Play as Jo Wilder, a scrappy girl who spends her days with her pet badger Teddy and her grandpa, a historian. When some mysterious artifacts show up at the History Museum, you must unravel the clues to find the real stories behind the artifacts.

Students will engage with the game as a tool for critical thinking and historical inquiry. As the plot unfolds, players come across primary source materials. They use the same skills as real historians: investigation, identification, corroboration and contextualizing evidence. To win each challenge, players must piece together the evidence to argue their case.

Jo Wilder and the Capitol Case is just the spark for a world of deeper learning opportunities that you create with students in your own classroom. Access the educator guide for guiding questions to use with learners, game save codes, standards supported, and more.

In Legend of the Lost Emerald, kids take on the role of maritime archaeologists exploring shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. Like real archaeologists, players use sonar and GPS coordinates, dive down to take underwater photos, and search for clues in historical artifacts, like letters and ship manifests, to tell the story of each shipwreck. We teamed up with maritime archaeologists at Wisconsin Sea Grant and amazing teacher fellows from across the state of Wisconsin to design a game that works in the classroom and introduces kids to the tools and practices of the field.

Teachers can use this game to introduce kids to historical practices and themes from ecology, technology, and Wisconsin history. Students will learn about the role of maritime archaeologists, archivists, historians, and museum curators. The game introduces four different time periods in maritime history, ranging from wooden schooners in the mid-1800s to steel freighters in the 1960s.

Collection of Lesson plans related to George Washington’s life, his service to his country, and his legacy. Lesson plans can be searched by grade level and topic.

The students will:
• Discuss two points of view regarding the events of April 19, 1775.
• Explain the significance of the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Language Objective/Outcomes

The students will:
• Use information gathered about the Battles of Lexington and Concord to write for a variety of purposes

In this lesson, students explore how Abraham Lincoln used the power of words in speeches, letters and other documents. In the Introductory Activity, students watch a segment from the PBS film Looking for Lincoln featuring Lincoln quotes and try to identify the origin of each quotation. In the first Learning Activity, students closely examine Lincoln’s use of words in the Gettysburg Address and learn that a short speech can be powerful. In the second Learning Activity, students discuss different reasons for writing letters and review some of Abraham Lincoln’s letters. In the Culminating Activity, students write their own speeches or letters and then present them to the class.

In this lesson, students will watch a video about Dr. King that emphasizes his commitment to nonviolence. They will then examine and analyze a 1956 flyer and a 1966 photograph that illustrate King’s approach to maintaining nonviolence. The lesson culminates with a comparison to other leaders who have been consistently nonviolent in spite of great personal risk.

In this lesson, students will be introduced to five different strategies that Native nations used to protect their land and sovereignty during the American Revolution. Students will be reminded about the key ideas of the American Revolution and learn a little bit about how the Americans talked about Native people in the Declaration of Independence. They will also learn that both the British and the Americans tried to court Native nations to join their side during the war. Students will then be introduced to five different strategies used by different Native nations.
This lesson is part of a unit that includes the following lessons:
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 1: WHAT IS NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 2: WHAT CAN DIFFERENT MAPS TELL US ABOUT NATIVE SOVEREIGNTY AND NATIVE LAND?
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 3: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (1)?
Grade 3 Unit 2 History Mystery 4: WHAT STRATEGIES TO NATIVE NATIONS USE TO PROTECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION (2)?

This lesson on the Bill of Rights is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core-based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, demonstrating their understanding through visual and oral presentations. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.
Lesson #1
Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by the first five amendments of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

Lesson #2
Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by amendments 6–10 of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

Lesson #3
Students will demonstrate their understanding of the Bill of Rights by drawing an illustration depicting one of the amendments and citing a direct quote from the amendment as a caption. This caption will serve as direct evidence for the accurate interpretation of the text. The students will then present their drawing in the form of a short oral presentation to the class. The teacher may allow students to substitute a computer-based drawing or graphics alternative to an actual hand-drawn illustration.

A collection of educational media resources that features the stories of people who have shaped Wisconsin's history. Stories span a range of eras, areas of impact, and identities of individuals featured. Themes in the collection focus on community builders, innovators of industry, justice seekers, land protectors and leaders in government.

With each story you'll find:
- A short animated video (3-8 minutes)
- Questions to spark reflection, connection, and conversation
- A short digital biography book (accessible as a Google slide deck) with per-page audio, glossary terms, images, and maps
- A historical image gallery
- An educator guide with extension activity ideas and standards supported

Emigration is when someone leaves their home country and moves to live in a different country. During the Great Hunger, many Irish people left Ireland for good. People emigrated for many reasons. Some left because there was not enough food, and others because their landlord had evicted them. Many landlords evicted their tenants to avoid paying for their care. Some of these landlords also paid to put the Irish living on their land on a boat headed for the United States, Australia, England or Canada.
Included in this Lesson Plan:
 Background historical information
 Background primary source documents and activities related to Irish emigration in the 19th century
 A Pack Your Suitcase worksheet which can be used individually or for a group
activity, and requires some math and discussion, and recording with a pencil
 A comparison of 19th century and modern US immigration
 A model citizenship test

This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

Over the course of three lessons the students will analyze text from three documents defining American democracy: the Preamble to the United States Constitution, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the second section of the Declaration of Independence. Understanding these three texts is an essential part of understanding American ideology and citizenship. Students will closely analyze these sources and use textual evidence to draw their conclusions and present their understanding as directed in each lesson.

Recollection Wisconsin brings together digital cultural heritage resources from Wisconsin libraries, archives, museums and historical societies and shares them with the world in partnership with the Digital Public Library of America. The webpage provides different 4-8ideas for teaching about Wisconsin history.

Susan B. Anthony was a teacher, a speaker and an American civil rights leader who fought for rights for African Americans and women. She spoke out against slavery and fought for suffrage, or the right to vote for African Americans and women. Susan cast her vote in the 1872 presidential election and was arrested for doing so. Women were finally given the right to vote in 1920 with the 19th amendment. Although Susan B. Anthony had passed away in 1906, it is sometimes called the Susan B. Anthony amendment in honor of her arduous work and steadfast beliefs regarding suffrage.

What examples can we draw from Susan B. Anthony? In this lesson, students will learn about Susan B. Anthony and her fight for what she believed in. Students will identify Susan B. Anthony’s actions that make her an agent for change.

TIME
Three 30-minute class periods

OBJECTIVE
Students will…
read and understand a historical biography about Susan B. Anthony.
make connections to Susan B. Anthony’s contributions to the Women’s Rights Movement and suffrage.
write in response to reading.
Identify actions of Susan B. Anthony that made her an agent of change.
Identify a personal agent for change and their qualifying characteristics
create a Susan B. Anthony coin mobile.

Picture book biographies can provide young readers with a great deal of information. Yet without a focus for reading, students often pay attention to interesting details and tidbits—what's been called the "terrific specifics"—rather than the big ideas in history. As they read and respond to picture book biographies, students will see fundamental differences between the past and the present and witness the impact some people had on the times in which they lived.

On Constitution Day, students will examine the role of the people in shaping the United States Constitution. First, students will respond to a provocative statement posted in the room. They will then watch a video that gives a brief explanation of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, or listen as the video transcript is read aloud. A Constitution poster is provided so students can examine Article VII and discuss it as a class.
The elementary and middle school educator will then
guide students through a read-aloud play depicting two Constitutional Convention delegates who disagreed about ratifying the Constitution.

Important information about how to honor Veterans in school and classroom settings. The activities in this 2021 guide can be applied to any year. The VA publishes a new guide every year.

Most students recognize the name Christopher Columbus. They may be aware that his voyages ushered in the first period of sustained contact between Europeans and the Americas and its people. They may not know, however, why Columbus traveled to the New World or what happened to the native people he encountered.

In this lesson, students read excerpts from Columbus's letters and journals, as well as recent considerations of his achievements. Students reflect on the motivations behind Columbus's explorations, his reactions to what he found and the consequences, intended and unintended, of his endeavor.

In this lesson, students will address misconceptions they likely have about Christopher Columbus and the colonization of what is now the United States. Students will watch a video to dispel some of the myths associated with Columbus and gain a better understanding of how Columbus Day became a national holiday. Students will then read interviews with Indigenous youth and identify the reasons that celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day matters to them. This lesson can be taught on Columbus Day or leading up to it.

The Wisconsin Black Historical Society/Museum (WBHSM), located on the corners of North 27 and West Center Streets in Milwaukee, Wisconsin opened its door and its heart to the community, city, and state in 1987. Based on the premise that a people who know their history will grow to love and appreciate themselves more, WBHSM strives to create a bright future out of a heart-breaking past. With limited physical space and reduced visitation hours, one of WBHSM's most valued treasures are its videos of various aspects of African-American culture available on its website.

WBHSM documents and preserves the historical heritage of African descent in Wisconsin. WBHSM exhibits, collects and disseminates materials depicting this heritage. Serving as a resource center for all people interested in Wisconsin’s rich African American heritage, the Museum’s purpose is to encourage and promote family community and cultural activities.

The goal of this module is to provide resources and information about the history of women’s vote in the U.S. Looking at the women’s suffrage movement provides a framework for exploring the changing role of women in politics and society in the 19th and 20th centuries. The history of suffrage offers an opportunity to examine women’s roles at critical points in the nation’s history, and to think about the impact of women’s voting behavior on politics in our time.
Activities and discussion questions are designed to explore the changing role of women in society and in politics. The module includes ideas for developing lessons on women’s suffrage and integrating the issue of suffrage into lessons on US history and politics, and to consider the impact of full suffrage on politics and society today.