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In this lesson, students draw pictures that symbolize different types of weather and then use information about today's weather to make their own state weather map.

Karl Marx grew from philosopher and economist to social activist as co-author of "The Communist Manifesto." Learn more about the reach and influence of his theories in this video.

In 1979 China introduced its one-child policy. Communist leaders hoped to raise the average annual income to $1000 a person. They felt that the rising population was holding back China's economy. Today, China's rate of population growth has slowed and its economy has soared. Did the one-child policy cause the change?

This informational material will apply a precalculus concept--the rate of change of a function--to a current issue in sociology--patterns of population change. There are links to additional information included.

In this lesson, students create posters to help identify the role of Howard University as an African American cultural center, the emergence of black lawyers as civil rights leaders, the importance of the NAACP, and the roles of Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall.

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches about the Civil War. In part one of our two-part look at the US Civil War, John looks into the causes of the war and the motivations of the individuals who went to war. John also looks into why the North won and whether that outcome was inevitable. The North's industrial and population advantages are examined, as are the problems of the Confederacy, including its need to build a nation at the same time it was fighting a war. As usual, John doesn't get much into the actual battle by the battle breakdown. He does talk a little about the overarching strategy that won the war and Grant's plan to just overwhelm the South with numbers. Grant took a lot of losses in the latter days of the war, but, in the end, it did lead to the surrender of the South.

**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.

Join host John Green to learn about conflict in Israel and Palestine. This conflict is often cast as a long-term dispute going back thousands of years and rooted in a clash between religions. As always, there is more to the situation. What is true is that the conflict is immensely complicated and just about everyone in the world has an opinion about it. Educate yourself by tuning in to this episode of Crash Course.

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.

This is a video from the National Constitution Center, guest-starring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. In this free video, the Constitutional Convention celebrates the writing of the Constitution by going inside the Convention at the National Constitution Center’s Signers’ Hall! Students learn about the ideas behind the document and see the life-size statues while getting to know some of the most famous Founding Fathers. Students talk about the system of government which the Constitution created and get an up-close look at how the balance of powers protects our freedoms as citizens. This video can be used as an introduction to a lesson or unit on the Constitution.

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students learn about the development of a highway and byway system leads to growth and prosperity in Alabama, but with the amount of traffic on the roadways comes the rise in highway related accidents and death. National and State safety boards and law enforcement personnel work to make the highways safer and laws are enacted to make road travel less of a risk.

John Green examines the French Revolution and gets into how and why it differed from the American Revolution. Was it the serial authoritarian regimes? The guillotine? The Reign of Terror? All of this and more contributed to the French Revolution not being quite as revolutionary as it could have been. France endured multiple constitutions, the heads of state literally rolled, and then they ended up with a megalomaniacal little emperor by the name of Napoleon. But how did all of this change the world, and how did it lead to other, more successful revolutions around the world? Watch this video and find out. Spoiler alert: Marie Antoinette never said, "Let them eat cake." Sorry.

**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 collection of photographs illustrates the westward expansion and Manifest Destiny. The images tell the story of the impact of closing the frontier on American Indians' way of life. Be sure to click "Read More" at the top of the collection to view the lesson that can be used with this collection.

This interactive timeline tool from ReadWriteThink can be used by students with guidance from their teacher or parents to create a graphic representation of the chronology of events of their lives. This tool can be used when teaching sequencing events using calendars, schedules, and timelines.

Kindergarten students could use the first line of the template provided, either writing their birth date themselves or telling it to someone for dictation. Each student could illustrate the sentence. Then, make a list of the months of the year, with each student's birth date written next to the month of their birth, in order by days. After making a wall timeline with the months of the year, each student's birth date could be added in the correct month. 

Use the following template for students to record dates and events. They can take it home and do it with the help of family members and also add information in class on their own.

On the Day I Was Born

I was born on (Month, day, year)

In __________, I was one year old and I __________.

In __________, I was two years old and I __________.

In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students learn the Apollo Program got us to the moon! Apollo Elementary is one of the many schools in Brevard County with a space-related name. The history of the mission is very important to the school and to the space coast. 

In this episode, we talk about the three motivating factors of congressional decisions: constituency, interest groups, and political parties. We'll break down how each of these factors motivates certain actions like case work, public opinion polls, and logrolling.

This activity allows students to explore the positive and negative effects of the New Deal. Students will also investigate government programs and discuss to what extent the government should be responsible for taking care of its citizens.

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.