In this passage, students will learn about the history of Rome. A historian named Livy wrote 142 books about the history of Rome. He believed the city did not develop by chance but by fate. This passage is his account of how Rome was founded. You may believe it or not, as you like. What you should do is think about it and learn from it. Oh, and one more thing: enjoy it.
In this lesson, students investigate cardinal directions and the compass rose through video and a directions game. Then, students will draw and label a map of the classroom using cardinal directions.
This collection includes videos, photographs, and articles about the Holocaust. Students can use this collection to explore what life might have been like during the Holocaust.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the tumultuous 2000s in the United States of America, mainly the 2000s that coincide with the presidency of George W Bush. From the controversial election in 2000 to the events of 9/11 and Bush's prosecution of the War on Terror, the George W. Bush presidency was an eventful one. John will teach you about Bush's domestic policies like tax-cutting, education reform, and he'll get into the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
**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.
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 this reading passage, students will learn about making a schedule. Making a schedule can be very helpful. A schedule is a list of times when certain things will happen. A schedule can help you do things on time.
A vocabulary activity is included with the reading passage.
In this lesson, students will learn about the executive branch of government at the state level, especially related to the first governors of the state of Alabama. Their impact on the development of Alabama and Alabama's role in the United States will be discussed.
Students will use research and note taking skills to gather information on an early governor. Then students will participate in jigsaw groups to share their information, discuss the importance of each governor, similarities, and impact. Finally, students will discuss the role of governor and how governors have an impact on the state and the impact these men had in Alabama and in other states.
This lesson was created in partnership with the Alabama Department of Archives and History.
In this interactive game from iCivics, students assume the role of President of the United States and learn how to propose an agenda to Congress, sign bills into law, delegate new laws to the appropriate federal agency, handle international diplomacy, and command the military during times of war. This game can be used while teaching a lesson on the executive branch for reinforcement or after as an assessment. It can be played in a whole group or individually.
You will need to create a free account in order to access some of the content on this site.
This video from PBSLearningMedia explains that the Declaration of Independence was the first formal statement by a nation's people asserting their right to choose their own government. The document was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, and announced the separation of 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain
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.
This mini-Breakout game introduces students to primary sources and World War I in an engaging and fun manner! Students use hints and solve clues to unlock the box and rescue primary source analysis documents that help them reveal details about the impact of World War I on Alabamians such as Curtis McCall. The main primary source utilized in the game/introductory activity is a draft registration card from World War I.
This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.
The lesson will focus on creating a timeline. The teacher and students will work together to collect data from teachers around the school. Using this data, students will work to complete a class timeline and formulate questions to ask others about their completed timeline. This lesson will require four 30-45 minute sessions to complete.
This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.
In this interactive game from iCivics, students can help remind citizens that their civic duties aren't just responsibilities, they help get things done! Students describe ways an individual can contribute to a school or community, identify ways that responsible community members exercise their rights, responsibilities, and roles, distinguish civic virtue, common courtesy, respect for person/property, civic and personal responsibility, and honesty as important characteristics for citizens to effectively participate in public life, and evaluate how civic and social duties address community needs and serve the public good. This game can be played when teaching a lesson on civic duties and responsibilities for reinforcement or after as an assessment.
You will need to create a free account in order to access some of the content on this site.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students learn about cardinal directions and complete an interesting hands-on activity. This video is part of Activity Starters, which is an animated video series. In each episode, an animated character introduces a concept and an activity
John Green teaches you about the European Renaissance. European learning changed the world in the 15th and 16th centuries, but was it a cultural revolution, or an evolution? We'd argue that any cultural shift that occurs over a couple of hundred years isn't too overwhelming to the people who live through it. In retrospect though, the cultural bloom in Europe during this time was pretty impressive. In addition to investigating what caused the Renaissance and who benefitted from the changes that occurred, John will tell you just how the Ninja Turtles got mixed up in all this.
**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 activity will introduce the study of Alabama's Civil Rights movement. The students will analyze a photograph of the church interior after the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. The juxtaposition of the blown-out window and debris-littered pew will encourage students to observe, infer, and make predictions.
This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.
This is a collection of images of steamboats, artifacts, and articles about transportation and changes in transportation in the early nineteenth century.
This video from Khan Academy is an overview of how the Scientific Revolution catalyzed the Age of Enlightenment with a discussion of the degree to which Enlightenment ideas have or even can be fulfilled. This video can be used during a lesson on the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment. This video is 8 minutes and 30 seconds in length.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students will develop a definition for the word "warrior," investigate what "warrior" means to Native Americans and compare and contrast their understanding of the word warrior to Native Americans’ concept of a warrior.
Instructional Resources
**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.
In this episode, Craig Benzine talks about the importance of elections. He isn't going to focus on presidential elections, but instead those of the strongest part of our government: congressional elections. Craig will talk about the frequency of elections in the Senate and House, typical characteristics of a candidate, and the motivating factors that our congresspeople follow to get re-elected.
This learning activity should be used to introduce the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The students will explore the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by reading and viewing pictures on the website https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/martin-luther-king-jr/. The students will use a T-Chart to compare and contrast cultural differences during The Civil Rights movement.
This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
This activity is recommended for first grade and allows students the opportunity to identify with local leaders in their community and state and discover their roles in their community. Students can begin to understand how problems are solved within their own community and who is responsible for solving them.
This is a video from Khan Academy that gives an overview of the Vietnam War. This video can be played to introduce the Vietnam War. The video is 17 minutes and 40 seconds in length.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students learn exploring our world is fun. Abby Brown loves to help kids have fun while learning. In this segment, Abby teaches kids about many types of transportation and how people and things get from one place to another. Sometimes, transportation is just for fun.
Now that we’ve talked a little bit about how sociology works, it’s time to start exploring some of the ideas of the discipline’s founders. First up: Émile Durkheim. We’ll explain the concept of social facts and how Durkheim framed sociology as a science. We’ll introduce the idea of common consciousness and how Durkheim believed it binds society together. We’ll also talk about Durkheim’s studies on suicide and how he applied his concepts to a specific social problem.
Students in each Grade 6 class will work in collaboration to create a class group Google Slides presentation celebrating the Alabama Bicentennial (or Alabama History). Students will present information on the reasons behind the strategic placement of military bases in Alabama during World War I, identify changes on the Alabama homefront during World War II, or critique major social and cultural changes in Alabama since World War II. Each student will research a different topic to find information to create one or two slides as part of the group slideshow. The finished class Google Slides’ show will be presented, with each student reading his/her own slides.
This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Learning Development Summit.
In this activity, students investigate social, economic, and geographic influences that led to westward expansion in the United States prior to the Civil War. Students will also identify technologies and conflicts that occurred from expansion and analyze whether manifest destiny was truly achieved. Click on the download PDF or DOC button for additional resources such as song lyrics, maps, photographs, and newspaper articles.
This article from Khan Academy provides an overview of the nullification crisis. In response to the Tariff of 1828, vice president John C. Calhoun asserted that states had the right to nullify federal laws. Students can read this article and answer the questions at the end as an assessment. The article can be read in a whole group setting or individually. It can be assigned through Google Classroom.
This clip re-enacts the attacks of September 11, 2001. One of the flights vanishes off the radar, and air traffic control tries to communicate with it. As news starts pouring in of an attack on the World Trade Center, concerned air traffic controllers note that the flight is heading towards Washington D.C. and begin to suspect the worst.
The coach of a football team redefines the meaning of determination and motivation when he has two of his players complete an arduous task. This video can be used when teaching about the role of motivation and emotion in human behavior.
This video from the Daily Dose provides a 3-minute micro-learning film on Caligula, a Roman emperor who was the victim of an unknown illness resulting in erratic, impulsive, and sadistic behavior. Caligula's excesses and draining of the treasury would result in a conspiracy among senators to assassinate the mentally ill emperor.
In this learning activity, students will hear the story of John Bull, one of the first locomotives in the United States and compare transportation from the past to today's transportation. A video of John Bull is included along with web links to other activities.
This classroom resource from Epic! is an interactive book that explains how Earth is covered by landforms and bodies of water, all of which change shape over time. A glossary and additional suggested websites and books are included. The age range is 5-8 years old. The AR level is 3.4. This book also includes directions for making a model of a landform.
This video is a short biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald, an influential 20th-century author best known for works such as The Great Gatsby and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He is one of the most famous writers of the "Lost Generation," people who came of age during or shortly after the first World War and became disillusioned by the senseless death and destruction.
In this learning activity, students will pretend they have been chosen to induct Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe into the fictional abolitionist hall-of-fame. Their first job, however, is to design a “flyer” that advertises the inductees and the reasons for their inductions. In the spaces provided on the flyer, they will continue the narratives that highlight each inductee’s accomplishments. Secondly, they will design an abolitionist hall-of-fame medal each would receive upon their entry. Medals can include icons, symbols, color, and their names.
