Students will answer the question: Did the American Dream come true for immigrants who came to New York? Students will analyze primary and secondary sources, synthesize new information, and answer the compelling question using evidence from the lesson.  Students will use interactive simulations, videos, secondary sources, and primary sources as they engage in supporting questions throughout the lesson. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to explain why immigrants chose to emigrate to America, describe the process at Ellis Island, describe life in New York tenements, and explain how immigrants helped shape New York culture.This lesson is adapted from the Immigration Inquiry designed by C3Teachers.org: http://www.c3teachers.org/inquiries/immigration/ 

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the idea of decomposition. Specifically the lesson caters to math word problems, but could be easily modified to any subject (as found in the modificaitons section of the lesson plan). Students will engage with each other and the vocab to work through an easy process to decompose word problems into manaeagable pieces as a strategy to solve. All activities are low prep and can be modified to your needs. This can be a stand alone lesson or expanded by using Part 2 and Part 3 to deepen understanding through coding activities. 

The student will use the poetry of Phillis Wheatley, Jacqueline Woodson, Countee Cullen, and Amanda Gorman to draw conclusions about the historic eras in which they wrote.

You are a homesteader who headed west with your family after the Civil War.  Write a diary entry that shows what life is like for you on the Great Plains.  Here are some guiding questions:Why did you move west? What were your motivations?  How did you travel?  What was your experience like?What is daily life like?What challenges have you faced?What are your hopes and dreams for the future?** This performance assessment was developed by a collaborative team of teachers and division staff from Middlesex, Poquoson, and West Point school divisions.

Students will read two secondary sources. The first is on Ida B. Wells and the second on Malala Yousafzai. Once they’ve read and analyzed these documents, they will create in collaborative groups a definition of “changemaker.” They will use that definition to identify and celebrate a changemaker in their world or in their community

The students will analyze the rise of violent activities against African Americans after the Civil War which lead to the addition of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. Begin with a KWL Jamboard (also attached, in a PDF format) which also includes an activity in analyzing primary resources about lynching.  Students will then develop their own 5-day trip itinerary using the Negro Green Book (see the list of free PDF versions for various years) as a travel reference guide. The objective of the lesson is to have the students understand the perils faced by US citizens of color during the Jim Crow Era and how prevalent the dangers were in some areas of the United States at that time. The teacher may wish to use a formative assessment in the form of an exit ticket (see attached). 

This program examines the contributions of American servicewomen to the Space Race. From the late 1950s through the 1960s, the United States engaged in the Space Race against the Soviet Union, each trying to become the first country to put a man on the moon. Early American astronauts were all men with a military background. NASA decided not to allow women to become astronauts during this period. Although they were excluded from space flight, women contributed to the Space Race in supporting roles, including Aerospace Nursing.

Have students step into the shoes of one of the individuals you are studying or have them time travel to an event in the past by having them create a mock instagram post using the website linked in the attached document.  The document has all of the instructions written in student friendly language.

This teaching guide and activity seeks to introduce primary sources to students so that theyT can understand how to analyze and interpret them to make conclusions about the past. The primary sources the students will analyze are from the John Marshall House’s collection. All of the sources presented, both objects and written, focus on the theme of clothing during the Early Republic (1780-1820), the period in which John Marshall lived. This teaching guide and activity follow the Virginia Standards of Learning from 4th-6th grade, but may be applicable for other grades/ages.

The student or small groups will compare and contrast the major events of World War I and II, as a review activity. The student(s) will sort the responses to show the similarities and differences between the 2 World Wars and their outcomes. This Learning Experience can be implemented individually, in a small group, or “draw a random student in class” type of learning experience.

This lesson examines what people are doing to protect Earth’s clean water supply through the text Young Water Protectors, a story about the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their efforts to prevent the Dakota Access Pipeline. Students will examine the Standing Rock perspective, and consider what needs to be done to protect our water sources. Students will respond to this activity through writing prompts and represent one of those prompts through programming in Twine.This lesson was created through a partnership between CodeVA and the Virginia Tribal Education Consortium (VTEC).