In this lesson, students use a guided reading to look at a report on the status of education in North Carolina in 1869, and discuss the reasons given then for why the Governor and Legislature should support educating North Carolina's children. They are provided an opportunity to compare and contrast the 1869 document against their own ideas about the civic duty to attend school through age sixteen, and its relative value to the state and the country.

The documents included in this lesson come from The North Carolina Experience collection of Documenting the American South and specifically focus on African Americans and race relations in the early 20th century. The lesson juxtaposes accounts that relate to both the positive improvements of black society and arguments against advancement. Combined, these primary sources and the accompanying lesson plan could be used as a Document Based Question (DBQ) in an advanced US history or African American history course.

A PowerPoint presentation that takes students through a choose-your-own adventure style activity simulating the life choices of Jewish immigrants to the United States in the late 19th/early 20th century.

Many textbooks mention the Trail of Tears, but fail to mention that this early displacement of an ethnic minority is only the one of many legally-sanctioned forced relocations. This lesson will address the displacement of American Indians through the Trail of Tears, the forced deportation of Mexican Americans during the Great Depression, and the internment of Japanese American citizens during WWII.

Four lesson plans developed by the Coquille Tribe of Oregon for fourth-grade students.
Lessons include:
1) People Groups - This lesson will give students a foundational aware- ness of the Indigenous, sovereign people groups who live in what is now known as Oregon—their history, their culture, and the issues that continue to impact them today. When undertaking the study of Indigenous people, it is important to begin with their long history on the land. Indige- nous people have lived in Oregon for thousands of years, in established communities, with estab- lished social structures, languages, and cultures. They were—and are—deeply and inextricably connected to the land.
2) Sea Otters - In this lesson, students will learn about the import- ant role of the sea otter in the history and tradi- tional life of the Coquille Indian Tribe. They will also learn about the long-term impact the European fur trade had on the population of this magnificent creature and how the sea otter’s virtual extinction damaged the ecosystem of the Oregon Coast. Stu- dents will then learn how to identify and diagram the sea otter’s internal and external structures (i.e., the organization of the inside and outside body parts that form a living thing) and describe how the purpose of these structures supports sea otter survival. Finally, students will create an educational poster or pamphlet that provides an overview of the sea otter and its impact on the traditional life of the Coquille Indian Tribe.
3) History of the Coquille Indian Tribe - This lesson will give students a general knowl- edge of the history, ancestral territory, and traditional lifeways of the Coquille Indian Tribe. Working in groups, students will use maps, make predictions, and participate in a close reading of
a written text that allows them to check their pre- dictions. The text provides other interesting facts about the Tribe, which should provide informa- tion and generate questions that can guide their learning in subsequent lessons about the Coquille Indian Tribe.
4) Coastal Lifeways - The Coquille Indian Tribe flourished on Oregon’s southwestern coast for thousands of years in a homeland encompassing more than a million acres. The Tribe’s ancestral and modern lands of interest include significant portions of Oregon’s Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, and Lane counties. The Coquille traditional lifeways are deeply tied to the coastal environment. This lesson provides students with the opportunity to gain specific knowledge about important elements of the Coquille coastal lifeways.

This online article, from Biodiversity Counts, is a guide to finding local specialists who are knowledgeable about plants and arthropods. It includes: an overview of how local specialists can be of help; a link to the Directory of Local Specialists, a list of specialists who have agreed to work with participating schools; a list of additional organizations, with links to Web sites, that are good sources for local specialists; tips on how to find local specialists from Linda Beyt, a middle school teacher in Louisiana and a Biodiversity Counts mentor; and tips for enlisting volunteers by Karen Spaulding, a middle school teacher in Massachusetts and a Biodiversity Counts mentor.

 U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz

U.S. History is designed for a two-semester American history sequence. It is traditional in coverage, following a roughly chronological outline, and using a balanced approach that includes political, economic, social, and cultural developments. At the same time, the book includes a number of innovative and interactive features designed to enhance student learning. Instructors can also customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom.