This lesson focuses on a voter’s need to be fully informed prior to casting a vote on Election Day and how to acquire the necessary information. Students learn what a yes or no vote or a decision to abstain means on a ballot. Students learn the definitions of amendment, initiative, proposition, and referendum. By completing the handouts for school referendums, students are given the opportunity to think critically and to learn firsthand why voters need to be fully informed about ballot questions.

In the following three modules, students will learn how Marian uses storytelling, film, and poetry in her activism. Her stories of Black heroes round out our history books. With love and humor, she finds allies, and starts important conversations in her effort to build a “beloved community”– one that is civil, equitable, and harmonious.

Franklin’s widespread interests and numerous fields of endeavor make him the American epitome of the Age of Enlightenment. In this lesson, students will reflect on the parallels between our own age and the one in which Franklin lived and worked. After viewing a short video about Franklin, they will read some of Franklin’s adages through an Enlightenment lens and examine a symbol-rich portrait of Franklin. The lesson culminates with students imagining Benjamin Franklin’s present-day social media presence.

Share some great Google Slides practices with your students through this amazing post from Control Alt Achieve.

The Big6 is a six-stage model to help anyone solve problems or make decisions by using information. Students can use this model to guide them through the research process. This resource is a lesson plan that compares the Big6 to the CIA.

In this lesson, students will examine a copy of twelve possible amendments to the United States Constitution as originally sent to the states for their ratification in September of 1789. Students will debate and vote on which of these amendments they would ratify and compare their resulting “Bill of Rights” to the ten amendments ratified by ten states that have since been known by this name.

The purpose of this lesson is to investigate the Bill of Rights through the perspective of someone living during the ratification period. After exploring the historical perspective of the Bill of Rights through study of the Dissent of the Minority in Pennsylvania, students will be asked to apply the rights they learned about to their lives today and assess, critique, and solve problems based on the modern meaning of these rights. In doing so, students will develop a meaningful understanding of the amendments, in their original and their contemporary meanings. This understanding is essential to foster active, informed, and rational thinkers.

This lesson relates to the westward movement in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Students analyze the role that gunfighters played in the settlement of the West and distinguish between their factual and fictional accounts using American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940.

As you begin this lesson, lead a class discussion about the evolution of language as it relates to race. At the time of the Civil War, the term “colored” did not carry the same negative connotations that it does today. On the other hand, it was often used to suggest racial inferiority. Review the Teacher’s Guide to Language in the support materials. The short video “Focus on Black Humanity” is an excellent resource for student viewing and for initiating a classroom discussion. (See Discussion Questions for suggestions.)

The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is drying up and molecular biologist Bonnie Baxter’s message is the harbinger of environmental devastation to come. Her unprecedented research of the lake's two major food chains, brine shrimp and brine flies, shows that both are on the brink of collapse due to increased salinization as lake shorelines recede.

This lesson plan meets the secondary requirements for The Engish Language Arts Standard Reading: Literature Grades 7-12 with the option of meeting the additional standard of Speaking and Listening. This lesson offers specific details with flexibility for implementation in the classroom. Students can work independently or in groups and be able to create their final book project using technology. 

Students will capture their own images to promote or recommend a book from their personal reading. This assignment is designed to blend principles from digital photography, design, and library media standards to demonstrate deeper understanding and critical thinking skills.  This lesson plan was created by Andrea Settle then remixed by Melissa Jensen.Image: "Student Photographer" by Melissa Jensen is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

In this lesson, students practice sourcing to understand what took place in Boston on March 5, 1770. First, students analyze two illustrations of the event and reason about how each illustration’s source and context influenced the way the work depicted the Boston Massacre. Then, students examine a colonist’s testimony and a British army official’s narrative of the incident and consider why the accounts strongly differ.

This resource is a Social Studies student activity that utilizes Utah's Online School Library resources - specifically, Gale's Kids Infobits Grade K-6, Gale's Research in Context Grades 6-8, and Gale's Reference Collection Grades 9-12 to help students learn about the Buffalo Soldiers. 

Students will learn how to make a personal educational portfolio with Google Sites.

Students will investigate the construction of batteries based on how different materials react with one another to produce electricity.

In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills in U.S. history, students learn how the Erie Canal changed the U.S. economy and influenced settlement patterns in the west. Students explore the effects of the Erie Canal on New York City, New York State, and the entire United States. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and engagement activities.

In CK-12 Middle School Math Concepts – Grade 8, the learning content is divided into concepts. Each concept is complete and whole providing focused learning on an indicated objective. Theme-based concepts provide students with experiences that integrate the content of each concept. Students are given opportunities to practice the skills of each concept through real-world situations, examples, guided practice and explore more practice. There are also video links provided to give students an audio/visual way of connecting with the content.