This unit lesson will lessen the difficulty students with special needs have learning about and understanding history. By researching family history, students with special needs will realize that history delves in the past and that everyone has a history that can be passed down to families, friends, and historians. The goals and objectives provide teachers with an outline of this approach. The suggested activities, starting with each student investigating the history of someone in his/her family which will be displayed and presented by the student to the class. This will provide a foundation from which to explore historical events by having each student identify any event in the local, state, national, or world history their relative might have witnessed or with which s/he was involved. The teacher then arranges these historic events into a timeline to acquaint the students with how to research and display historical events.

THE ONGOING DEBATE ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE FIRST DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE UNION SOLDIERS THAT GAVE THEIR LIVES TO PRESERVE THE UNION AND END SLAVERY http://usslave.blogspot.com/2011/05/slaves-started-memorial-day.html DISCUSSION FOR K-2 Explain why the compelling question is important to the student. Read the article to students in K-2, then have them listen to some of the songs mentioned while marching as if they are in a parade. Have them use inquiry to understand the article. DISCUSSION FOR 3-6 Explain why compelling questions are important. Instruct students in grades 3-5 to read the article in pairs and allow time for them to ask inquiry questions to further understanding. Use open-ended questions to assess students. *Use the article to make your own plan for celebrating Memorial Day or reenact the first Students in Grades 7-12 will research two articles that supports one of two debate topics, prepare for debate by developing questioD1.1.3-5. Explain why compelling questions are important ns and prepare arguments, and participate in the debate. COMMON CORE STANDARDS: D1.1.K-2. Explain why the compelling question is important to the student. D1.1.3-5. Explain why compelling questions are important D1.1.6-8/D1.1.9-12. Explain how a question represents key ideas in the field.

Students learn how literature and history coincide as writers describe and immortalize historical events. The goal of this lesson is for students to understand how media like poetry and drama evoke emotional responses of historical figures, events, and their effect of those event.

This interactive activity demonstrates the Electoral College to students from primary grades to middle school students, as well as students with special needs. Students create their own election with or without teacher assistance based on their questions regarding our most recent election in which one candidate won the popular vote and the other one won the election by winning the most electoral votes. The goal of this activity is to help students understand how this happened and why, as well as who created this system and when. An activity involving three rounds of voting to help students understand what happens when the votes in states with smaller populations are given the same weight as states with larger populations in the Electoral College, giving all states equal powers to choose the President. This activity can be individualized to address questions asked during inquiry. Or the activities can be used to create inquiry following each cycle of voting, or all of the questions can be asked at the end of all three voting cycles. Links to two videos explaining how the Electoral College works that can be used to help explain the process to middle students or gifted students in lower grades are also included. Hopefully, these activities will help students understand the confusion after our recent election about who won and why, as well as the importance of voting to have their voices heard.

Goal: To broaden students' awareness of the world and where specific continents or located, as well as countries on specific continents, by researching host countries for the olympic games. Objectives: 1. Students will be assigned to a group using the name of a continent and will research countries that have hosted olympic games, the year(s) each country hosted the games, and where it is located on the continent. 2. Students will individually or collaboratively create a map of one of the countries on their continent that hosted Olympic Games. 3. Each student will create a poster providing a look at the Olympic Games the year(s) his/her country hosted the olympics using multimedia. 4. Students will share poster in a variety of media with various audiences.

In honor of African-American History Month, Gettysburg University in Pennsylvania is sponsoring a production of flow theater's iconic choreopoem, "Our Young Black Men Are Dying and Nobody Seems to Care," written by my late brother in 1983. First performed at the Castillo Theatre in New York''s Theatre District in 1990, this series of vignettes addressing the violent deaths of black youth has been staged across the nation in colleges and universities, as well as other venues. I am offering this series of five units based on the themes presented in OYBMADANSTC free of charge to high school and college/university teachers. These materials are also suitable for advanced middle school students. The subjects addressed include history, civics, English and composition, and social problems. One of the units includes research projects specifically for students interested in service careers. These materials will be offered free of charge through March 2016. (c) 2016, Geneva J. Chapman. All rights reserved.

In honor of African-American History Month, Gettysburg University in Pennsylvania is sponsoring a production of flow theater's iconic choreopoem, "Our Young Black Men Are Dying and Nobody Seems to Care," written by my late brother in 1983. First performed at the Castillo Theatre in New York''s Theatre District in 1990, this series of vignettes addressing the violent deaths of black youth has been staged across the nation in colleges and universities, as well as other venues. I am offering this series of five units based on the themes presented in OYBMADANSTC free of charge to high school and college/university teachers. These materials are also suitable for advanced middle school students. The subjects addressed include history, civics, English and composition, and social problems. One of the units includes research projects specifically for students interested in service careers. These materials will be offered free of charge through March 2016. (c) 2016, Geneva J. Chapman. All rights reserved.

In honor of African-American History Month, Gettysburg University in Pennsylvania is sponsoring a production of flow theater's iconic choreopoem, "Our Young Black Men Are Dying and Nobody Seems to Care," written by my late brother in 1983. First performed at the Castillo Theatre in New York''s Theatre District in 1990, this series of vignettes addressing the violent deaths of black youth has been staged across the nation in colleges and universities, as well as other venues. I am offering this series of five units based on the themes presented in OYBMADANSTC free of charge to high school and college/university teachers. These materials are also suitable for advanced middle school students. The subjects addressed include history, civics, English and composition, and social problems. One of the units includes research projects specifically for students interested in service careers. These materials will be offered free of charge through March 2016. (c) 2016, Geneva J. Chapman. All rights reserved.

In honor of African-American History Month, Gettysburg University in Pennsylvania is sponsoring a production of flow theater's iconic choreopoem, "Our Young Black Men Are Dying and Nobody Seems to Care," written by my late brother in 1983. First performed at the Castillo Theatre in New York''s Theatre District in 1990, this series of vignettes addressing the violent deaths of black youth has been staged across the nation in colleges and universities, as well as other venues. I am offering this series of five units based on the themes presented in OYBMADANSTC free of charge to high school and college/university teachers. These materials are also suitable for advanced middle school students. The subjects addressed include history, civics, English and composition, and social problems. One of the units includes research projects specifically for students interested in service careers. These materials will be offered free of charge through March 2016. (c) 2016, Geneva J. Chapman. All rights reserved.

In honor of African-American History Month, Gettysburg University in Pennsylvania is sponsoring a production of flow theater's iconic choreopoem, "Our Young Black Men Are Dying and Nobody Seems to Care," written by my late brother in 1983. First performed at the Castillo Theatre in New York''s Theatre District in 1990, this series of vignettes addressing the violent deaths of black youth has been staged across the nation in colleges and universities, as well as other venues. I am offering this series of five units based on the themes presented in OYBMADANSTC free of charge to high school and college/university teachers. These materials are also suitable for advanced middle school students. The subjects addressed include history, civics, English and composition, and social problems. One of the units includes research projects specifically for students interested in service careers. These materials will be offered free of charge through March 2016. (c) 2016, Geneva J. Chapman. All rights reserved.

This history unit follows Harris Stone's advice and takes students on virtual tours of national landmarks and attractions, provoking curiosity and inspiring students to learn the history of each architectural site. From the website: Virtual Tour of 15 Historic Places: Take a Virtual Tour of Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg – Take a virtual tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Select a location on the map to read a description, watch a video, see a timeline, or look at pictures. Additionally, various teacher resources, such as lesson plans and pre-visit activities, are available to enhance your class’s learning experience. Gettysburg – Take an interactive battlefield tour of Gettysburg. View 21 battlefield panoramas! Mount Vernon Mansion – Take a virtual tour of the estate of Mount Vernon. Not only will you experience 360 degree views of each room, but you can also select objects in the room to learn more of their history. White House – Take an interactive tour inside the White House. Select rooms to view pictures and descriptions. You can also explore the White House at home by watching the Inside the White House video series or the Google Art project. Take a virtual tour of the Supreme Court Take a virtual tour of the Supreme Court Supreme Court Building – Stand on First Street in front of the Supreme Court Building. Select statues or the portico frieze to view details and learn of their symbolism. Take virtual tours the Great Room, the courtroom, and see the chambers of the Justices. Library of Congress– View photos of the Thomas Jefferson building and details of the interior and exterior. Descriptions accompany each photograph for further information. United States Botanic Garden – Tour the United States Botanic Garden before you visit Washington D.C. Explore 360 degree views of 9 locations at the botanic garden, including the jungle, orchid, and desert rooms. It’s feels like you are there! Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – View panoramas inside the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Take virtual tours room-by-room of the whole museum. United States Mint – This slideshow of the coin-making process provides an overview of how the United States designs and manufactures coins. Facilities in Philadelphia and Denver are featured. The Kennedy Center – Get a glimpse of the awe of the Kennedy Center on this virtual tour. Descriptions are included for each room and terrace. Freedom in America – A partnership between the National Park Foundation and Ball State University, Freedom in America is an electronic field trip where students and teachers can explore the American search for freedom. Meet characters throughout history as you play a virtual board game and watch interactive webisodes. The site is divided into a student and teacher sections.