Thinking Historically

Enhance your students’ understanding of the Civil Rights Movement with this movie guide for Eyes on the Prize! Covering Episodes 1 through 6, this bundle includes 139 thoughtfully crafted questions designed to guide students through key moments and figures of the Civil Rights Movement. Each episode’s guide is formatted as a printable student worksheet, giving students space to write their responses as they watch the documentary. These questions are designed to keep your students engaged as the

Kick off your economics unit with this Introduction to Economics Simulation Lesson — a fun, interactive way to get your students engaged from day one! In this first day of school activity, students become producers and consumers in a classroom economy. Each student takes on the role of an independent economic agent, making choices to satisfy their own self-interest. It's hands-on, fast-paced, and an easy way to introduce key economics concepts like scarcity, choice, and incentives. This int

This Eyes on the Prize - Episode 1 Awakenings Movie Guide is a great way to engage your students as they watch Eyes on the Prize. As students watch the documentary, they will learn about the Civil Rights Movements. This guide includes 24 questions that follow the movie (in order). The questions in this guide include open ended thought provoking questions as well as questions to ensure that students are focused and paying attention. Eyes on the Prize - Episode 1 covers important topics in the Ci

This Iron Jawed Angels Movie Guide is a great resource for teaching the women's suffrage movement, the 19th Amendment, and the fight for voting rights, all while engaging your students in this powerful film! The guide includes 26 chronological questions that follow the movie, focusing on key moments and themes related to women’s struggle for the right to vote. These questions are designed to provoke critical thinking about the suffrage movement, helping students connect the film to real histo

This Eyes on the Prize - Episode 2 Fighting Back Movie Guide is a great way to engage your students as they watch the movie. Eyes on the Prize is a great way to supplement your current Civil Rights Movement unit. This movie guide includes 20 questions that follow the movie (in order). Post movie reflection questions are also included. The questions in this guide include open ended questions as well as questions to ensure that students are focused and paying attention. Eyes on the Prize - Episod

Prepare students for the APUSH exam with this APUSH Period 2 Lesson on Slavery and Southern Colonies. This lesson is designed specifically to develop APUSH students' habits of mind in document analysis. Students use the CAPPO method to analyze documents. By using C.A.P.P.O., students practice a consistent method of analyzing primary source text that will prepare them for the AP exam. Through the C.A.P.P.O method, students will analyze the context, audience, point of view, purpose, and outside c

Struggling to make the legislative branch engaging for your students? This hands-on legislative branch activity brings government to life with an interactive Congress simulation! With this law making process activity, students dive into the core responsibilities of Congress and experience how a bill becomes a law firsthand. It’s a fun and educational way to deepen their understanding of how the legislative branch works! Students take on the role of House representatives, evaluate proposed bills,

Bring the Fourth Amendment to life in your classroom with this engaging activity featuring 7 landmark Supreme Court cases! This Fourth Amendment activity helps students explore key constitutional questions and the real-world impact of Supreme Court decisions on search and seizure rights in the United States. Each case summary in this resource provides a clear, student-friendly explanation of the facts, the constitutional issue, and the Court’s decision. Students first review the facts and then d

Keep your students engaged with this Eyes on the Prize - Episode 3: We Ain't Scared of Your Jails Movie Guide! This movie guide includes 28 questions that follow the movie (in order). Students will be able to answer the questions as they watch the movie. The questions in this guide include some open ended thought provoking questions as well as questions to ensure that students are focused and paying attention. Eyes on the Prize - Episode 3: We Ain't Scared of Your Jails covers important topics

This APUSH Period 1 primary source set is a great way to help students prepare for the APUSH exam. This set is a collection of primary source texts aligned to the College Board’s APUSH Curriculum framework.  Each text includes 1-3 text dependent questions to prompt close reading and class discussions.These rich texts are a great resource in all APUSH classrooms, and can be used develop skills assessed on the APUSH exam in May, including analysis of historical evidence. Educators can adapt these

Keep your students engaged with this Eyes on the Prize - Episode 4: No Easy Walk Movie Guide! This movie guide includes 21 questions that follow the movie (in order). Students will be able to answer the questions as they watch the movie. A long the way, students will learn about important events in the Civil Rights Movement. The questions in this guide include some open ended thought provoking questions as well as questions to ensure that students are focused and paying attention. Eyes on the P

Keep your students engaged and focused as they watch Eyes on the Prize with this Eyes on the Prize - Episode 6 Bridge to Freedom Movie Guide. This movie guide includes 25 questions that follow the movie (in order). Students will be able to answer the questions as they watch the movie. A long the way, students will learn about important events in the Civil Rights Movement. The questions in this guide include some open ended thought provoking questions as well as questions to ensure that students

This APUSH Period 2 primary source set is a great resource to prepare your students for the APUSH exam. This set is a collection of primary source texts aligned to the updated APUSH Fall 2019 curriculum. Included are 11 primary source documents for Topics 2.2 - 2.4. Each document includes 1-3 text-dependent questions to prompt close reading and class discussions. These rich texts are a great resource in all APUSH classrooms, and can be used to develop skills assessed on the APUSH exam in May,

The Social Studies literacy toolbox includes over 40 instructional tools to develop students reading, writing, speaking and listening. Reading Tools includeReading Cycle MenuHabits of Document AnalysisAnticipation GuideCATCH AnnotationSOAPSToneHIPPEvaluating Credibility and Usefulness (Primary Source Analysis)Evaluating Historical Arguments (Secondary Source Analysis)Say/See, Mean, MatterGist StatementNERD Map AnalysisDouble/Triple Entry Journal“This is Really About…” Summarizing ProtocolVocabu

Keep your students engaged as they watch Eyes on the Prize with this Eyes on the Prize - Episode 5 Mississippi: Is this America? Movie Guide! This movie guide includes 21 questions that follow the movie (in order). Students will be able to answer the questions as they watch the movie. A long the way, students will learn about important events in the Civil Rights Movement. The questions in this guide include some open ended thought provoking questions as well as questions to ensure that students

Challenge and engage your students in thoughtful discussions with this McCarthyism and the Patriot Act Debate! The purpose of this debate is to give students the opportunity to debate the Patriot Act which was created after the events of September 11, 2001. The debate question used for this activity is: Should the government be able to violate people’s rights or liberties in order to protect society? To frame the debate, students begin the activity by reading a speech given by Joseph McCarthy

This APUSH Period 1 lesson is specifically designed to develop students' habits of mind in document analysis. Using the CAPPO method (Context, Audience, Point of View, Purpose, and Outside Connections), students analyze primary source texts to prepare for the AP exam. Students will then synthesize their analysis of the primary sources into a written response that answers the focus question for the lesson. The focus question for this inquiry-based lesson is was conflict between Europeans and Nat

Do you want to prepare your students for the APUSH exam in May? This APUSH Period 3 Primary Source Set is just what you need! This is a collection of 13 primary source texts aligned to the updated APUSH Fall 2019 curriculum for Period 3: Topics 3.2 - 3.6. Each document includes 1-3 text-dependent questions to prompt close reading and class discussions. These rich texts are a great resource in all APUSH classrooms, and can be used to develop skills assessed on the APUSH exam in May, including ana

Are your students proficient in analyzing primary text?  This inquiry-based lesson is designed specifically to develop APUSH student’s habit of mind in document analysis. By using C.A.P.P.O., students practice a consistent method of analyzing primary source text that will prepare them for the AP exam.  Through the C.A.P.P.O method, students will analyze the context, audience, point of view, purpose, and outside connections of  primary sources. Students will then synthesize their analysis of the

This Reconstruction Era High School Lesson is a great way for students to investigate whether the Reconstruction established racial equality. Students will analyze six included primary source documents to deepen their understanding of this pivotal period in history. After analyzing the documents, students will craft a written response answering the lesson’s focus question: To what extent did Reconstruction establish racial equality?You’ll love this resource because it includes complete lesson p