Video collection of Park rangers discussing the events of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The unit includes student activities.

By studying young George Washington’s writings as a 16-year-old surveyor and writings from his first military trip five years later students will learn about his character and ambitions. The lesson will also help dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about Washington. Students will be introduced to a young man who is strong, brave and ready to make a name for himself.

Young George Washington Grades 4-6, has a 6 page lesson plan for the teachers and the following additional material: Additional Sources, Resource Pages 1-6, Images 1-5 and an answer key. The lesson uses Washington's own words, images and maps to show his character and ambitions and how he matures over time. The lesson highlights two of young Washington's adventures, his 1748 trip as a surveyor and his 1753 military trip to ask the French to leave the area.

The core of the Choices Program is their award-winning curriculum units that include student readings, lesson plans, and activities to accompany and complement the readings. Student readings and teacher resources are written by the Choices writing team and approved by scholars. Engaging student readings and lesson plans reflect up-to-date historiography and equip students to develop the skills necessary for critical historical thinking and document analysis. Currently, Choices offers units for U.S. History, World History, Current Issues, and Geography, as well as many electives. Curriculum units are available in print format and in Digital Editions. 

Turn your classroom into an archaeological "dig" as students explore the processes and tools used by archaeologists and draw conclusions about a society based on what they discover.

Thank you for choosing the Frances Willard House Museum Lesson Activities Packet for late elementary. Inside you will find six lesson activities. They can be done independently or as a series. Two activities that work well as a set are:
Two Wheels for Change:
Bicycle Technology and Changing America"
A Wheel Within a Wheel
Bicycles and Women's Suffrage.
Historical Markers - Writing About History Using Houses,

The William A. Gladstone Collection of African American Photographs provides almost 350 images showing African Americans and related military and social history. The Civil War era is the primary time period covered, with scattered examples through 1945. Most of the images are photographs, including 270 cartes de visite.

Subjects of special note include Sojourner Truth, fugitive slaves, former slave children from New Orleans, and freed slaves at Seabrook Plantation in South Carolina. Military service photographs document participation in the Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish American War, and World War I. Several photographs show Buffalo Soldiers, and one album is filled with portraits of officers of the 25th United States Colored Troops. Baseball is the theme for a group portrait from Danbury, CT, and a panoramic view of the 1924 Colored World Series opening game.

In 1995, The Library of Congress purchased this collection from William A. Gladstone.

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.

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.

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.

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.