This is a hands-on learning activity where students learn the meaning of imagery by examining images on two Pueblo pots and reading short excerpts from Native American folklore. They will design their own pots by creating symbols and explaining the meaning of the symbols.
In this learning activity, students examine Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin to explore how words affect public opinion. Additional resources are available by clicking Download PDF or DOC button including a video, a Source Analysis Chart, Organizing Quotes Chart, a summary from the book, and illustrations from the book.
In this activity, students critically examine the Constitution of the United States including the amendment process, its relationship with slavery, and the structure of the branches of government. Click the Download PDF or DOC button to access additional resources for this activity including a speech from Benjamin Franklin, several letters from George Washington, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, and sections from the Constitutional Convention.
In this activity, students will be able to identify Benjamin Franklin and his inventions. Students experiment with static electricity and create a "magic picture".
This is a collection of lessons that can be used to help students understand Kwanzaa. Students watch a brief documentary and view images related to the holiday as an introduction to Kwanzaa. Students compare and contrast images of Kwanzaa with images of Christmas and Hanukkah. Students are also asked to view an image and use that image to describe Kwanzaa to someone unfamiliar with the holiday. Be sure to click "Read More" at the top of the collection to view the lesson that can be used with this collection.
Meet the famed Tuskegee Airmen in this episode of Yellowhammer History Hunt and find out how they helped the Allies win World War II while fighting racism at home. Learn about how their accomplishments in the air and on the ground led President Harry Truman to desegregate the US military.
In this passage, students learn about the widespread influence of the Roman Empire. Students will read about the influence of Roman law, political theory, citizenship, and slavery, but primarily architecture and engineering, specifically the Roman arch.
This website contains 5 primary resources students can use to help write an essay on Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
Today we’re talking about how we actually DO sociology. Nicole explains the research method: form a question and a hypothesis, collect data, and analyze that data to contribute to our theories about society.
John Green teaches you the history of the Indian Ocean Trade. John weaves a tale of swashbuckling adventure, complete with trade in books, ivory, and timber. Along the way, John manages to cover advances in seafaring technology, just how the monsoons work, and there's even a disembowelment for you Fangoria fans.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
Many Americans spent the 1920s in a great mood. Investors flocked to a rising stock market. Companies launched brand-new, cutting-edge products, like radios and washing machines. Exuberant Americans kicked up their heels to jazz music, tried crazy stunts, and supported a black market in liquor after Prohibition. A popular expression of the time asked, "What will they think of next?" See the blue-skies optimism of the Roaring Twenties with this gallery from American Experience: "The Crash of 1929."
Xavier, Yandina, and Brad have a lively debate over who the best hero of all time is. They each have different ideas, but one thing they can all agree on is that whoever it is needs to have the most courage, which means they aren’t afraid of anything. Suddenly, whoosh – our trio find themselves in the Secret Museum! They’re sent back in time to meet someone who truly embodies what it means to be a hero: Harriet Tubman. Xavier, Yandina, and Brad follow along with Harriet as she bravely sneaks through the night as a young girl to see her family, despite her fear of being caught. They then watch in awe as an older Harriet bravely risks her own freedom so she can rescue others and lead them to freedom, too. Including her own parents. The answer to their question is suddenly clear: Harriet Tubman is one of the greatest heroes who ever lived, not because she wasn’t scared of anything, but because real courage is bravely moving forward even when you’re scared.
This clip describes the history of Independence Day and includes some fun facts about it. It explains the reason for the holiday and mentions several traditions, such as setting off fireworks.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students explore Alaska Native culture and values using "First Fish," an 11-minute animated story from the PBS KIDS series MOLLY OF DENALI™. (Move the cursor over the video progress bar to locate the story at 01:00.) Before Molly catches her first fish, a childhood milestone that is as important today as it was in the past, she researches facts about salmon to help her. When Molly finally succeeds, she follows the tradition of honoring one's elders by offering her prized catch to Grandpa Nat. As students examine values, such as sharing with others and respecting elders, they learn social-emotional skills as well as the importance in Alaska Native culture of connecting to all living things.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, three young kids venture outside their 2-D animated world to learn about early Alabama history for their upcoming school report. Aided by their hyper-intelligent robotic friend Roto and a magical portal, they visit some of Alabama’s historic sites to learn about Native American societies, early settlers, and the beginning of Alabama’s statehood. With the help of local archaeologists and historians, they just might make it back home in time to get to school and turn in their report!
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students how the Civil War played a large part in making the United States the country that it is today. He covers some of the key ways in which Abraham Lincoln influenced the outcome of the war, and how the lack of foreign intervention also helped the Union win the war. John also covers the technology that made the Civil War different than previous wars. New weapons helped to influence the outcomes of battles, but photography influenced how the public at large perceived the war. In addition, John gets into the long-term effects of the war, including the federalization and unification of the United States. All this plus homesteading, land grant universities, railroads, federal currency, and taxes.
**Sensitive: This resource contains material that may be sensitive for some students. Teachers should exercise discretion in evaluating whether this resource is suitable for their class.
This classroom resource from Epic! is a book that helps students learn about maps and globes. Students can read about how maps and globes are similar, how they're different, and how they're used. The book includes a glossary, additional websites to visit, and a quiz.
This article from Khan Academy gives an overview of the Vietnam War. This war enmeshed the United States in a battle against communism in Southeast Asia for more than twenty years. This article includes a map showing the divisions of Vietnam. Students can answer the questions at the end of the article for assessment. The article can be read in a whole group or individually.
In this interactive game from iCivics, students learn how to make a positive change in their community. Students campaign for an issue of their choice, learn how to grow an organization of friends into a national movement, and engage the community and elected leaders to raise awareness and support for their cause. This game can be played when teaching a lesson on civic and community activities for reinforcement or after as an assessment.
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This collection includes videos, audio, photographs, activities, and lesson ideas to explore jazz and blues developed from the 1920s to the Great Depression and beyond.
In this lesson plan, students examine Thomas Jefferson's desk to gather information about the writing of the Declaration of Independence. After reviewing additional resources, students create a virtual exhibit.
In this video, we're going to talk about how the Earth moves, but to do that, we're going to have to go way back to the early days of the galaxy. Processes that happened before the Earth even formed have led us to the geographic patterns and processes that create Earth's environments and support all living things. We'll talk about how the Earth rotates, the effects of it being slightly tilted, how events like sea ice melting impact how the Earth wobbles, and talk about how our elliptical orbit gives us seasons. So many of our life decisions are influenced by the motion of Earth. It guides where we decide to live, what food we eat, or even what weather we experience, which we'll talk about more next time.
With their impressive city structures and advanced astronomical understanding, the Maya civilization once dominated Mesoamerica. Learn about the Maya's influence in mathematics, how their cosmic calendars advised agricultural matters, and how the legacy of this ancient civilization endures through Maya people today.
This video series from PBSLearningMedia teaches teens and pre-teens how to manage their money and foster an entrepreneurial spirit. Visit KSPS Education for more additional learning resources.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, explore Alaska Native history and culture using the 11-minute story "Grandpa's Drum" in this episode from the PBS KIDS series MOLLY OF DENALI™. (Move the cursor over the video progress bar to locate the story at 01:00.) An old photograph sends Molly and friend Tooey on a mission to find out why Grandpa Nat no longer sings or plays his drum. As they uncover Grandpa's past, using visual clues and the internet, they understand more about their own heritage and the importance of cultural identity. As students explore the importance of diverse cultures and honoring traditions, as well as Alaska Native lives then and now, they also learn about finding and using informational texts.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the United States in the 1920s. They were known as the roaring 20s, but not because there were lions running around everywhere. In the 1920s, America's economy was booming, and all kinds of social changes were in progress. Hollywood, flappers, jazz, there was all kinds of stuff going on in the 20s. John will teach you about Charleston, the many Republican presidents of the 1920s, laissez-faire capitalism, jazz, consumer credit, the resurgent Klan, and all kinds of other stuff.
In this video from A Kid Explains History, Quinn explains The Berlin Wall including why it was built and why the wall came down in 1989. With his precocious personality and kid-friendly vocabulary, Quinn is able to explain history in easy-to-understand terms. This video can be used to introduce major foreign events and issues of the John F. Kennedy Administration.
This article from Khan Academy provides an overview of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon which resulted in the United States' declaration of a Global War on Terror. Students can read the article and answer the questions at the end as an assessment. The article can be assigned through Google Classroom.
In this video from Khan Academy, students learn about the early world religion, Hinduism and its philosophies. This video can be used to introduce a lesson on early world religions and philosophies. The video is 10 minutes and 9 seconds in length.
We’re going to step back from hardware and software, and take a closer look at how the backdrop of the cold war and space race and the rise of consumerism and globalization brought us from huge, expensive codebreaking machines in the 1940s to affordable handhelds and personal computers in the 1970s. This is an era that saw huge government-funded projects - like the race to the moon. And afterward, a shift towards the individual consumer, commoditization of components, and the rise of the Japanese electronics industry.
In this activity, students will read The Flag Maker by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, a story about the creation of the first American flag. Students will be able to answer questions based on key details from the story. Students will explore the main character's emotions throughout the story and try to guess what she is feeling.
In this activity, students will gain a better understanding of the role of community helpers such as police officers and fire fighters. Students listen to the story: The Little Chapel That Stood by A. B. Curtiss. The link to the online reading from the author is included: http://www.abcurtiss.com/the-little-chapel-that-stood.html. A link to the reading guide is also included. Students will view a certificate given to a community helper for appreciation. Students will then design their own certificate of appreciation for a community helper.
This is a collection of photographs of the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. The images depict the importance of improved transportation for westward expansion. The collection also includes an interactive sorting game.
This video from the Daily Dose provides a 3-minute micro-learning film on the Acropolis, which has been inhabited by Greeks and foreign invaders for thousands of years. The Acropolis is a city in Greece known for its splendorous architecture.
Students will read the memory of a traumatic childhood incident of William Minner near his hometown of Spiro, Oklahoma. In this reading passage, students read a story about the separation of water fountains during segregation. A video, vocabulary support, and comprehension questions are included for this activity.
