The Constitutional Convention of 1787, Lesson 1 From: EDSITEment! Grade Level: HS, (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: Depends on which activity you choose Length of Reading: Pages Link: Lesson 1: The Road to the Constitutional Convention This lesson focuses on the Articles of Confederation and its problems. All 3 activities within this lesson use primary sources. The second activity involves a short role-playing activity. And the third involves creating a timeline. Though long, this lesson is definitely worthwhile. So let's see if we can help break it down so you can pick the parts you like. Activity 1: Each of 7 groups gets 1 primary source on the issues colonists had with the Articles of Confederation (1 page each). Students answer written questions and then groups present to the class on their document. The class fills out a graphic organizer with info from the presentations. Activity 2: Students read the Articles of Confederation (2 pages). Each of 7 groups answers a discussion question. Groups then present their answers to the class. Then, as part of a role playing game on the issues Congress had under the Articles of Confederation, each group is assigned a state. The state representatives debate a resolution. Each state gives a 1 minute speech on their support or dissention to the resolution. Each state (group) gets one vote. The teacher reads the potential consequences of each vote outcome (provided). Activity 3: All students read Federalist No 15 (2 printed pages with small print). Then each group of 2-3 students is assigned a primary source (1-2 pages each) on an event leading up to the Constitutional Convention. Groups each make a 5x7" card with essential info on their event and present on that material to the class. Then the teacher creates a timeline with the cards. Lesson 2 in the same series is under the "Constitution" heading. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS, (College): This lesson is meant for high school students; however we think it would be well suited for college students too This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: Howard Chandler Christy, Signing of the Constitution, Oil on Canvas, Architect of the Capitol, 5/23/25, https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/signing-constitution .

John Smith and Pocahontas From: Digital Inquiry Group Grade Level: (MS), (HS) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1 Class Period or Less Length of Reading: Paragraphs Link: Pocahontas Did Pocahontas really rescue John Smith? Play the clip of the rescue from the animated movie; you might find this on YouTube. Then read 2 very short accounts from the actual John Smith. Both describe his capture and encounter with Powhatan (Pocahontas's father). But the accounts have some key differences. Students fill in the graphic organizers with a partner. Teachers have the option to assign short documents on what a historian said about each account in the longer version of this lesson. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (MS), (HS): There is no specified age group for this activity; however, we think it would be well suited for middle school and high school students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Frost, John. A history of the United States; for the use of schools and academies Year: 1854 . Wikimedia Commons, 19 August 2025, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Smith_Pocahontas_Image_from_page_44_of_A_history_of_the_United_States_for_the_use_of_schools_and_academies_(1854).jpg .

How and When Did People Originally Come to the Americas? From: James W. Loewen's Book Teaching What Really Happened, Chapter 6 Grade Level: (HS), (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1-2 Class Periods Length of Reading: Pages Link: None There were no humans in the Americas up until about 16,000ish years ago (although estimates vary widely). When and how humans migrated to North America, depends upon who you ask. In his book, Loewen recommends the following. Put students in groups of 2-3. Have each group conduct internet research on a particular field of study and how experts in that field explain the migration of people to North America. Then have students put their findings into their own words and present. Those fields of study interested in the migration, according to Loewen, are: History (including oral history and ethnohistory) Cultural Anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures) Physical Anthropology (the study of physiological and biological characteristics and how they developed) Archaeology (the study of prehistory and history via the excavation and study of artifacts and remains) Glottochronology (the study of languages and how they change) Epidemiology (medical discipline studying diseases) Human Genetics (chromosomes, traits, and that jazz) Botany (the study of plants. How did cotton and Sweet potatoes come to the Americas?) < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (HS), (College): There is no specified age group for this activity; however, we think it would be well suited for high school and college students This Activity Involves: Research: This activity requires that students do research. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: AlexCaelus, Early human migration, footsteps across continents, the great journey of our ancestors , File # 746284108, AI Generated, 5/23/25, Adobe Stock - stock.adobe.com .

Ads Recruiting Black Soldiers and Laborers From: Docs Teach Grade Level: MS Remote Ready: Yes! Time: 1 Class Period or Less Length of Reading: Paragraphs Link: Comparing Civil War Recruitment Posters Students compare a Union ad recruiting black soldiers with a Confederate ad asking slave owners to provide slave laborers. Students answer 4 questions. Armed with their teacher's email address, students can write the answers to the provided questions and send them to their teacher within the Docs Teach site. Teachers will have to click through an email link from each student though. So Anti-textbook recommends paraphrasing the questions into your LMS so that written answers are easier to grade. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS: This lesson is meant for middle school students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Two unidentified soldiers in Union cavalry uniforms with Sharps rifles and Colt revolvers. [Between 1861 and 1865] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .

Constitution Scavenger Hunt From: Teaching American History Grade Level: MS, HS, (College) Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1-2 Class Periods Length of Reading: Pages Link: A Walking Tour of the Constitution Day 1: In groups, students create an outline of the Constitution. Here's an example: "I. Article I: Everything about Congress." Day 2 (or as homework): Students complete a Constitution Scavenger hunt, using their outlines as a road map. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS, HS, (College): This lesson is meant for middle school and high school students; however, we think it would be well suited for college too This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: Howard Chandler Christy, Signing of the Constitution , Oil on Canvas, Architect of the Capitol, 5/23/25, https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/signing-constitution.

Nullification Crisis From: Gilder Lehrman Grade Level: MS, HS, College Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 2 class periods Length of Reading: Pages Link: The Nullification Crisis Students read an excerpt of the Tariff of 1828. They are divided into groups; each group reads a particular (1-4 page) response to it. On the second day, the class does a fishbowl discussion of the tariff and responses to it while answering provided discussion questions. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS, HS, College: This lesson is meant for middle school, high school, and college students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion.

Manifest Destiny From: Digital Inquiry Group Grade Level: (MS), (HS), (College) Remote Ready: With minimal modifications Time: 1 class period or less Length of Reading: Pages Link: Manifest Destiny https://inquirygroup.org/history-lessons/manifest-destiny Students check out a painting, a map, and 2 very short primary sources on Manifest Destiny (totaling 2 pages). They answer questions on the map and questions for discussion < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (MS), (HS), (College): We put these in parentheses because there is no specified age group for the activity; however, we think it would be well suited for middle school, high school, and college students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Crofutt, George. “American Progress.” Library of Congress, c1873, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97507547/ . Accessed: 6.14.2020.

Native American Creation Stories From: Exploring US History Grade Level: College is specified but we think it would be great for high school students too. Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1 Class Period Length of Reading: Paragraphs Link: Native American Creation Stories Read sections of creation stories from the Ottawa, Sioux, and New Netherlands. Then answer questions. Some background knowledge of Biblical creation stories might help with comparison questions. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: (HS), College: This lesson is meant for college students; however, we think it would be excellent for high school students too This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Adobe Stock

Gettysburg Address From: Gilder Lehrman Grade Level: MS, HS, College Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1 Class Period Length of Reading: Paragraphs Links: The Gettysburg Address OR The Gettysburg Address: Identifying Text, Context, and Subtext There are 2 lessons on the Gettysburg Address available here. The first lesson is called "The Gettysburg Address." Common Core. This lesson plan is subdivided into 5 lessons, but there's no reason that it couldn't be synthesized into one class period. Lessons 1, 2, and 3: Students read the Gettysburg address (1/2 page) and then fill out graphic organizers for each of the 3 paragraphs. In lessons 4 and 5, students analyze how the word "dedicate"--used 6 times in the speech-- changes meaning. Finally, students answer 3 questions. The second lesson is called "The Gettysburg Address: Identifying Text, Context, and Subtext." In this one, students examine the Gettysburg Address with the help of worksheets that lead students through a literary/rhetorical analysis. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS, HS, College: This lesson is meant for middle school, high school, and college students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Image: Nostrand, D. Van. “Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States of America” in Portrait Gallery of the War , Frank Moore, ed. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abraham_Lincoln.jpg. Accessed 6.14.2020.

Slavery in the Constitutional Structure From: Gilder-Lehrman Grade Level: MS, HS, College Remote Ready: With Modifications Time: 1-2 Class Periods Length of Reading: Paragraphs Link: Making a Covenant with Death: Slavery in the Constitutional Structure Each group reads an assigned portion of the Constitution that deals with slavery. Students write the main ideas on a large sheet of paper. Hang these sheets of paper on the walls and have each group present on their overviews. Then debate, as the founders, which aforementioned portions to keep in or leave out of the Constitution. Finally Students create a written dialogue between a founder and a slave. Gilder Lehrman resources are free but you must log in. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: MS, HS, College: This lesson is meant for middle school, high school, and college students This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Writing Exercise: This activity requires a writing assignment such as a discussion post, journal entry, or lengthy response to a prompt. Almost all of our activities require students to answer questions with short responses, but this icon refers to a slightly longer writing assignments. Stearns, Junius Brutus, Artist. Life of George Washington--The farmer / painted by Stearns ; lith. by Régnier, imp. Lemercier, Paris . Paris: Lemercier. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .

What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader? From: EDSITEment! Grade Level: HS, (College) Remote Ready: Yes! Time: 1 Class Period Length of Reading: Pages Link: What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader? There are 8 activities spread over 4 Lessons here. That's a lot. We like lesson 3, though you may want to check these out on your own. Lesson 3 involves giving each group a separate set of primary sources (written by GW) and a few secondary sources. Groups answer questions and then the class discusses the overarching question. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS, (College): This lesson is meant for high school students; however we think it would be well suited for college students too This Activity Involves: Primary Source: This activity utilizes primary sources. Secondary Source: This activity utilizes secondary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion. Image: Peale, Charles Willson. “George Washington.” The Met, 1779-1781, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11707. Accessed: 7.16.2020.

New York City Draft Riots Mystery From: Zinn Education Project Grade Level: HS, (College) Remote Ready: No Time: 1 Class Period Length of Reading: Paragraphs Link: The Draft Riot Mystery Each student is given a clue. There are 30 clues; each clue is 1-3 sentences long. The class is asked to solve the mystery of why the 1863 New York City draft riots occurred based on these clues with minimal teacher intervention. Afterwards, students answer provided questions and discuss. As an extra option, students can talk or write about being scapegoated for something in their own lives. You'll need to log-in. Click "Download to Read in Full" two separate times. < Back Next > More Information: Grade Level: HS, (College): This lesson is meant for high school students; however we think it would be well suited for college students too This Activity Involves: Secondary Source: This activity utilizes secondary sources. Group Work: This activity calls for working in pairs or groups or having a group discussion.