The exhibition 1492: AN ONGOING VOYAGE describes both pre- and post-contact America, as well as the Mediterranean world at the same time. Compelling questions are raised, such as: Who lived in the Americas before 1492? Who followed in the wake of Columbus? What was the effect of 1492 for Americans throughout the Western Hemisphere? The Library of Congress' Quincentenary exhibition addresses these questions, as well as other related themes, including fifteenth century European navigation, the myths and facts surrounding the figure of Columbus, and the differences and similarities between European and American world views at the time of contact.

This unit on American Indians: By studying the regions of the United States and the cultures that live in each region, students are able to compare/contrast within regions and across regions how tribes used their environments, and their cultural and other contributions to American life.

Note that the emphasis here is on broader groups of tribes for each region with some instruction on specific tribes representing each region. In no way is this case study approach to learning about one tribe meant to be generalized to all tribes of that region. We understand that each tribe was and continues to be unique in its culture, practices, lifeways, and traditions.

Students will be expected to begin their basic understanding of the beginnings of the Age of Exploration and the Explorers who took part in it.

This collection uses primary sources to explore the American Indian Movement between 1968 and 1978. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

This 16-week course examines Native American sovereignty from the perspectives of Historical Studies and Anthropology. It covers the history and unique position of American Indian Nations in relation to American political systems, as well as the politics within these indigenous groups as independent nations. The Historical Studies perspective will focus on understanding the historical context of Indian-White relations, while the Anthropology perspective will explore the variety of Native American perspectives on these relations from within their own cultures. 

In this lesson, students begin by examining the ways their sense of identity might be affected by social pressures associated with different spaces. By watching clips from RUMBLE, students then discover how musicians Robbie Robertson, Stevie Salas, and Taboo have negotiated their Native identities, and compare these musician's journeys with those of earlier Native Americans.

These case-studies in U.S. history attempt to break away from the white racial frame that too often is used to tell the story of America's past. These resources explore the United States from the vantage of the enslaved, exploited, persecuted, conquered and occupied who made possible the realization of others' wealth and dreams.

In Clan Mother, Molly Miller shares her experience as a healer and explores the role of elders in her community. One of these roles is to bring back Native language and cultural healing practices. This can be a way to heal the historical trauma that resulted when children were taken from their families during the boarding school era. As a Clan Mother, Molly is a leader in the current grassroots efforts to help young people and bring the community together by restoring traditional culture.

On March 5, 1770, five men were shot dead by British soldiers on King Street in Boston. This event became known as the Boston Massacre, and helped kindle the fire of the American revolution. The first man to fall in this event was Crispus Attucks, a sailor and escaped slave of mixed African and American Indian ancestry. Patriot activists held up Attucks as a martyr for the cause of liberty, and generations of Americans followed suit; almost a century later, abolitionists made Attucks into a symbol of Black civic identity. But who was he, really? This lesson tries to establish the facts about his life from the scant remaining evidence.

The Woodson Center's Black History and Excellence curriculum is based on the Woodson Principles and tells the stories of Black Americans whose tenacity and resilience enabled them to overcome adversity and make invaluable contributions to our country. It also teaches character and decision-making skills that equip students to take charge of their futures. These lessons in Black American excellence are free and publicly available for all.

On March 5, 1770, five men were shot dead by British soldiers on King Street in Boston. This event became known as the Boston Massacre, and helped kindle the fire of the American revolution. The first man to fall in this event was Crispus Attucks, a sailor and escaped slave of mixed African and American Indian ancestry. Patriot activists held up Attucks as a martyr for the cause of liberty, and generations of Americans followed suit; almost a century later, abolitionists made Attucks into a symbol of Black civic identity. But who was he, really? This lesson, the first of two on Crispus Attucks, tries to establish the facts about his life from the scant remaining evidence. The Woodson Center's Black History and Excellence curriculum is based on the Woodson Principles and tells the stories of Black Americans whose tenacity and resilience enabled them to overcome adversity and make invaluable contributions to our country. It also teaches character and decision-making skills that equip students to take charge of their futures. These lessons in Black American excellence are free and publicly available for all.

Curt, a young Tewa Indian, and his grandfather, Andy, prepare for Feast Day. They enjoy the good food, beautiful dances, colorful costumes € and the time they spend together celebrating the traditions of their ancestors

This unit plan was designed in order to instruct students in the Kittitas Valley about the contributions and perspectives of the Kittitas Band of the Yakama Nation. This unit plan has students use primary and secondary sources, inquiry, videos and lecture to plan and conduct an oral history interview with a Kittitas Band member. If tribal members of the Kittitas are not avaiable for interview, there is a sample video of an interview with Kittitas member Allen Aronica. Students can use this video instead of conducting an oral history interview for the final lesson. 

The 12th grade learning experience consists of 7 mostly month-long units aligned to the Common Core State Standards, with available course material for teachers and students easily accessible online. Over the course of the year there is a steady progression in text complexity levels, sophistication of writing tasks, speaking and listening activities, and increased opportunities for independent and collaborative work. Rubrics and student models accompany many writing assignments.Throughout the 12th grade year, in addition to the Common Read texts that the whole class reads together, students each select an Independent Reading book and engage with peers in group Book Talks. Language study is embedded in every 12th grade unit as students use annotation to closely review aspects of each text. Teacher resources provide additional materials to support each unit.

Who decides who among us is civilized? What rules should govern immigration into the United States? Whom should we let in? Keep out? What should we do about political refugees or children without papers? What if they would be a drain on our economy?

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Students read William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest and write a short argument about who in the play is truly civilized.
Students participate in a mock trial in which they argue for or against granting asylum to a teenage refugee, and then they write arguments in favor of granting asylum to one refugee and against granting it to another.
Students read an Independent Reading text and write an informational essay about a global issue and how that relates to their book.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

These questions are a guide to stimulate thinking, discussion, and writing on the themes and ideas in the unit. For complete and thoughtful answers and for meaningful discussions, students must use evidence based on careful reading of the texts.

What role do national identity, custom, religion, and other locally held beliefs play in a world increasingly characterized by globalization?
How does Shakespeare’s view of human rights compare with that in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
Who is civilized? Who decides what civilization is or how it’s defined?
How do we behave toward and acknowledge those whose culture is different from our own?

In this lesson, students will begin with a discussion about their reading of the play so far. In small groups, they’ll speculate about where Shakespeare got some of his ideas. They’ll write about Prospero’s justification for causing the life-threatening storm.

This lesson introduces students to the history and importance of the Indigenous language known as chinuk wawa. Students will have the opportunity to learn how tribes from diverse regions and language families used chinuk wawa as a method of communication among groups essential for trade, political, social and other reasons. They will also reflect on the power of language and the relationship between language and cultural identity.

"I never knew a whole family to live together, till all were grown up, in my life," recalls Lewis Clarke of his twenty-five years enslaved in Kentucky.1 Families were separated due to sale, escape, early death from poor health, suicide, and murder by a slaveholder, overseer, slave patroller, or other dominant person. Separation also occurred within the plantation itself, e.g., by segregating "field slaves" from "house servants," removing children from parents to live together with a slave caretaker, or bringing children fathered by the slaveholder to live in the "Big House." How, then, did the slave family provide solace and identity? "What the family does, and what the family did for African Americans," writes historian Deborah White Gray, "was create a world outside of the world of work. It allowed for significant others. It allowed a male slave to be more than just a brute beast. It allowed him to be a father, to be a son. It allowed women to be mothers and to take on roles that were outside of that of a slave, of a servant."2 When did the enslaved child realize how his or her family life differed from the slave-holder's? How did enslaved adults cope with the forced disintegration of their families? Here we read a collection of texts—two letters, a memoir, and interview excerpts—to consider these questions. (See also Theme II: ENSLAVEMENT, #2, Sale.)

Imagine trying to cut your hair without metal tools. How would you do it? Join JPPM's Educator Nate Salzman as he uses experimental archaeology to answer the question "How did Native Americans cut their hair before metal tools?" Use to support the Maryland Social Studies Framework for grades 3, 4, and High School. To support the grade 3 content topic "Cultural Change Over Time," have students compare the advantages/disadvantages of the results of this experiment and how they receive a hair cut; for grade 4 topic "Native Cultures," have students either hypothesize and research how Native American tribes who did not have access to shells may have cut their hair or respond to the prompt "why did European colonists use metal tools for cutting their hair while the Native Americans used shells? Would some hair styles be easier to cut with one type of tool than the other?"; finally for HS topic "Exploration, Colonization, and Global Interaction, have students respond to the prompt "with the introduction of metal tools, how might the role of 'barber' have changed within a Native American tribe? If you evaluate or use this resource, consider responding to this short (4 question) survey at bit.ly/3G6RxUa

This collection uses primary sources to explore early exploration of the Americas. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.