Bundle- Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan & Jim Crow
By Sarah Austin
This unit bundle is composed of four highly engaging, primary based, interactive Slide Presentations, and activities-- designed to have students critically explore the period of Reconstruction/Jim Crow.
LESSON ONE: Reconstruction Era [Intro]
Includes:
LESSON ONE will have students examine;
LESSON TWO: The Pursuit to Vote
Includes:
LESSON TWO will have students examine;
LESSON THREE: The Ku Klux Klan (Comparing the Past to Today)
Includes:
LESSON THREE will have students examine;
LESSON FOUR: Jim Crow Laws
Includes:
LESSON FOUR will have students examine;
Choice of three supplementary activities;
The 1st Optional Activity will have students analyze four political cartoons. Students will identify whether the author was FOR or AGAINST the Jim Crow Laws, & describe supportive details from the cartoon on their POLITICAL CARTOON HANDOUT.
The 2nd Optional Activity will have students critically read a primary source article titled ‘A TALE OF TWO SCHOOLS’, and respond to text dependent questions in their ‘TALE OF TWO SCHOOLS QUESTIONS HANDOUT. The teacher can do a read-aloud, OR students can read independently. Class discussion is encouraged.
The 3rd Optional Activity will have students analyze a film titled ‘FREEDOM SONG’. Students will apply their knowledge from their guided notes, and respond to open-ended questions in their FREEDOM SONG HANDOUT.
Protest Movements of the 1960's: E-Chapter Textbook Project
By Sarah Austin
Have your students explore the Protest Movements of the 1960’s by becoming an author of a textbook; whose job is to research, write, and creatively craft a chapter that will both inform and engage its readers regarding a protest movement of this era of time. Using Google Slides, students will be assigned one of the six following protest movements from which to research and create their chapter on:
Using an inquiry based approach, the accompanied Slide Presentation will first have students explore the cause and effect relationship of how these protest movements came to exist in America during this period of time. The latter portion of the presentation will provide students with an overview of the chapter project with student examples. The final activity will involve students sharing their chapter with their classmates, and completing a Venn Diagram that will serve to critically compare the six different protest movements.
This lesson/project easily lends itself to having a sub take over as well!
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The 'Bill of Rights' Time Travel
By Sarah Austin
This resource will provide students with an engaging way to learn about the 'Bill of Rights'. In a critical reading activity, students will explore and understand the historical background of how each Constitutional Right came to exist. The provided reading is an easy to read, attention-grabbing resource. The second part of this lesson involves having students delve deeper into their analysis by completing a graphic organizer in which students will:
Interpret each amendment.
Summarize the historical background of why/how each amendment came to exist.
Illustrate: Find an image/gif (or draw) that best depicts the meaning behind each of the 10 amendments. Be creative!!
SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES:
Option #1: This activity will have students vacillate between two different time periods: late 1700’s and current day. The slide presentation will guide students through the ‘Bill of Rights' reading AND prompt student discussion and debate as it surrounds the 1st, 2nd, 5th, & 8th amendments.
Option #2: The Bill of Right Rank-O- Meter will have students rank their Constitutional Rights in terms of importance. Working collaboratively, students will present and defend their analysis to their classmates.
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FDR & The New Deal Matching Game
By Sarah Austin
Are you looking to engage your students in the study of FDR's New Deal? This New Deal Matching Game is the perfect way to get your students excited and engaged with history. The game provides slides to guide both the teacher and the student through note-taking, student discussions/debate, and the ‘New Deal Matching Game’.
Instructions: Organize into groups of 3-4 students. Each group will analyze 10 scenarios that will be presented in the next several slides. Fill out the T-chart addressing the following…
1. Which New Deal program(s) is the best match in addressing the problems associated with each scenario? Write in the letter of the card.
(*You will use each program only once).
2. Acronyms? Write in the abbreviation.
3. Which of the 3 R’s best applies to each of the scenarios; Relief, Recovery, or Reform? (Hint, scenario #3 is the only one that has two of the R’s)
If you would like to purchase the entire Unit, 'Mystery: What Caused the Great Depression'? (FDR Matching Game is included), click HERE.
Hot War Turns into the Cold War
By Sarah Austin
The ‘Hot to the Cold War’ lesson involves having students examine important events as they chronologically unfold from the onset of the Cold War to China becoming a communist country. This comprehensive 56 Slide Presentation is full of primary sources, embedded with engaging sound effects, music, and video clips that will provide students with a critical context from which to see how the U.S and the Soviet Union’s alliance’ during WWII evolved into one of rivalries. Problem solving, debate, and higher analytical skills are fostered throughout the presentation. A supplementary, hands-on debate activity takes place at the conclusion of the lesson in which students jump forward in time and analyze the controversial issue of the manufacturing and weapons sales that takes place today.
Materials:
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The Cuban Missile Crisis Declassified
By Sarah Austin
The Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 pushed the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. This lesson will have students critically examine the complex relationship between the United States and Cuba that led to this climatic point in history. Students will delve deeper into this conflict by analyzing the differing points of view and perspectives concerning the events that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis through the study of three sources of information.
This resource is a perfect lesson for students to work independently, or for a substitute to teach!
This lesson includes:
If you liked this lesson see other related ‘Cold War’ lessons here:
U.S. Constitutional Compromises: Inquiry Approach
By Sarah Austin
This lesson will have students explore & debate the five major compromises that were made at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. The delegates were charged with the task of amending the Articles of Confederation. However, they quickly decided to replace the Articles and write a new constitution. Because the delegates came from all parts of the country, they differed on a number of key issues. In order to keep the convention going and ensure ratification of the Constitution, the delegates had to compromise a number of times. As a result, the final document is sometimes described as a "bundle" of compromises.
Materials Include:
Supporting Questions:
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1950s & 60s: Conformity or Rebellion (Counter-culture)?
By Sarah Austin
Students will go back into time (1950s & 60s) and;
FOUR Optional Historical Thinking activities include;
CHOICE #1: Analyze 1950s T.V shows/commercials
CHOICE #2: Debate Women’s Beauty Pageants
CHOICE #3: Compare teenagers Pre-WWII V. 1950s
CHOICE #4: Consumer Simulation- Sears Catalog
This Resource Includes:
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1950s Consumer Sears Catalog Simulation
By Sarah Austin
The year is 1956. You & your partner have taken advantage of new economic conditions & purchased a suburban home. Upon moving to the suburbs, you find you need to fill your home with clothes & furniture.
Use the Sears catalog provided to fill your home. The average monthly income in the USA in 1955 was $360. Let’s say you & your partner have been saving, and have a savings account of $600. The mortgage payment on your home is $60 per month, & let's say you use $40 per month for groceries. That leaves you with $500 to spend for the month!
Fill out the provided order sheet with the products you want to buy, and their prices. Do not spend more than $500, because then you will end up in debt! Beware–life events and circumstances happen, so adjust accordingly!
This Resource Includes:
*If you would like to purchase the entire lesson CLICK BELOW!
1950s & 60s: Conformity or Rebellion (Counter-culture)?
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César Chavez: Analyzing Primary Sources
By Sarah Austin
This inquiry based lesson will vicariously draw your students into the lives, circumstances, and struggle for social justice as they engage in the analysis of three primary sources. Specifically, this resource will have students;
The primary sources include;
Materials Include:
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RETHINKING HISTORY- Through the Narratives of Christopher Columbus
By Sarah Austin
In this lesson, students will gain a frame of reference for understanding how multiple factors can influence how history is written. This resource will prompt students to be able to answer not only “What happened?” BUT-- “How do you know?” and “Why do you believe your interpretation is valid?”
Critical questions are posed;
Students will explore these important questions through the study of Christopher Columbus. Through the analysis of primary & secondary sources, students will re-examine the way in which the Columbus story has been portrayed in mainstream literature. A culminating Venn diagram activity will complete the lesson.
Two Optional Extension activities include;
#1. Analyze Excerpts from Children's books; Identify the different possible ways in which the following images and/or text can influence a reader’s understanding of Christopher Columbus and the Taino culture.
#2. Debate: Should Columbus Day be Celebrated?; FOR & AGAINST arguments included.
This Resource Includes:
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By Sarah Austin
This comprehensive resource will have students critically examine the Vietnam War. The provided slide presentation is full of primary based sources, problem-posing discussion questions, POV simulations, & informative video clips that are designed to engage the students in the learning process. Three supplementary activities are included;
Materials:
Extension Activity #1: Vietnamese Independence Debate
Extension Activity #2: Song Analysis
Extension Activity #3: What is a Whistleblower?
If you liked this lesson see other related ‘Cold War’ lessons here:
The Ku Klux Klan: Comparing the Past To Today
By Sarah Austin
This highly engaging, primary based, interactive Slide Presentation will have students examine; the underlying roots from which the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) came to exist in America, the organization's primary tactics of using intimidation & fear in fighting against social equality, and why many poor whites were recruited to join the KKK organization. Students will delve deeper by comparing the circumstances and social conditions of two former KKK leaders (one who lived during the era of Jim Crow, and the other of present day).
Class discussion, and critical thinking is promoted throughout the entire lesson.
Materials Include:
*All THREE lessons (Era of Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan, & Jim Crow) is available in the BUNDLE for a discounted %.
Post Zombie Apocalypse: What Form of Government Would YOU Create?
By Sarah Austin
Are you looking to engage your students in the study of different forms of GOVERNMENT?
This Post-Zombie Apocalypse simulation is the perfect way to get your students excited and engaged with
1) learning about different forms of government &
2) Applying this knowledge and creating their own form of government.
The slide presentation will guide both the teacher and the student through note-taking, student discussions/debate, and activities.
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Mystery: What Caused the Great Depression?
By Sarah Austin
Have your students see themselves through the lens of an investigator, exploring a complex and important inquiry…. ‘What factors caused the Great Depression’? Students, or your class investigators, will examine a variety of context clues and information that will help them solve this question. Students will identify the causal clues along with its effects, and then create a ‘LOOP’ (web) diagram that will serve to demonstrate their understandings of how these underlying causes interconnect with one another. This unit will prompt your students to become active learners in their pursuit of solving the mystery.
*This unit will have students explore dynamics of the 1920's, Great Depression, and the New Deal.
In addition, there are 3 optional extension activities to choose from:
Materials:
Time Frame: 1.5- 2 weeks (1 hr class periods)
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The 1920's, The Great Depression, The New Deal
Child Labor: Compare Industrial Era to Present Day
By Sarah Austin
This lesson involves having students examine the impacts of the Industrial Era in the United States with a specific focus on child labor. It is recommended that students will have explored, to some degree, the Industrial era prior to this lesson. This resource will prompt students to analyze social activist Lewis Hines' photographs that depict the various jobs and working conditions that children experienced. The Slide Presentation is interactive, problem posing, and vicariously draws the students into the lives of the children of the Industrial era.
Optional Extension Activity: Students compare and contrast the child labor of the Industrial era with the child labor that exists today. A 22 minute documentary film titled 'Zoned for Slavery: The Child Behind the Label' supplements this lesson.
This lesson includes:
If you liked this lesson see other related 'Progressive Era' lessons here:
Women Suffrage: Identifying the Obstacles
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Civil Rights Movements: Then and Today
By Sarah Austin
Engage your students in having them draw important connections between the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s and contemporary grassroots movements taking place in the United States. This lesson will prompt students to analyze short documentary video clips that focus on six different contemporary grassroots movements:
1) Women’s March
2) Immigration
3) Standing Rock
4) Black Lives Matter
5) Climate Change
6) Teacher Strikes
With the corresponding video clips, students will fill out a provided T-chart that will identify the following aspects of each movement:
1) Desired Outcome/Changes
2) Group(s) involved
3) Strategies
4) Obstacle/Challenges
5) Questions
Hands-on activities: Two relevant, critical thinking activities follow that involve having students take their prior knowledge of the Civil Rights era (1950/60’s) and;
1. Using a Venn diagram, students will compare this time period with current day grassroots movements.
2. Each group will then discuss what issues are relevant and meaningful for them. Students will choose an issue that they wish to see change, and then as a group, will create a poster that promotes their cause.
Time frame for lesson:
Materials:
*Note:
Students will have already learned about the Civil Rights era. This lesson serves as a critical thinking extension activity that encourages students to draw connections to contemporary grass roots movements & the Civil Rights movement.
Civil Rights Movement, current events, grassroots, racism, controversy, poster, Trump
Controversy and the Criminal Justice System (Eric Garner Case)
By Sarah Austin
This lesson will have students critically explore a contentious current event issue involving the cases of Michael Brown and Eric Garner. The lesson will invite students to examine the context and controversy that surrounds the two cases, although emphasis will be placed on the Eric Garner case. A thought-provoking Slide Presentation & accompanying handouts will prompt students to analyze a variety of news resources; all of which frame the issue in a particular way, and offer different explanations as to the underlying causal factors in Garner’s death.
**New Google App format available now***
This lesson includes:
Race, Criminal justice system, controversy, racism, Black Lives Matter, Colin Kaepernick
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U.S. Imperialism UNIT: Interactive Notebook
By Sarah Austin
Interactive Notebooks are an effective, creative & engaging way to encourage your students to take an active role in their learning process. This unit on U.S. Imperialism will invite students to take a journey through time—having them critically explore colonialism from a variety of perspectives through the analysis of primary sourced based materials. Students will demonstrate their understandings through hands-on projects and discussion pieces. The graphic organizers and foldables in this resource are designed to be folded, cut, glued, & written upon in effort to enhance your instruction of history. A summative multiple choice assessment is included!
Materials:
Time Frame:
Topics covered include:
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United States Imperialism
Era of Reconstruction: Interactive Activities
By Sarah Austin
This resource is designed to have students critically explore the period of Reconstruction. Two highly engaging, interactive Slide Presentations will vicariously draw students into the lives of the Freedmen during this historical period of time.
LESSON ONE: Reconstruction Era [Intro]
Includes:
LESSON ONE will have students examine;
LESSON TWO: The Pursuit to Vote
Includes:
LESSON TWO will have students examine;
*Class discussion, simulations, and critical thinking is promoted throughout the entire resource.
*All THREE lessons (Era of Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan, & Jim Crow) is available in the BUNDLE for a discounted %.