Classroom Resources

This is the epic tale of the great Protestant revolutionary whose belief in his faith would overthrow the all-powerful Catholic Church and reshape Medieval Europe. Join Luther as he recalls his life, from his initial crisis of faith in a storm-wracked forest that led him to become a monk, to his heady confrontation with the great powers of Europe.

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."

In February 2009, Continental Flight 3407 crashed outside of Buffalo, NY, killing 50 people. The flight was operated by Colgan Air, a regional airline that flies routes under contract for US Airways, United, and Continental. The crash and subsequent investigation revealed a little-known trend in the airline industry: Major airlines have outsourced more of their flights to obscure regional carriers.

In this video chapter from FRONTLINE  Flying Cheap, correspondent Miles O'Brien explores this trend and examines some of the many factors that may have contributed to the accident.

In these scenario-based activities, students view video segments from selected episodes of The Vietnam War, describing specific situations facing each of five US presidents during the course of the war. Students then engage in decision-making activities to analyze the circumstances, explore the president’s options, and define a course of action.

The essential questions are:

1. How effective were the decisions made by American and Vietnamese leaders toward achieving their respective goals?
2. How can government leaders decide the best course of action during a time of war?

Themes pertaining to leadership, imperialism, nationalism, exceptionalism, and the Cold War are depicted in this resource. 

**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.

Inspire students to think about the role of international diplomacy in the investigation of the Malaysian plane that was shot down over Ukraine with this PBS NewsHour video and educational resource from July 21, 2014. President Barack Obama called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to allow international investigators full access to the crash site in the war-torn region of Ukraine.

Follow George Washington’s decision to move the course of action to Yorktown, Virginia in this video created by George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Learn about Washington’s challenge to identify the best course of action with the French allies as he decides to confront the British Command in Virginia instead of New York. This visually rich movie engages students in the details of American military history through animated maps, live-action re-enactors, and compelling narration. Explore the full collection of George Washing and the American Revolution resources.

World War I drastically altered the global map and changed the course of history. Help students explore and analyze the war with this PBS NewsHour video and educational materials.

For over 20 years, a summer program for gifted adolescents at Western Kentucky University has offered an arts-integrated history course on Nazi Germany and the Holocaust. The course concludes with students working as a group to create a large mural on the Holocaust. In this way, students use the power of art to deal with their own emotions as well as to educate others.

In Fall 2017, murals from the past 20 years went on a traveling display in Kentucky to engage a broader audience in thought-provoking conversation on the topic. This image collection shows the completed murals created over the 20-year span of the program. 

**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.

Some professor and their lessons at Florida State College of Women were targeted as being subversive and amoral. Professor Raymond Bellamy taught a progressive curriculum in his sociology courses while rumors that he was teaching controversial and subversive topics spread among fundamentalist activists who wanted the teaching of Creationism introduced on campus.

This segment tells the story of the Battle of Perryville, which took place in Boyle County, KY, in October 1862. Historian Kent Masterson Brown discusses the importance of the Battle of Perryville for the course of the Civil War. It was crucial because the Union Army successfully drove the Confederate Army from Kentucky and ended its attempt to recapture the state.

**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.

Chamizal National Memorial sits on land that once belonged to Mexico. What is now a park was once the focus of a century-long border dispute that began when the Rio Grande River changed course. In 1963, a treaty ended that standoff and three years later this park was created as a monument to the friendship between the U.S. and Mexico and the culture we share.

Examine how a split over tactics that divided the women’s suffrage movement—with a militant faction led by Alice Paul and a moderate group led by Carrie Chapman Catt—ended up intensifying the pressure on President Woodrow Wilson to reverse course and support the federal amendment granting women the right to vote, in these videos adapted from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE | The Vote.

**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.

The attack on Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) on December 7th, 1941 changed the course of history and triggered the involvement of the United States in World War II. The attack destroyed much of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet and killed nearly 2,500 Americans. This segment of Iowa Public Television's Iowa’s WWll Stories features historical film clips as well as interviews with survivors of the attack.

The stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, a day that would come to be known as "Black Tuesday." The crash punctured a speculative bubble that had been building throughout the 1920s, throwing one-and-a-half million Americans out of work. In three years, that number would triple. In response to the lower wheat prices, more wheat was planted.

Learning Objective:

Students will understand how the agricultural response to the Great Depression fueled the already dire ecological situation in the Great Plains, leading to the Dust Bowl. 

About the Author:

Eden McCauslin is a Social Studies and English teacher in Chicago Public Schools. Eden previously taught in the District of Columbia Public Schools

Explore images of the fallen city of Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War. General Ulysses S. Grant tried unsuccessfully to capture Richmond for nearly a year before he took the city on April 2, 1865. The battle would be a crippling defeat for the South and led to Robert E. Lee's surrender to Grant one week later on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House.

Many Kentuckians turn against the war when Lincoln enlists black soldiers. There is also anger toward Lincoln because of the political and economic conditions. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln is assassinated. 

This resource is part of the KET Lincoln: "I, Too, Am a Kentuckian." collection.

View a gallery of images of Confederate and Union Army regiments, troops, and infantry from Pennsylvania to Georgia, Virginia to Massachusetts. From 1861-1865, more than three million men fought in the American Civil War, and over 600,000 lost their lives in battle.

This two person Spanish game encourages students to use conjugation skills as they attempt to locate and sink their partner's fleet before their partner achieves the same. Three versions of the game's printouts are included: one with preset verbs, one that allows teachers to add their own verbs and another that allows teachers to adjust all aspects of the game. Complete instructions for game play are included. This game could easily be adapted to any language by customizing the provided blank game board.

This set of printable posters features the key question words taught in novice Spanish courses. Each printable highlights one single question word and includes an image so that students can make connections with the new vocabulary without relying on direct translations. Included words are: ¿Qué?, ¿Quién?, ¿Quiénes?, ¿Cuándo?, ¿Por qué?, ¿Cómo?, ¿Cuáles?, ¿Cuántos?, ¿Dónde?

This printable features a blank calavera / sugar skull for students to decorate. It offers an easy addition to any díá de los muertos (Day of the Dead) culture lesson and connects students with an important product found within traditional Mexican culture. 

This short video from The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, teaches about physical science, energy, and light. Thing 1 tries clear, tinted, and opaque glass, to create a shade for Thing 2. He decides that opaque glass provides the best shade and relief from the sun.

Students explore similarities and differences in the life cycle of organisms and are introduced to the process of metamorphosis. This lesson deepens students' understanding of the similarities and differences in the life cycles of organisms. The lesson begins with a reading of Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Next, students use a video to study the developmental stages of frogs, dragonflies, and butterflies. They compare insect and frog life cycles to each other and to the stages of human development.

John Green investigates the dawn of human civilization. John looks into how people gave up hunting and gathering to become agriculturalists and how that change has influenced the world we live in today. Also, there are some jokes about cheeseburgers.

**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.

John Green teaches you about the Indus Valley Civilization, one of the largest of the ancient civilizations. John teaches you the who, how, when, where, and why of the Indus Valley Civilization, and dispenses advice on how to be more successful in your romantic relationships.

John Green presents Mesopotamia and the early civilizations that arose around the Fertile Crescent. Topics covered include the birth of territorial kingdoms, empires, Neo-Assyrian torture tactics, sacred marriages, ancient labor practices, the world's first law code, and the great failed romance of John's undergrad years.

**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.

John Green covers the long, long history of ancient Egypt, including the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, and even a couple of intermediate periods. Learn about mummies, pharaohs, pyramids, and the Nile with John.

**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.

John Green compares and contrasts Greek civilization and the Persian Empire. Of course, we're glad that Greek civilization spawned modern western civilization, right? Maybe not. From Socrates and Plato to Darius and Xerxes, John explains two of the great powers of the ancient world, all WITHOUT the use of footage from 300.

**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.

John Green relates a condensed history of India, post-Indus Valley Civilization. John explores Hinduism and the origins of Buddhism. He also gets into the reign of Ashoka, the Buddhist emperor who, in spite of Buddhism's structural disapproval of violence, managed to win a bunch of battles.

This website offers direct links to over 30 French-language newspapers from around the globe. These authentic materials in the target language were published for French speakers and provide lots of interpretative reading practice for students as they explore current events from the French-speaking world. Resources are well organized and provided from Canada, France, Tunisia, and Switzerland

This website offers direct links to a variety of German-language newspapers from around Europe. These authentic materials in the target language were published for German speakers and provide lots of interpretative reading practice for students as they explore current events from the German-speaking world. Resources are well organized and provided from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxemburg, and Switzerland.

This website offers direct links to 11 different Chinese language newspapers. These authentic materials in the target langauge were published for Chinese speakers and provide lots of interpretive reading practice for students as they explore current events from throughout China.

This intermediate-low French activity encourages students to talk about daily routines using reflexive vocabulary. A Google slide presentation guides the teacher and students through a warm-up, main activity, and wrap-up. In the warm-up, students observe a series of photos and describe the actions that appear in one of the photos. Classmates then use interpretive listening skills to determine which photo is being described. The main activity is a game in which students roll dice to determine which questions they will need to answer. The question sheet is included but teachers will need to provide 2 dice - one with numbers and one with colors.

This intermediate-mid to intermediate-high French lesson focuses on describing plazas and giving directions.  A Google slide presentation guides the teacher and students through the lesson. First students are provided a map and asked to work in pairs to describe how to get from one place to another. (The map can easily be changed to reflect your own hometown.) Afterward, students are provided one of six plaza cards depicting photos of popular plazas in France, Belgium, Morocco, and Canada. Using guiding questions students, discuss various aspects of each plaza and compare them with locations found within their own culture.

Students will read different rhythm patterns.  They will create body percussion and improvise new rhythm patterns. Students will dictate rhythm patterns using iconic or standard notation.  Finally, students will compose their own rhythm patterns.  Demonstration videos are provided. 

The purpose of this activity is to warm students up while simultaneously having them work on proper technique in the skills of throwing and catching a football.