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This article from Khan Academy provides an overview of the emergence of the American Indian Movement and the gay rights movement, as well as the continuation of the second-wave feminist women's movement. Students can read the article and answer the questions at the end for assessment to describe changing social conditions during the 1970s. The article can be assigned to Google Classroom.

This lesson provides an introduction to the study of the Holocaust and can be used as the first lesson of a larger unit, or a stand-alone lesson to discuss essential content and themes. The Holocaust refers to the systematic murder of six million Jews, and millions of others, by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. The Nazi Party came to power in 1933. Its leader, Adolf Hitler, was appointed chancellor of Germany and began to target Jews. Roma/Sinti, those with physical or mental disabilities, LGBTQ people, political dissidents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and others were considered enemies by the Nazis and not worthy of human rights.

Why are some countries rich? Why are some countries poor? In the end, it comes down to productivity. This week on Crash Course Econ, Adriene and Jacob investigate just why some economies are more productive than others, and what happens when an economy is more productive. We'll look at how things like per capita GDP translate to the lifestyle of normal people.

In this Yellowhammer History Hunt episode, learn about the lives of the Native Americans and French who in the 1700s lived as neighbors in the land that became Alabama. Learn how the French established Fort Toulouse and how Native American and European languages, customs, and trade shaped Alabama.

In this learning activity, students will research economic and social changes and expansion in the United States after World War II. Students will identify programs that had an economic impact on society such as the G.I. Bill of Rights, suburbanization, and immigration. Click on the Download PDF or DOC button for additional resources including charts, graphs, photographs, and maps.

In this interactive game from WNET Thirteen, “A Cheyenne Odyssey,” players become Little Fox, a Northern Cheyenne boy whose life is changed by the encroachment of white settlers, railroads, and U.S. military expeditions.  As buffalo diminish and the U.S. expands westward, players experience the Cheyenne's persistence through conflict and national transformation. Teachers will need to register for a free account.  The game can be played in a whole group setting or individually.

Website for students that walks students through the process of how a bill becomes law. There are clickable links to the glossary, lesson plans, and annotation tools. 

Students pretend they are reporters from Alabama. They will choose a survivor of the Civil War to interview - a Confederate soldier, a Union soldier, a politician, a civilian (non-soldier), or a woman. Students will create a fictional person to interview, but their answers must be based on historical facts. Students will prepare at least three questions for this person with a focus on their experiences during the war. Edit the video to go between the student as the reporter asking the questions and the student as the interviewed person. Bonus challenge: add costumes/props! 

A YouTube video is attached in the Flipgrid for an additional resource on the Civil War.

This video from the Daily Dose provides a 3-minute micro-learning film on Alexander the Great. Alexander the Great was born into royalty in Macedonia, educated by Aristotle, and would ascend to the Macedonian throne after his father was assassinated, building one of the largest empires of his time.

In this lesson plan, students debate the legacy of John Brown and how he should be remembered. The lesson includes videos of an actor portraying John Brown, a plea to the people of Concord from Henry David Thoreau, and a John Brown song.  

This classroom activity is an interactive book from Epic! that introduces emergent readers to opposing spatial directions they see every day. The age range is 5-7 years old. The AR level is 0.9. The book includes a glossary.

Ernest Green and the rest of the Little Rock Nine attempt to integrate into an all-white school following a mandate by President Eisenhower. However, armed guards prevent them from entering the school.

In this online interactive game, Ms. Information is traveling the country trying to re-write history with her false information! Can you stop her? She has traveled to the Jamestown Village in Virginia to change the story of the colony's early history. Use your knowledge of Jamestown to foil her plan once and for all!

This activity can be used in conjunction with the book, Freedom on the Menu by Carole Boston. Through the activity, students will gather information about the Greensboro Woolworth Lunch Counter sit-in and how it was related to the Civil Rights Movement. The activity includes links to other resources.

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students where American politicians come from. In the beginning, George Washington was elected president with no opposition, everything was new and exciting, and everyone just got along. For several months. Then the contentious debate about the nature of the United States began, and it continues to this day. Washington and his lackey/handler Alexander Hamilton pursued an elitist program of federalism. The opposition, creatively known as the anti-federalists, wanted to build some kind of agrarian pseudo-paradise where every (white) man could have his own farm, and live a free, self-reliant life. The founding father who epitomized this view was Thomas Jefferson.

**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 video, Craig is going to dive into the controversy of monetary and fiscal policy. Monetary and fiscal policy are ways the government, and most notably the Federal Reserve influences the economy--for better or for worse.

In this video, students learn about producers and consumers. Producers are those who make something. People who buy things are called consumers. Students can differentiate between producers and consumers by making real-world connections with food and clothing. 

In this learning activity, students learn about the methods and tools necessary to conduct a genealogical interview to research women's history in their family.

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the Gilded Age and its politics. The Gilded Age started in the 1870s and continued until the turn of the 20th century. The era is called Gilded because of the massive inequality that existed in the United States. Gilded Age politics were marked by a number of phenomenons, most of them having to do with corruption. On the local and state level, political machines wielded enormous power. John gets into details about the most famous political machine, Tammany Hall. Tammany Hall ran New York City for a long, long time, notably under Boss Tweed. Graft, kickbacks, and voter fraud were rampant, but not just at the local level. Ulysses S. Grant ran one of the most scandalous presidential administrations in U.S. history, and John will tell you about two of the best-known scandals, the Credit Mobilier scandal, and the Whiskey Ring. There were a few attempts at reform during this time, notably the Civil Service Act of 1883 and the Sherman Anti-trust act of 1890. 

Join host John Green to learn about the Mughal Empire, which ruled large swaths of the Indian Sub-Continent from 1526 to (technically) 1857. While John teaches you about this long-lived Muslim empire, he'll also look at the idea of historical reputation and how we view people from history. Namely, he'll look at the reputations of Mughal emperors Akbar I, who is considered to have made the empire great, and Aurangzeb, who is blamed for setting it up for decline. What really happened? Check out this episode of Crash Course to learn about these complicated situations.

**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 reading passage, students learn about President Barack Obama and his beliefs in unity: "But I have asserted a firm conviction—a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people—that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact, we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union."

A vocabulary activity and question set is included. 

In this unit, students tell their own stories and explore the stories of other Americans. Hearing and telling these stories helps students realize that social studies is not simply the study of history, but an exploration of real people and their lives. Students begin by telling stories about their personal experiences. They then explore the character traits that promote democratic ideals and tell stories about family members who exemplify these traits. Finally, they conduct research and share stories about famous Americans. Practiced skills include reading, researching, visually representing, writing, and presenting.

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the end of the Cold War and the presidency of George H.W. Bush. On the domestic front, the first president Bush inherited the relative prosperity of the later Reagan years and watched that prosperity evaporate. The collapse of the Soviet Union was the biggest deal of Bush's term, and along with all this, you'll learn about Bush's actions, or lack thereof, in Somalia and the Balkans.

**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.

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.

In this lesson, students explore the causes of the Palmer Raids by comparing seven historical sources, including newspaper articles, writings from A. Mitchell Palmer and Emma Goldman, photographs from the front page of a newspaper, and a video released by the Ford Motor Company.

The website includes lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, primary source documents, and student graphic organizers. Teachers will need to create a free account to access the materials. 

This is an interactive game from iCivics. The game is set in 1787, where the ink is still drying on the new Constitution. Will it become the law of the land or will it fall into the dustbin of history? The fate of the young nation is in their hands! Use this game to teach the big ideas at the core of the ratification debate between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists. Students will identify the main stances of the Federalists and Anti-Federalists between 1787 and 1789, understand the key debates surrounding the ratification of the constitution, including an extended republic, the House of Representatives, the Senate, executive power, the judiciary, and a bill of rights. Students will interact with the ideas, perspectives, and arguments that defined the ratification debate. They will explore the many different viewpoints, which spanned geographic regions, populations, and socio-economic class. Students will identify the building blocks of the proposed Constitution. They will engage with competing ideas in order to form an effective and cohesive set of arguments for, or against, ratification within a state. This game can be used during a lesson on the constitution to reinforce concepts or after the lesson as an assessment. This game 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.

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students learn the US Constitution has a Bill of Rights that was created to provide protection for individual freedoms. It starts with the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects five freedoms: speech, religion, press, assembly, and the right to petition the government. Together, these five guaranteed freedoms make the people of the United States of America the freest in the world.

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The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

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.

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.

John Green explores exactly when Rome went from being the Roman Republic to the Roman Empire. Here's a hint: it had something to do with Julius Caesar, but maybe less than you think. Find out how Caesar came to rule the empire, what led to him getting stabbed 23 times on the floor of the senate, and what happened in the scramble for power after his assassination. John covers Rome's transition from city-state to dominant force in the Mediterranean. While Rome's expansion took hundreds of years, he explains it in just under 12 minutes. The senate, the people, Rome, the caesarian section, the Julian calendar, and our old friend Pompey all make appearances, but NOT the Caesar Salad, as Julius had nothing to do with it.

**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.