Students explain why Columbus said the native peoples he encountered when he reached the New World were "a people who lived in God." They explain if Latinos can still be said to be "a people who live in God." Students explain the role of...

Designed for teachers who use Theodore Taylor's The Cay, this 11-page packet includes a synopsis of the story, chapter-based quizzes, and an answer key.

If you're planning on including Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in your science fiction unit, use a concept analysis guide to frame your instruction. It covers literary elements such as setting, narrative voice, and theme, as...

What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

This abstract for an instructional unit using three-minute mysteries, stories by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe includes a short history of detective fiction, sample plans, and suggestions for exercises and activities...

Explore U.S. geography with your class by viewing a documentary. Show a portion of the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks," and identify the individuals responsible for keeping the parks in order. Elementary and middle schoolers...

Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...

Students read My Name is America about the Donner Party journey and create a scrapbook of what they read. In this Donner Party lesson plan, students also map out the journal they read about.

Students become aware that people lived in America before Columbus came.  In this Inuit culture lesson, students discuss lives of the Inuits. Students listen to Mama Do You Love Me, A Promise is a Promise and The Polar Bear Son:...

A brief introductory presentation illustrates many images from Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. From berries to black bears, young readers take a quick trip through Alaska during a class reading unit.

Middle schoolers read the novel "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens. In groups, they use the text to identify and describe family relationships in the book. Using this information, they compare and contrast how these relationships...

Students compare art and literature by examining a contemporary painting by Glenn Ligon and the essay by James Baldwin that inspired it. They write an essay about a personal experience that relates to the theme of being an "outsider."

Pupils make a simple graph of labor supply and labor demand in the North and South in the early twentieth century. They conduct research to identify top contemporary African-American entrepreneurs.

To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...

Here's a fresh take on a mythology unit. Use the myths of the Mayan and Aztec peoples of Mesoamerica instead of the more traditional Greek and Roman stories. This abstract suggests possible approaches and resources that can be...

Learners examine what goes into hero worship and establishing unlikely friendships. They probe the deeper meanings in "'Magic' Pablo" through small group dialog and use a variety of ways to process the story's meaning. They see the...

Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the main...

Young scholars reflect on emotions commonly expressed by outsiders. They identify feelings of people who have just arrived in America. They read and analyze a poem about immigration.

High schoolers discuss the relationship between language and cultural identity. They view a video clip about losing ones language. They answer questions to end the instructional activity.

Students take notes as they listen to a segment from Discoverers of the New World, the Darkness of the Sea.  In this Christopher Columbus lesson, students write questions based on the material read and then research the answers. 

Is interacting with people from different backgrounds part of a well-rounded education? A big question awaits young readers as they explore two New York Times articles that discuss modern-day segregation, population statistics, and...

What is a natural resource, and what resources did the Lewis and Clark expedition seek? After reading an article on the mapping of the west, learners get into small groups to discuss the important natural resources of the period. They...

In this Freethinkers Day activity, students complete activities such as reading a passage, phrase matching, fill in the blanks, correct words, multiple choice, spelling, sequencing, scrambled sentences, writing questions, survey, and...

Fourth graders read Witch on Blackbird Pond and understand the difficulties of traveling to America during the colonial period.  In this Witch on Blackbird Pond lesson, 4th graders compare the choices we have in...