A brief guide to engaging students in narrative writing by having them program robots to act out their stories.

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

One of the ironies of the Civil War was that in a fight to end slavery, African-Americans were initially denied the right to participate. During the first two years of fighting, President Abraham Lincoln claimed the fight was to save the Union, and that African-Americans had no place in the war. However, with the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, the objectives of the war changed and African-American regiments were formed.

Less can often be more—especially as students explore the theme of a work of literature through analytical writing. Writing haiku offers a student in the final draft stages of a paper an innovative way to determine if the paper says what he/she means it to say. Students can “lose their way” when writing analytical papers, resulting in wordy, tangled papers with the thesis obscured. To alleviate this problem, students create haiku that, in seventeen syllables, encapsulate the heart of the paper. Because of its brevity, haiku promotes clarity of thought. It further challenges students to work on focused revision.

Students will analyze data from an air pollution study as well as facts about air pollution and use the data as evidence to infer the effect of using natural resources (fossil fuels and mineral ore) on the atmosphere and on public health.

Students will investigate possible solutions to air pollution in relation to per capita consumption of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels being introduced as the cause, air pollution as the effect. Students will develop an argument to share concerning the solution of their choice.

This primary source set includes documents and images from the life of Alexander Hamilton. A teacher guide is included to assist educators in utilizing the primary sources in their instruction.

In this lesson, students will learn about the humble beginnings, prolific writing, and remarkable accomplishments of Alexander Hamilton. After watching a biographical video, they will examine a memorial portrait of Hamilton and read excerpts from his best-known work, The Federalist Papers. Using their newfound knowledge of Hamilton, they will brainstorm ideas for their own version of a Broadway show based on his life.

Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s “founding fathers,” rose from his non-traditional roots as a boy in the Caribbean to become one of the most important figures in the founding of our country. Using video segments from the PBS program Rediscovering Alexander Hamilton, this activity encourages students to explore the conditions and circumstances of Hamilton’s youth and the strengths he carried with him into his adult life. As a culmination, students are encouraged to reflect on their own lives and think about how, like Hamilton, they might translate their childhood experiences into success later in life.

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

This primary source set includes documents and images from the lives of American authors in the 19th century. A teacher guide is included to assist educators in utilizing the primary sources in their instruction.

This detailed lesson plan (33 pages) allows students to critically examine how individuals shape history. They play a game, discuss, vote, interact, examine bias, and evaluate ideas of others.

Students investigate the question "what are American ideals" through a matching activity. Requires teacher prep to cut cards. Includes a full lesson, warm-up, game procedures, and assessment and reflection.

These lesson plans encourage students to explore the contributions to society made by prominent Americans from all walks of life. Each lesson plan includes a short video, as well as a written primary sources activity, a visual primary source activity, and a culminating activity. The videos are designed to help students understand how the character traits of these Americans contributed to their achievements. Materials are targeted at Grades 3-7.

This online lesson provides perspectives from Native American community members, documents, maps, images, and activities to help students and teachers understand an important and difficult chapter in United States history. Explore the vast scope of removal and its effects on Native Nations.

Although some students insist they cannot write poetry, the haiku's short form and its lack of rhyme will make the students less apprehensive of the task. Because of their brevity, haikus are perfect for teaching students how to use Animoto, an online web tool to create short slideshows. After reading haikus and examining the haiku format, students write their own haikus that they then animate using Animoto.

This lesson plan examines the events of the Bloodiest day in American History and helps students to understand the complexities of the event.