The US History Lessons:

Note: These lessons will be taught under  under the 90-minute block schedule model.
Feel free to send me ideas and opinions that can be added to this list.

Where weeks are blank in the chart below, lessons will be inserted as more information becomes available (such as availability of textbook and other materials). Many of these plans can also be found on the US Government Lesson Plan page and can easily apply to the curriculum for a criminal justice degree online.

 

Plan bookA planbook is now available. The schedule of lessons is subject to change.

 Here is the Interactive Student Notebook table of Contents for US History


The following is a list of topics covered by the 7th Grade Social Sciences curriculum for the state of Virginia.
Source: Loudoun County Public Schools Website: http://cmsweb1.loudoun.k12.va.us/50990419143248/lib/50990419143248/09-10_Social_Sci_Middle_School_Syllabi.pdf (PDF Format)

This table is under construction.
Topic Lessons and Activities

Estimated time frame
2010-2011 School year

Geography Skills and American History (1877-Present) Six Themes of Geography
US Map and regions of the United States
Electronic Atlas of the US
1 week
9/7-9/14
Geography of the USA and the World The Relationship between History and Geography
Continental maps: Key Features, nations, essential historical trends
History of the World up to the American Revolution (BC and AD)
Latitude and Longitude
Regions of the United States
Economic and Cultural contributions of US Cities and States
3 weeks
9/15-10/6
Analysis of Primary Sources Analysis of the Civil War Amendments, Gettysburg Address, Lincoln's Second Inaugural 1 week
10/7-10/14
Westward Expansion and the 50 States The Great Plains: Physical Features and Economic Activities
Map analysis and use of primary documents
Special Purpose Map: Native Americans in the West
The Impact of Westward Expansion on Native Americans:
Cultural Impact, Military events, Citizenship status
2 weeks
10/18-10/29
Immigration, Industrialization, Urbanization Explain relationships among natural resources, transportation, and industrial development after 1865
Causes and Impact of increased immigration after the Civil War.
Conditions in the Cities: Effects of Urbanization
Inventions in the wake of the Industrial Revolution
from Agrarian to Industrial nation
The Rise of Big Business
2 weeks
11/4-11/17
Segregation in the Wake of Reconstruction Reconstruction Policies and their impact on the North and South
Restrictions on Southern governments
The Freedmen's Bureau
The Black Codes and Jim Crow Laws
The Election of 1876 and Compromise of 1877.
The contributions of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, and Frederick Douglass
3 weeks
11/29-12/13
Progressive Movement Negative effects of industrialization
The rise of organized labor
Progressive Movement workplace reforms
Women’s suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment
The Temperance Movement and the 18th Amendment
2 weeks
12/14-12/22
US Expansionism Reasons for and Results of the Spanish American War
The Roosevelt Corollary
The Impact of American Imperialism
1 week
1/3-1/10
WW I: At Home and in Europe Reasons for United States involvement in World War I
The Allied Powers against the Central Powers
United States leadership as the war ended
Wilson's Fourteen Points and the League of Nations
United States Senate fails to ratify the Treaty of Versailles.
2 weeks
1/11-1/21
Transportation, Great Migration, Prohibition Transportation and the automobile
Growth of transportation-related industries (road construction, oil,
steel, automobile)
The Growth of Suburbia
The airplane and the Wright Brothers
The assembly line and mechanization
Changes in Communication: the telephone,  movies, radio and broadcast industries.
Prohibition and the Constitution
African Americans and the Great Migration
3 weeks
1/24-2/14
Harlem Renaissance Cultural climate of the 1920s and 1930s: Art, Literature, and Music
The Harlem Renaissance: Art, Literature, and Music
1 week
2/15-2/18
The Great Depression and the New Deal Causes of the Great Depression: Overspeculation on stocks,
failure of the Federal Reserve, and high tariffs.
Impact on Americans: banks failed, unemployment, deflation.
The New Deal:  Social Security, federal work programs, environmental improvement programs, farm assistance programs, increased rights for labor.
2 weeks
2/22-3/8
 
Pearl Harbor and WW II: Atlantic, Pacific, at Home Causes of World War II
Effects of  World War I
Rise of Fascism: Adolf Hitler (Germany), Benito Mussolini (Italy), and Hideki Tojo (Japan).
The Allies vs The Axis Powers.
War in the Pacific: Pearl Harbor
Major events and turning points of World War II
The Holocaust
America and the Home Front
4 weeks
3/9-4/1
Postwar Rebuilding and UN Formation Rebuilding After World War II: the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe
The Partitioning of Germany
Japan's defeat and demilitarization
Establishment of the United Nations
2 weeks
4/5-4/15
Cold War Conflicts
Post War Economic Growth
Origins of the Cold War
Major conflicts in the post-World War II era:  South Korea and the United States resisted Chinese, Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam
Collapse of communism in Europe
New Challenges and Changes in America's Economy
The GI Bill, the Baby Boom, and globalization
3 weeks
4/25-5/13
Civil Rights Movement and Women’s Rights Civil Rights Movement: From Plessy v. Ferguson to Brown v. Board Martin Luther King, Jr.: “I have a dream…” speech,
Rosa Parks, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Changing role of women:
National Organization for Women (NOW)
Federal legislation to force colleges to give women
equal athletic opportunities
The Equal Rights Amendment
3 weeks
5/16-6/3
Technology and American Life Industries benefiting from new technologies:
Airline industry (jet engine)
Automobile industry and interstate highway system
Entertainment and news media industries
Exploration of space
Computer industry
Satellite systems, telecommunications
(pagers, cell phones, television) Internet
Impact of new technologies on American life
2 weeks
6/6-6/15
     



Previous Syllabus:

Aug/Sept

 

Getting Started: Developing A Class Constitution 
This lesson also includes a cooperative learning activity entitled "What do You Want To Accomplish This School Year?" 
Some Cooperative Team and Class Building Activities
Creating a Preamble
Interactive Student Notebook Cover: Guidelines are available for students.
2000-2001 What is History? This lesson includes a PowerPoint presentation: Why Study History?
Chapter 1 and 2:  Why We Remember: Vocabulary on Early American Cultures

The Foundations of American Government (Remedial level) featuring a class-building vocabulary exercise.
Cause and Effect In the Confederation, Revolutionary and Constitutional Periods
New: Life In the English Colonies Submitted by Miri Rubin
Oct.

 

2000-2001: Spain Leads Europe in Conquering North America
Major Quiz/Test: Conquering North America
Planting the English Colonies: Part One
Know Your English Colonies including the activity: "Create a Colonial Flag"
Use http://www.seanet.com/Users/pamur/13colony.html
to help with Colonial information.
This site is full of colonial links! Colonial America 1600-1775 K12 Resources
Questions on the American Revolution
Beat The Expert on The Road to Revolution
Check out: Revolutionary Reading Notes: Illustrated Notes on the Road to the American Revolution
The Road to Revolution: Part 1
The Road to Revolution: Part 2
The Road to Revolution: Part 3
Video Worksheet: The American Revolution
Revolutionary War Links
 
Nov.
 
 

 

New! Reviewing the important Historical Documents of US Government and History
New!
The Declaration of Independence

New! The Constitutional Convention of 1787
Vocabulary List for the Constitutional Convention of 1787
The Origins of American Government
Student's Vocabulary and definitions for Revolutionary and Constitutional Periods. Want to take a 15-question quiz? Here you go!
The Origins of American Government Part II: Featuring a web project entitled: You Are There: A Revolutionary On-Line Newspaper
Introduction to The Constitution
Introduction to The Bill of Rights

Video Worksheet: History of US Government
 
America In the 19th Century: Lesson Plan and Research Topics
The Project: America in the 19th Century

A quiz on Presidential History based on notes from oral presentations. Students used two web sites: C-SPAN's American Presidents and Internet Public Library's POTUS database.
Elections and the Electoral Process
Here are some excellent resources on the Impeachment Process
One great resources listed there is a lesson plan from the New York Times.
 
Dec. The Rise of Political Parties and the Election of 1800   
The Checks and Balances System (A Simulation)
The Big Box Three-Branch Review Worksheet
 
Jan. Native Americans During the 19th and 20th Centuries
Native American Writing Project Links!
The Growth of the US Map Activity and Vocabulary Matching on the early 1800s
The United States During the Early 19th Century
 
The Industrial Revolution
The Labor Movement: Vocabulary and Matching Exercise
Industrial Revolution Crossword Puzzle
 
Feb. Vocabulary: The Progressive Era

Video Worksheet with Answer Bank: The Progressive Movement
 
Imperialism Lesson Plan Part 1: With Where In The World Is Uncle Sam?
Imperialism Lesson Plan: Part 2 With the "Beat The Pro" Activity
Imperialism Vocabulary
Imperialism Quiz (Interactive version is available)

World War I (Lecture Notes) and Matching Activity
World War I: A Flash Animation on the Alliance System
An interactive map on the geopolitical changes resulting from the Versailles Treaty
A simulation of the Versailles Conference.

The 1920s: Build Your Own Worksheet
March

April
 

The Great Depression
The New Deal
Video Worksheet on the Great Depression and New Deal

World War II

Cold War Vocabulary (Chapter 29: Why We Remember) along with "I Have... Who Has?" Review Cards

American Foreign Policy, Yesterday and Today
Here is a fully-hyperlinked version of the above lesson as it appeared in Teaching Government With The Internet, published by Zenger Media.
American Foreign Policy: Learning Stations and Class Presentations
The United Nations

May The 1950s Note Taking Chart

The Civil Rights Movement: A Web Project

 
June  US Foreign Policy at the Turn of the Millennium: With Vocab, & Filmstrip Worksheet

Class Activity: Draw an Illustration on "How Has America Changed since September 11, 2001?" Available in Word 2000 and PDF formats.

 
Here's a good website to review for your US History final exam.

From the 2000-2001 school year: A Holocaust Webquest

 

Supplementary Units:

Interdisciplinary Unit: The Beast Within
The Future of Government: Interdisciplinary Studies in Science, Literature, and Government.
Current Events: The News Discussion Page
Student Web Site: An Interactive Guide to the Bill of Rights


Teachers: Visit our sponsor for Social Studies Materials



Ordering teaching materials through
this website will help keep it alive.


George Cassutto's Cyberlearning World: http://www.cyberlearning-world.com

     [Lesson Plan of the Day]     [Cassutto Memorial]    [About the Author]    [Search]    [Civics Lesson Plans]