This unit begins by inviting students to tell the story of their community using artifacts from Washington's history. This allows them to reflect on shared values as well as how people have organized to advocate for those values. Then, students explore how rights are established in their community by analyzing the Washington State Constitution, the Puyallup Tribe Constitution, and the Treaty of Medicine Creek. Next, students investigate four different historic examples of how people have advocated for their rights and values in their community and choose one to research in further depth. In the final phase of the unit, student teams develop an advocacy campaign for a right that is currently being challenged. They conduct research on an issue of their choice, create and execute an action plan, and participate in an advocacy fair to campaign for change in their community. Finally, students draw on what they've learned to answer the unit driving question: "Why do people advocate for issues in their community?"

In 2021, a team of middle school and high school students spent the summer researching the rich history of Americans of Chinese descent. They compiled their research findings in a simple, easy-to-understand flashcard format with the intention of helping the public learn and recognize the achievements, contributions, and struggles of Americans of Chinese descent in the United States.

Students will examine how patriotism comes in many forms through an analysis of the short film "Patriotism and Protest." In the film, experts and Minidoka survivors highlight how the infamous "loyalty questionnaire" during WWII divided the Japanese American community.   

Students will examine how news outlets and government propaganda shaped war hysteria and racism against Japanese Americans during WWII. In the short film, "Power of the Press," students will learn about the pre-war racism against Asian Americans and how community allyship can have a profound effect in combating propaganda.  

Students will examine how language shapes public perception through an analysis of the short film "Power of Words." In the film, experts highlight the various euphemisms used by the US government to describe the WWII incarceration of Japanese Americans and how the language used to describe this event did not match the reality.  

Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages has developed lessons, supplemental resources, and educational documentary videos to accompany the memoir Child Prisoner in American Concentration Camps by Mako Nakagawa.

The Cultivating Washington curriculum is intended to be a go-to resource for Washington state middle school educators seeking student-centered instructional materials that make learning about the history of the Pacific Northwest more relevant and meaningful for students.In addition, it is a resource for agricultural education teachers, parents, and community members interested in helping students discover the history and development of agriculture in the state of Washington.

These lessons are part of the Reform to Equal Rights K-12 Disability History Curriculum from Emerging America, part of the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium.

This unit works particularly well in a course on civics and government. The intro lesson introduces key information and can be useful to check student knowledge and experiences. Lesson 1 is essential to introduce the unit's study of disability. Lessons 2 & 3 delves into work for disability rights, including transformative legislation. In lesson 4, students apply what they have learned about civic action to research, plan, and carry out their own civic engagement project. (This lesson is also used for Grades 9-12.) Lesson 5 can stand alone or fit within the unit; it adds disability rights as an option for study of historic Supreme Court cases

Grades 6-12 - Intro Lesson: Introduction to Disability History
Grades 6-8 - Lesson 1: What Are Disability Rights?
Grades 6-8 - Lesson 2: Disability Rights Activism
Grades 6-8 - Lesson 3: Disability Rights Legislation
Grades 6-8 - Lesson 4: Inclusive Civics Project - Disability Rights
Grades 6-8 - Lesson 5: Supreme Court Case: Olmstead v. L.C.

Reform to Equal Rights uses 250+ primary sources. Most are in the public domain. Many others come from public online collections. For the rest, Emerging America secured permission so that teachers can use all these sources in creative ways. https://www.emergingamerica.org/disability-history-curriculum
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In 2023, Washington State passed legislation designating January as Americans of Chinese Descent History Month, the first-ever in the U.S. Public schools are encouraged to designate time in January for appropriate activities in commemoration of the lives, history, achievements, and contributions of Americans of Chinese descent. Students have created posters specifically intended for use in schools and classrooms. These posters serve the purpose of acknowledging and illustrating the historical timeline of Americans of Chinese descent in the United States, including highlighting significant events in that history.The posters are available in 11"x17" or in 24"x36". Districts can upload their own logo in the corners. 

Washington has been Ahead of the Curve since it first granted women the right to vote in 1883. In 1910 our state became the fifth to include women's suffrage in its constitution — a decade ahead of the nation. And Washington women keep blazing trails in fields from science to bridge building. This video, online exhibit, lesson plan, and poster set from Legacy Washington at the Washington Office of Secretary of State highlights some of these extraordinary women.

This is an accompanying teacher's guide to the graphic novel "Fighting for America: Nisei Soldiers. The book is a compilation of 6 Nisei, second-generation Japanese Americans, veteran's oral histories. These emotional first-person accounts are visceral and graphically moving. These veterans take us on the journey into intelligence units, into the life of a medic, and into gripping and pivotal moments of the Second World War. The books are available in multiple bookstores and library systems. For more information on where to find this novel, contact education@wingluke.org. 

Students begin this unit by exploring the themes of humanity and community as they discuss  the many factors that influence the development of personal identities. They unpack together how we show versus hide different parts of ourselves, and how our identities can be both fixed and ever-changing. Then, students listen to oral histories by Vietnamese Americans in Washington to learn how displacement and resettlement have impacted them personally and shaped their outlook on helping others. Using evidence from these firsthand accounts, students answer the question: What can the experiences of displaced people teach us about community, resilience, and humanity? Throughout this unit, students work in teams to create a podcast where they reflect on their collective responsibility to stand in solidarity with displaced people.

Students learn how young people in Washington exercised their rights and responsibilities through “fish-in” protests to fight for tribal fishing rights in the 1960s. Students use this example of civic engagement to reflect on their rights and responsibilities today, then begin to consider the unit-driving question: How can we use social media to engage community members on issues of injustice? Working in teams, students examine a case study on one of three critical issues: natural resources, the environment, or hazard preparedness. The case studies help students understand how social media can be used to raise awareness and promote action. Finally, teams create a social media campaign that engages their local elected officials and community on an issue of social and environmental justice.

Created in 2023 as a part of HistoryLink's Waterfront History Project, this curriculum offers six lesson plans with focused inquiries related to the history of Seattle's central waterfront.

The standards and outcomes of these lesson plans collectively aim to promote critical thinking, historical literacy, and an understanding of diverse perspectives among Washington state middle school students.

The lessons meet various Washington State Social Studies Standards as well as Social Justice Standards and Middle Level Since Time Immemorial Outcomes. Teachers are encouraged to consider the curriculum's alignment with their class sequence.

The content on HistoryLink.org is owned by HistoryLink and subject to its copyright. HistoryLink.org is offered as a public service. Our written content is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction for noncommercial use, with attribution. https://historylink.org/File/20001
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This unit is focused on the examination of a single topic, in this case, the Native Americans of the inland Northwest and conflict that arose when other non-native people started to settle in the northwest, and to specifically address the native populations that lived in the inland northwest. The materials were created to be one coherent arc of instruction focused on one topic. The module was designed to include teaching notes that signal the kind of planning and thinking such instruction requires: close reading with complex text, and specific instructional strategies or protocols are described that support students’ reading and writing with evidence are described in enough detail to make it very clear what is required of students and how to support students in doing this rigorous work. Materials include summative assessment of content and process, central texts, key resources, and protocols that support and facilitate student learning.