NCSS has selected a collection of classroom activities, teaching ideas, and articles from Social Education, Middle Level Learning, and Social Studies and the Young Learner. Browse the collection, or search by historical period and grade level using the search function below.
(Collections on other disciplines are under development.)
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The Greensboro Sit-In: When Students Took Charge
Submitted by Steven Lapham on Mon, 09/20/2010 - 11:16am--Eric Groce, Tina Heafner, and Katie O’Connor
Three college students, who read about and discussed recent civil rights protests, decided to try a sit-in at a local lunch counter on February 1, 1960. The idea caught on with young people. Why did this nonviolent method work at this time and in this place? Five teaching activities are outlined; on-site photos included.
The link below downloads one issue of Middle Level Learning, about 3 megabytes.
Printer-friendly versionA Bus Ride Across the Mason-Dixon Line in the Era of Jim Crow
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Tue, 10/19/2010 - 12:14pm--John A. Stokes with Steven S. Lapham
Students gain a deeper understanding of the segregation period through this classroom simulation, in which randomly-assigned cards determine whether volunteers sit or stand during a long, interstate bus trip.
* http://publications.socialstudies.org/se/7405/7405266.pdf
Analyzing Historical Political Cartoons: Helping Students With Diverse Learning Needs Analyze Primary Sources
Submitted by Steven Lapham on Tue, 03/13/2012 - 11:15am--Grant R. Miller
Students analyze drawings available at one of three kid-friendly,online collections of political cartoons.
As they analyze, corroborate, and synthesize information, students are following the steps of UDL, Universal Design for Learning.
This PDF is the September 2011 issue of MLL, about 3 megabytes. See page 13.
Lights, Camera, . . . Reenaction! Creating Video as We Study the Civil War
Submitted by Steven Lapham on Tue, 03/13/2012 - 11:25am--Angela Stokes
A video project challenges students to read, research, and interpret historical sources, then create a short drama that reflects their understanding of events. Journey through Hallowed Ground sponsored this project, but you can do a low-budget version at your school.
This PDF downloads a 16-page issue of MLL, about 3 megabytes.
The Lower East Side Tenement Museum: A Window on Immigrant Life
Submitted by Steven Lapham on Tue, 03/13/2012 - 11:34am--Adam Steinberg and Michael J. Berson
Students can learn about immigrant life ca. 1900 from the words and photographs at this museum's online collection.
This PDF downloads a 16-page issue of MLL, about 3 megabytes.
Raise Up Your Cloth! The Woman Suffrage Movement's Second Generation
Submitted by Steven Lapham on Tue, 03/13/2012 - 11:44am--Catherine M. Carter
This lesson plan with handouts focuses on Alice Paul's nonviolent protests. More classroom handouts follow in "Winning the Vote for Women: OBJECTION and ANSWER" by Jenny Wei (NMAH) and "Game Changer: Women's Basketball and Equal Opportunity" by Tedd Levy. Download the 16-page PDF (which is about 3 megabytes) at this URL:
Trend Alert: A History Teacher's Guide to Using Podcasts in the Classroom
Submitted by TimDaly on Fri, 07/10/2009 - 1:03pm--Kathleen Owings Swan and Mark Hofer
Podcasts may be useful in the classroom, but teachers need to consider the instructional purpose and context within which they are used.
Using Artifacts to Understand the Life of a Soldier in World War II
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 11:05amBy Staci Anson
High school students in New Jersey practice artifact analysis and learn about soldier life in World War II when they interact with wartime relics, including medals, gas masks, ration coupons, and letters home.
George Washington’s Printed Draft of the Constitution and Mike Wilkins’s [em]Preamble[/em] (Teaching with Documents)
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 11:32amBy Lee Ann Potter and Elizabeth K. Eder
A work of modern art humorously highlights the 52 words of the Preamble to the Constitution. A historical document shows, however, that these well known words underwent many changes before reaching their final form.
The “Day in the Life of a Teenage Hobo” Project
Submitted by Jennifer Bauduy on Fri, 07/24/2009 - 11:53am--Justin Reich and Thomas Daccord
(Subtitled: "Integrating Technology with Shneiderman’s Collect-Relate-Create-Donate Framework"). In this multiple day investigation of teenage homelessness during the Great Depression, students use a range of technologies—search engines, blogs, and podcasting tools—to investigate the political, economic, and social history of the time.
