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.
Students will participate in a collaborative guessing game with another classroom from a "mystery place" somewhere on the globe through a video conference. This game helps students learn about geography, culture, and the similarities and differences of how children live all over the world. Students are to prepare questions ahead of time to help them pinpoint their location. These questions are not only focused on geography but culture as well. While honing their questioning and conversation skills each class takes turns answering questions about each other until their location has been pinpointed.
This activity was created as a result of the DLCS COS Resource Development Summit.
During this lesson, students will research the social, political, and economic impact of the Great Depression on the lives of Alabamians. Students will collaborate to create a presentation from the project-based learning activity and present it to the class.
This unit was created as part of the ALEX Interdisciplinary Resource Development Summit.
In this interactive game from iCivics, students work with a case about Ben Brewer, who wore his favorite band t-shirt to school against dress policy. Students will help the Justice make up her mind and influence the outcome of the case. Students will analyze the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression, identify protected and unprotected speech, and simulate the deliberation process of Supreme Court Justices. This game can be played during a lesson on the judicial branch and Supreme Court cases for reinforcement or after as an assessment.
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In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students learn about Native American land stewardship in South Dakota and raise money for your local food pantry. 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 Sub-Saharan Africa! So, what exactly was going on there? It turns out, it was a lot of trade, converting to Islam, visits from Ibn Battuta, trade, beautiful women, trade, some impressive architecture, and several empires. John not only covers the West African Malian Empire, which is the one Mansa Musa ruled, but he discusses the Ghana Empire and even gets over to East Africa as well to discuss the trade-based city-states of Mogadishu, Mombasa, and Zanzibar. In addition to all this, John considers emigrating to Canada.
The students will read a letter about the plight of Alabama soldiers in the Rainbow Division of World War I and will create a list of supplies that were described in the primary document. The students will illustrate the Rainbow Divisions' need for supplies by creating fundraising posters.
This activity results from the ALEX Resource Gap Project.
This is a series of lessons focusing on the Civil Rights Movement. The lessons include photographs depicting images of the Jim Crow laws. Students will take a closer look at the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments of the United States Constitution and at court cases that brought about changes during the Civil Rights Movement. Be sure to click "Read More" at the top of the collection to view the lesson that can be used with this collection.
This is a video from Khan Academy which gives an overview of the Byzantine Empire under its greatest strength under Justinian and then eventual slow decline over the next 900 years. Code of Justinian, Hagia Sophia, Empress Theodora's role in putting down the Nika Riots. This video can be used to introduce a lesson on the Byzantine Empire and Emperor Justinian. This video is 8 minutes 51 seconds in length.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, students see how Scarcity Cat learns to set the price for her stinky cheese. If she prices too low, demand will be too high. If she prices too high, demand will be too low.
Craig Benzine teaches you about the United States Congress, why it's bicameral, and what bicameral means. Learn what the senate and house of representatives are for, some of the history of the institutions, and just how you can become a representative. It's not that easy.
This activity can be used in the middle of a lesson about the theme of racial prejudice and sexism as depicted in the short story “Desiree’s Baby” (1894) by Kate Chopin. Students will read and discuss the biography of Kate Chopin before they read the short story. Students will complete the Foreshadowing Graphic Organizer as they read the story for group discussion and a writing activity involving an alternate ending for the story.
This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.
This collection includes photographs and flyers from the Progressive Era. Photos depict the "modern woman", consumer goods from the Era, and political candidates.
This video from Khan Academy is an overview of the Cold War which was a period of increased tensions and competition for global influence between the United States that lasted from approximately 1945 until 1991. Tensions increased in the aftermath of World War II when the United States dropped the atom bomb and Russian forces took over Eastern Europe. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union never directly attacked one another but instead fought proxy wars in order to repel or spread communism, respectively. This video can be played to introduce a lesson on the Cold War. The video is 11 minutes and 57 seconds in length.
In this lesson from iCivics, students learn about the different forms of government that exist, including democracy, autocracy, oligarchy, and others. They compare and contrast these forms, and they look at real-life examples in the world today.
This week we introduce sociology’s three major theoretical paradigms, and some of the advantages and disadvantages of each paradigm.
Students in each Grade 5 class will work in collaboration to create a group Google Slides presentation celebrating the Alabama Bicentennial (or Alabama History.) Each student pair will research a different topic to find information to create two or three slides as part of the group slideshow. The finished class Google Slides show will be presented, with each student pair reading their own slides. (See digital resource for suggested topic list drawn from course standards.)
This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Learning Development Summit.
In this activity, students are challenged to discover why Mrs. Pickersgill sewed the original Star-Spangled Banner so large. Students will measure and mark off the dimensions with strings and then create a "human" flag using as many students as needed. Students can research information and photos of the Star-Spangled Banner at the following link included in the activity: https://amhistory.si.edu/starspangledbanner/.
This video from Khan Academy provides an overview of Federalism in the United States including exclusive and concurrent federal and state powers. This video can be used to introduce a lesson on Federalism. It is 6 minutes and 3 seconds in length.
In this video, students learn about Benjamin Franklin. What do the light bulb, the post office, the lightning rod, the Constitution, and the modern fire department have in common? They were all invented by Ben Franklin. He was the genius behind most of modern-day life and technology. Amazing, isn't it?
This lesson looks at the legacy of George Washington, perhaps the most influential leader in the creation of the American nation. Through his achievements as commander-in-chief during the Revolution, in support of the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and as the first president, Washington was instrumental in transforming the ideals of the Revolution into reality. His career as a soldier, revolutionary, constitution-maker, and chief executive of a new nation demanded a range of skills and talents with few precedents in history.
When students have completed this lesson, they will be able to evaluate, take, and defend a position on the contributions of the "Father of His Country" to the nation's traditions of constitutional government and citizenship.
This video from the Daily Dose provides a 3-minute micro-learning film on the fall of the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire was Constantine I's extension of the Roman Empire until its overzealous military exhausted resources and economic conditions weakened the political environment, leading to the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
In this learning activity, students explore the First Thanksgiving and focus on the declining relationship between the European settlers and the Native Americans. Additional resources for this learning activity can be found by clicking on Download PDF or DOC.
In this interactive activity, students will be led through steps to tell time using a calendar. There are teaching activities as well as practice activities available. A handout that reviews the steps taught during the interactive is available to be printed. After utilizing this resource, the students can complete the short quiz to assess their understanding.
This clip provides a succinct overview of the founding of the 13 original U.S. colonies.
This clip explains the history behind the holiday known as Cinco de Mayo and dispels misconceptions that the holiday celebrates Mexican independence.
Students will wrap up their lessons on the Great Depression by working in collaborative groups to write the gist of an article on this topic. The students will take a short quiz provided by ducksters.com. The quiz will include information from the article as well as information they have learned throughout the lessons about the Great Depression, the Stock Market, and the negative effects they had on the general population. The students will create a Google Slides presentation about what they have learned as a summative activity.
This resource was created in partnership with Dothan City Schools.
This is a reading passage about the Rhode Island Colony. There are other activities and articles included and information about all thirteen colonies. Articles can be printed or used online.
Students will watch a short video clip about how children were affected by the Great Depression. They will compare and contrast their lives to the lives of children in the 1930s. Students will pay close attention to how children's lives changed at school, at home, and in the workforce due to the high poverty and economic failure of the times.
This resource was created in partnership with Dothan City Schools.
In this learning activity, students examine protest signs from the Civil Rights Movement. Students then create their own expressive chalk art or poster.
In this video from PBSLearningMedia, John Green teaches students about the United States Constitution. During and after the American Revolutionary War, the government of the new country operated under the Articles of Confederation. While these Articles got the young nation through its war with England, they weren't of much use when it came to running a country. So, the founding fathers decided to try their hand at nation-building, and they created the Constitution of the United States, which you may remember as the one that says We The People at the top. You'll learn about Shays' Rebellion, the Federalist Papers, the elite vs rabble dynamic of the houses of congress, and start to find out just what an anti-federalist is.
**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 activity, you will become a historical detective, and progress through a variety of challenges and tasks. After a step-by-step investigation, you will discover how your community, the people in your area, and the land itself have changed over the course of history. You may even be able to describe what life was like where you live in 1628!
This video uses the story of the Three Little Pigs to explain resources. Students will learn about human, natural, and capital resources.
Students will consult various reference materials found online and in print to clarify and summarize the meaning of the phrase western hemisphere, noting its technical meaning and its common meaning. The class will discuss how this domain-specific phrase relates to their study of the history of enslavement. This learning activity is used as a launching point to transition from the discussion of slavery worldwide to a study of slavery in the Americas, specifically in Alabama.
This lesson will use primary sources to compare and contrast the perspectives of George C. Wallace at the beginning and in the latter part of his life as a political figure in Alabama. The students will develop a hypothesis about the effect that Wallace’s views and actions had on the image of Alabama and the changes in his character over time.
This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.
Author Information: Misty Freeman (Cohort 2: 2010-2011); Rehobeth Elementary; Houston County Schools; Dothan, AL
