Let your students’ minds infuse fact and fiction through this engaging performance task. Students become soldiers on the battle field and are asked to write a letter home to a loved one all the while learning about a key battle of the Civil War. This product includes an internet fact sheet that required students to research their battle. Also included is a grading rubric and detailed directions and word count for the essay. Allow 3-4/ 55min class periods.

Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. Montgomery Bus Boycott, Voting Rights Act, it’s all here in this comprehensive 21 slide PPT over the Civil Rights Movement. It is accompanied by a detailed, customized guided notes word document. This PPT is straightforward in a timeline fashion, with no animations, so as to be easy for you to customize it to fit your style. It includes detailed info, pics, a wordle exercise and video URLs covering from 1941 (desegregation in the military) up to 1968 (MLK Jr.’s assassination.) It covers all major events such Freedom Riders, Brown vs. Board, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Selma March, Voting Rights Act, NAACP, CORE, Black Panthers, Rosa Parks, MLK Jr., Malcolm X, etc… This was designed around an American Anthem history textbook, but could be modified to fit your own. This covers all four sections of the chapter. It can be completed in 2-55 min class periods or 3 if you watch full length of speeches and videos.

This is a great way to cover WWII in detail with a small amount of time. Students also get to take on more responsibility as they are asked to teach a mini-lesson over a specified topic. They have to design a warm-up, a presentation and some kind of assessment. Students enjoy this Performance Task as they get to become the teacher for a day. Students watching presentations also have a guided notes to be filling out, so all students are engaged. This product includes a launch document, a grading rubric, a topics list, guided notes and detail instructions for each day of the performance task. Allow 5 days (computer lab) for preparation and 2 days for presentations.

This is a digital breakout that focuses on early 20th century Immigrants, Segregation, Urban Life and Political Corruption. The concept is similar to the escape room, where students will have to collaborate in order to crack the codes to the five locks on the homepage in order to “breakout” of the activity. This is entirely online and students can complete this without having to move about the room. No additional resources needed. Students will work in groups of 4 or 5 to read through the site in order to gather information of New Immigrants, Urban life at the turn of the 20th century, jim crow laws, as well as political machines. This is done by navigating through the site that has hidden links and fun challenges that will ultimately lead them to the codes they need to find. Students love this and it’s a great way to introduce or wrap up the chapter on the early 1900’s.

The Cold War, John F. Kennedy, Nakita Khrushchev, and the Cuban Missile Crisis come to life in this U.S. History simulation. Let your students become Ex Comm Advisers to JFK and help him make decisions during that high stakes week in late October of 1962. Students can do this individually or in small groups. They will get to make real decisions that were being discussed during the crisis. It is set up similar to a choose your own adventure and students will be able to keep score of their progress. This product includes a PowerPoint and a Word Document that students complete as they go. This is a great way to get students discussing and gives them a chance to put themselves in the situation room and think about the effects their decisions will have on all those involved.This is designed for a one 55 min. class period. The word document is the free preview file and the PPT is the paid product.

Trying to play catch up with history at the end of the year? Cover the 1960’s, 1970’s, 1980’s and 90’s in 1 week with this detailed and guided research project. Students are to select a decade to research and create a historical style documentary to present the info to the class. This project is well organized and is broken down into 4 checkpoints with detailed steps and guidance on what to research. Also included is a grading rubric, group evaluation and a self-evaluation. Plan for 2 days research, 1 day storyboard, 1 day informational script, 1-2 days filming/creating and 1 day for presentations.

This Simulation will have students talking about the Cold War for the rest of the semester. My students love this simulation! It is complex and detailed to the point that students get an authentic, hands-on experience as to what it was like to make some of the tough decisions as govt. leaders during the Cold War, yet it is simple enough to explain and execute with no high tech computer software required and very minimal prep work involved (only word docs). Students get to collaborate in groups as they represent different country during the Cold War. Each group will consist of a Chief Decision Maker, an Ambassador, an Economic Advisor and a Military Advisor (so all group members are involved). Over the course of four days, students will be faced with different scenarios from the Cold War and will attempt to reach their country’s customized objectives in order to score points. Students will have to collaborate within their own group as well as with other groups to accomplish these objectives. Students will also have to consider things such as trading natural resources and investing in their military/economy in order to develop their country for subsequent turns of the simulation. Included in this 19 page package is everything needed to complete the simulation; a user manual, a terminology page, chart templates, an assessment reflection sheet and all four scenarios. Scenario 1 is (Alliances NATO/Warsaw Pact), Scenario 2 is (Expansion vs. Containment), Scenario 3 (Collective Action Asian Influenza), Scenario 4 (Nuclear Proliferation). Duration of simulation is 5 days 55min. classes (1 day for explanation and 4 days for 4 scenarios). You will not be displeased with the engagement nor the higher-level of learning that takes place during this simulation.