Lesson Plans

297 Result(s)
Grade Range
9-12
Lesson 1: The Road to the Constitutional Convention

This lesson focuses on the problems under the Articles of Confederation between 1783 and 1786 leading to the 1787 Convention. Through examination of primary sources, students will see why some prominent American founders, more than others, believed that the United States faced a serious crisis, and that drastic changes, rather than minor amendments, to the Articles were necessary.

Grade Range
9-12
Lesson 3: George Washington on the Sedition Act

What arguments were offered in support of the Sedition Act? Washington's favorable attitude toward the Sedition Act illustrates that reasonable men in 1798 could support what most modern Americans would regard as an unjust law.

Grade Range
9-12
Lesson 4: Line in the Visual Arts

In this lesson plan, students will learn how line is defined in the visual arts and how to recognize this element in painting.

Grade Range
9-12
Lesson 3: The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy

A freshman senator from Wisconsin, Joseph R. McCarthy, shocked the country in 1950 when he claimed to possess evidence that significant numbers of communists continued to hold positions of influence in the State Department. In this lesson students will learn about McCarthy's crusade against communism, from his bombshell pronouncements in 1950 to his ultimate censure and disgrace in 1954.

Grade Range
9-12
Frederick Douglass’s Narrative: Myth of the Happy Slave

In 1845, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and Written by Himself was published. In it, Douglass criticizes directly—often with withering irony—those who defend slavery and those who prefer a romanticized version of it.

Grade Range
6-8
Lesson 1: The President Under the Articles of Confederation

At the time the Founders were shaping the future of a new country, John Adams suggested the President should be addressed as “His Excellency.” Happily, others recognized that such a title was inappropriate. Though the proper form of address represents only a small detail, defining everything about the Presidency was central to the idea of America that was a work-in-progress when the nation was young.

Grade Range
9-12
Lesson 3: Repetition in the Visual Arts

When we view paintings and other works of art our eyes usually move across the surface of the canvas, hitting on various points, objects, and figures in the picture. In this lesson students will learn about repetition, one of the techniques artists often use to highlight important elements within a painting's composition, and to move a viewer's eye around the canvas, from highpoint to highpoint.