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.

Created by NHPRC Teacher Participant/Creator: Michael Freydin: Adaptable to other grades. Cumulative assignment for the end of the year. During previous lessons, student have evaluated their own place in history, and in our nation’s history. This final project builds on their understanding of history by conduct an interview to connect neighborhood/family history to world history events.

Created by NHPRC Teacher Participant/Creator: Sean McManamon to meet NYC Social Studies Scope and Sequence  for World History. Adaptable to other grades. Cumulative assignment for the end of the year. Assignment asks students to connect family history interview to World History periodization.

Created by NHPRC Teacher Participant/Creator David Richman for his AP World History course. Adaptable to US History. Adaptable to other grades. Assignments ask students research the effects Executive Order 9066 had on families of Japanese descent, to analyze primary sources, and to create an illustrated story book detailing Ms. Wakatsuki’s time spent at Manzanar, a Japanese internment camp.

Does Alexander deserve to be called “The Great?” This inquiry leads students through an investigation of Alexander the Great using a variety of sources to analyze his impact on other cultures, his success as a military general, followed by his lasting impacts on the ancient world. Resource created by Sydney Daly, Millard Public Schools, as part of the Nebraska ESUCC Social Studies Special Projects 2024 - Inquiry Design Model (IDM).

This presentation features selected documents from the American Colony in Jerusalem Collection. The full collection in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress represents well over 10,000 items stemming from the history of the American Colony, a non-denominational utopian Christian community founded by a small group of American expatriates in Ottoman Palestine in 1881.

Created by NHPRC Teacher Participant/Creator Kenneth Porter for his Senior Leadership class. We all have different stories, reasons and various paths that we personally took or our relatives traversed to arrive at this nation of ours. This assignment tasks the student with researching the story of a relative/guardian who emigrated to this country. The student will learn the when, the what, the why and the how behind their story, in order to reveal to the student more about their own story.

These educational videos provide an invaluable resource on Ancient Nubia for Middle and High School Ancient World History and Geography teachers and students. The video content aligns with Geography, Economics, Civics, and Historical Thinking Social Studies standards across the nation. Key concepts and inquiry skills from each content area weave seamlessly throughout the videos and associated lesson plans. This unit overview document links to developed resources on the Archeology in the Community site.

This video explains how and why Fidel Castro supported the MPLA in Angola from 1975 to 2002. The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was the largest military confrontation in Africa after World War II. The civil war in Angola was one of the longest and bloodiest conflicts of the twentieth century.

This Anne Frank unit is designed with several lessons of various lengths. These lessons are usable in many different disciplines. Using one, several, or all of the lessons will address the unit's objectives to some degree. Students will accomplish some or all of the objectives depending on the number and nature of the lessons in which they participate.

This is the story of the Aztec’s historic 200+ year pilgrimage, as told from the 16th Century Primary source: The Codex Boturini.

The Aztecs came from a place in the north called: Aztlan, which means, “place of the White Heron.”

The Aztecs left their homeland Aztlan in about 1111 C.E. After more than 200 years of trials and tribulations, they stopped when they saw their sign from their god Huitzilopochtli: the eagle perched on the cactus. There, they would build one of the greatest cities in world history.

This is the story of their historic migration from Aztlan to Tenochtitlan in their own words.

This resource was created by Kelly Schrunk, in collaboration with Dawn DeTurk, Hannah Blomstedt, and Julie Albrecht, as part of ESU2's Integrating the Arts project. This project is a four year initiative focused on integrating arts into the core curriculum through teacher education, practice, and coaching.

This is the first lesson in a sequential unit. Students view ceramic vessels from different time periods and cultures and discuss their meanings, functions, and original contexts. They develop criteria for value and meaning of these objects, and create a timeline to situate the objects in history.

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students are tested on what they learned about the history of ceramic forms in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 1." They start work on a personal clay vessel that has a specific use or meaning in their contemporary culture, which could be discerned through study by future archeologists and art historians.

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students begin work on a ceramic vessel, which they designed in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 2." They discuss their artistic choices and identify elements derived from historical examples, while considering how artists appropriate ideas from earlier artists.

This lesson is part of a sequential unit. Students hold a critique session to evaluate the work of their peers using the criteria for value and meaning they developed in "Ceramics: A Vessel into History -- Lesson 1."

Christopher Columbus is one of the most controversial figures in history.  By some, he is viewed as a grand explorer who opened up new areas for European conquest and profit.  But by others, he is viewed as a butcher, who brought disease, and who's actions began the destruction of an entire continent's population.  This lesson will show you two different views of Columbus so that you can draw your own conclusions about whether we should celebrate Columbus or not.

Codex Conquest teaches students to recognize the most important printed books of Western civilization by their nation, century, genre, and current monetary value. Along the way, students learn world history and the scenarios that influence the shape of collections at institutions. Suiting a variety of curricular objectives and student levels, the game can be tailored to fit subject and time specifications and is accessible to students from high school through graduate school. How deeply students engage with the content of Codex Conquest depends on your pedagogy.