War I. In addition to her notes about the men under her care and events in France, Osborn jotted down two...
Spotlight on: Primary Source John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, 1961 Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the thirty-fifth President of the United States. His short, fourteen-minute inaugural address is best remembered for a single line: "My fellow Americans: ask not what your country...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Phillis Wheatley’s poem on tyranny and slavery, 1772 Government and Civics, Literature, Religion and Philosophy Born in Africa, Phillis Wheatley was captured and sold into slavery as a child. She was purchased by John Wheatley of Boston in 1761. The Wheatleys soon recognized Phillis’s intelligence and taught her to read and write. She became...
Lesson Plan Letter from Christopher Columbus on Returning from His First Voyage to the Americas, 1493 Geography, World History 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click here to download this five-lesson unit.
Classroom Resources Historical Context: "Birth of a Nation" Art, Geography, Government and Civics, Literature 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In 1915, fifty years after the end of the Civil War, D. W. Griffith released his epic film Birth of a Nation . The greatest blockbuster of the silent era, Birth of a Nation was seen by an estimated 200 million Americans by 1946. Based...
Guided Readings Guided Readings: Using Primary and Secondary Sources: Slavery in the Founding Era 3, 4, 5 Primary and secondary sources can provide different kinds of information about the past. In the context of slavery, Phillis Wheatley is considered the most important figure of the eighteenth century. Two accounts of her experience...
Lesson Plan Differing Views of Pilgrims and American Indians in Seventeenth-Century New England Economics, Government and Civics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Background Wampanoags Much of what is known about early Wampanoag history comes from archaeological evidence, the Wampanoag oral tradition (much of which has been lost), and documents created by seventeenth-century English colonists....
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...