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lesson plans


  • HNN Introduces Classroom Activity Kits

    by Chelsea Connolly and Kyla Sommers

    Combining the fields of journalism and history, these activity kits provide educators with complete downloadable lesson plans.

  • Environmentalism

    by Diane Steiker

    Download this lesson plan as a Word document Download the handout for this lesson plan Download the PowerPoint for this lesson planThis lesson is envisioned as a two-day lesson, which can be extended to a third day, by including an additional day of preparation for the consensus building exercise, and another day for including the New Thinking on Climate Crisis enrichment video.Common Core Standards Correlation:English Language Arts Standards - History/Social Studies - Grades 6-8:Key Ideas and Details: RH.6-8.1. RH.6-8.2. RH.6-8.3.Craft and Structure: RH.6-8.4. RH.6-8.5. RH.6-8.6.Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:RH.6-8.7.Readings/Resources:



  • Sam Wineburg's "Reading Like a Historian" makes cover of Stanford magazine

    Sam Wineburg, Margaret Jacks Professor of Education and (courtesy) History, is the director of the Stanford History Education Group. Their signature project, "Reading Like an Historian," which promotes a secondary school curriculum based around critical engagement with primary sources, recently made the cover of Stanford's alumni magazine:Designed by the Stanford History Education Group under Professor Sam Wineburg, the website offers 87 flexible lesson plans featuring documents from the Library of Congress. Teachers can download the lessons and adapt them for their own purposes, free of charge. Students learn how to examine documents critically, just as historians would, in order to answer intriguing questions: Did Pocahontas really rescue John Smith? Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? Who blinked first in the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Russians or the Americans?Apparently the program has struck a chord. In school districts from red states and blue, New York City and Chicago to Carmel, Calif., history teachers are lining up for workshops on how to use the materials. The website's lessons have been downloaded 800,000 times and spawned a lively online community of history educators grateful for the camaraderie—and often desperate for help.

  • Social Security

    by Zografia Polemikos

    Download this lesson plan as a Word documentDuration:  One 35-45 minute lesson.Goal:Students will understand the modern political issues associated with Social Security.Objectives:By completing a written response at the end of the lesson, students will be able to show understanding of political issues associated with Social Security.Students will participate in a Social Security simulation.Essential Question: What are the financial problems with Social Security?NCSS Themes:Theme 10- Civic Ideals and PracticesProcedures:Attention Getter: