Lesson Plans That Really Work

Lesson Plans That Really Work

If you teach middle school or high school level social studies, you may wish you had a pool of ready, effective and battle-tested lesson plans to draw from. Expertly designed plans that require minimal adjusting.

 

The History Dr offers unique lessons along with any support you may need to make them go off beautifully! When you purchase a lesson from us, you'll also receive one-to-one support from me about any issues that arise. Whether you prefer email, video chat or phone with their author, who has been awarded numerous honors in social studies instruction, you cannot fail with these. I'm dedicated to helping the next generation of teachers excel. Our democracy depends upon it!

 

See a free sample plan here to see what you'll get.

 

You can use them, right now, today. The History Dr's lesson plans were tested for more than 30 years in my classroom, in which students were encouraged, even required, to play active roles in their learning. They are all experiential and interactive. Your students will do history; not passively watch videos or lectures and answer questions from a textbook.

 

Watch your classroom comes alive with the most pressing issues of American history as students assume historical identities and contest the issues. Your students will become the primary actors in the class. You will love teaching these classes.

 

Browse our plans or search by historical periods listed (at right or the bottom) for the American history lesson plan that best meets your needs. For more explanation of this process, see our FAQs page.

 

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    A Nation or a League? Jackson Faces Nullification, 1832

    HD-favicon Students face the Nullification Crisis of 1832 in the roles of Jackson, Clay and Calhoun as they reason issues of federal taxes and the true nature of the Union.

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    6 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    A Republican Campaign Leaflet

    HD-faviconThis four-day lesson plan will turn your classroom into the Headquarters of the fledgling Republican Party as you seek to establish your platform and have your candidate prevail over the Democrat in the 1856 election. With tension and hostility growing between North and South, there is growing danger of civil war. Can your candidate unite the nation and keep the peace? This lesson specifies learning outcomes, activities and procedures and a grading rubric. Suggested time: 4-6 class periods.

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    9 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    An Original Fireside Chat

    HD-faviconStudents will learn about the New Deal and will hone their rhetorical skills--style, strategy and organization. Suggested time: 3-6 class periods.

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    7 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    Dear Abby from “Confused in Kansas”

    HD-favicon     Answer a Dear Abby column in the 1920's by impersonating a famous woman of the day. The Battle of the Sexes couldn't get hotter in this inventive and thought-provoking letter writing assignment.

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    10 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    Life on the Home Front, 1942-1945

    HD-favicon Role play, followed by an analytical writing exercise about Civil Rights in wartime, Life on the Home Front helps kids look at Japanese internment from multiple perspectives.  This two-day activity includes 17 identities from which to analyze the events and compare them to other historical parallels.  

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    6 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    Rate The Colony, 1750

    HD-faviconWhich colonial region in the 1700s had the most to offer potential immigrants from Europe? Turn your classroom into a tension-filled conference to find out! Students will experience superior self-directed inquiry, create compelling public orations, work and solve problems together, and explore the connections of past and present. The conference ends with a dramatic vote. Suggested time: 8 to 10 class periods

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    18 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    Reconstruction Reunion, 1900

    HD-faviconDid Reconstruction succeed or fail? Use the miracle of time-warp technology to debate the issues with leading figures of the day. This allows students to look at whether or not Reconstruction fulfilled the goals of the Civil War.  Suggested time: 3-5 class periods.

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    5 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    Slavery: Whose Loss?

    HD-faviconThe slave experience was diverse. Students will explore the impact of slavery on all walks of life as they dispute who was harmed the most by the "peculiar institution." Suggested time: 3-4 class periods.

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    6 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount
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    Spy’s Dilemma

    HD-favicon Your students become KGB spies at the height of the Cold War. With FBI agents closing in, your student agents have time to transmit to Moscow only one of the stolen documents in their possession. Which one will it be?

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    5 credits ⓘ Credits worth $1 each, buy more and get discount