In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills in U.S. history, students watch video dramatizations that tell the story of the Spanish explorers who arrived in the Americas with Columbus and introduced European, African, and Asian plants and animals to the Western Hemisphere. Students explore how the Columbian Exchange impacted life on both sides of the Atlantic. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and engagement activities.

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources relating to the major political parties in colonial America.

In this lesson produced by NOVA Education, students present their innovative ideas and strategies. Importantly, students focus on tailoring their presentations to particular audiences.

In this video from The Good Stuff: Time Capsule, learn about the Confederate flag, its origins on the Civil War battlefield, and what it means to citizens today. Utilizing video, discussion questions and teaching tips, students can explore the history of the flag, what it symbolizes and why it’s such a divisive symbol.

This resource is a facsimile of Henry Clay's handwritten draft of the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise consisted of a series of bills designed to alleviate growing sectional divisions in the country. Specifically, the bills provided for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states, prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and established a stricter fugitive slave act.

Learn how the Mexican-American War led to the Compromise of 1850, and how the Fugitive Slave Law, a key component of the Great Compromise, fueled the antislavery movement through cases such as that of the runaway slave Anthony Burns in these video segments from The Abolitionists |AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.

In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills in U.S. history, students learn about the differences between the way white settlers and Native Americans thought about land and land ownership in the mid-1800s. Students explore the concept of Manifest Destiny and how it created conflict in the Great Plains. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and engagement activities.

This source consists of scans of the Constitution of the United States of America. This document was drafted in secret by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, and was signed on September 17, 1787, establishing the government of the United States.

The Mandan tribe of the Upper Missouri River had been one of the most prosperous tribes on the Great Plains for centuries, where they held a great abundance of resources. Both other Native American tribes and European explorers traveled great distances to trade with the Mandans. The English, Spanish, and French attempted to claim ownership of the Mandan territories, with little success.

As cotton's reputation as a viable source of wealth grew, slave traders began to buy enslaved people in Maryland's eastern shore to take down to the Deep South. Harriet Tubman witnessed her older sisters being dragged away in chains, a memory that she would carry for the rest of her life.

As slavery started to unravel in the Confederacy, the North kept pressure on Lincoln to transform the Civil War into a fight for freedom—with Black and white abolitionists, liberal congressmen, and Black congregations asking him to heed the call.

This interactive timeline places American country music’s foundational roots and evolving sound into the context of broader events and movements in U.S. history. It provides specific examples of how the history of country music can be used to illuminate important themes in U.S. history including systemic racism, immigration, and technological innovation.

From balancing chemical reactions to analyzing famous literature, never before has one collection offered such an awe-inspiring range of content. Since 2011, brothers John and Hank Green have pioneered digital education with their series Crash Course on YouTube.

In this video from The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, we learn that despite the efforts of Europeans to erase the identities of slaves, they created a new culture.

Uncover the meaning and historical origins of the popular idiom “crocodile tears” with this video from Say What?! Explore the connection between crocodiles and fake crying, as well as how the idiom has been used throughout history, including in the works of the legendary playwright, William Shakespeare.

This resource includes teaching tips, discussion questions, handouts, vocabulary list, and a "Cry or Lie" activity.

This lesson introduces the idea of culture to middle school ELL students, from the perspective of self and society, and aims to get students to consider how culture shapes their ideas, beliefs and identity.

The Curriculum Guide, Project-Based Activity, and Gallery Walk Activity provide support material for the film How the Monuments Came Down.

This is a facsimile of the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776.

Fanny Kemble was very troubled by slavery and wrote of her Georgia experiences in her diary. She was a renowned British Shakespearean actors performing in the United States when she caught the attention of Pierce Butler of Philadelphia. While Butler thought of slaves as tools for getting work done, Kemble thought of lost liberty. She was repulsed by the harsh conditions and treatment of slaves she witnessed, and spoke on their behalf as well as recording her thoughts in her diary, which was later published and helped rouse anti-slavery sentiment in the North.

Discover how the Dred Scott Supreme Court case became a tipping point, leading to the Civil War. Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom. His case ended up before the U.S. Supreme Court, and became a tipping point, leading to the Civil War.