This unit reinforces map and globe skills as students learn about the geographic characteristics of different regions of the United States: New England, Mid-Atlantic, South, Midwest, Great Plains, Rocky Mountain, Southwest, and West Coast. Across 13 lessons, students explore the climate, natural resources, culture, and other distinctive characteristics of each region.
American Reformers (CKHG Unit)
This unit (the second part of Early Presidents and Social Reformers) focuses on the efforts to improve American society in the early 1800s. Across 6 lessons, students learn about the temperance movement, free public education, the abolitionists’ crusade to abolish slavery, and the early women’s rights movement. The unit explores early reformers’ legacy in ongoing modern-day struggles for equality and civil rights.
Early Presidents (CKHG Unit)
This unit (first half of Early Presidents and Social Reformers) focuses on the first seven presidents of the United States. Across 9 lessons, students learn about how the early presidents organized the federal government, built a national capital, directed a second war with Great Britain, more than doubled the size of the country, and formulated a “hands-off” foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere.
The Thirteen Colonies (CKHG Unit)
This unit explores the development of three regions of English colonies using primary source documents and imaginative narratives. Across 35 lessons, students explore Jamestown, labor by indentured servants, and the reliance on enslaved workers in the southern colonies, look at the motives influencing the Pilgrims and Puritans in New England and the financial and religious reasons for settling the Middle Colonies.
The American Revolution (CKHG Unit)
This unit begins by providing background information on the establishment of the thirteen colonies. Across 25 lessons, students learn about early alliances, the French and Indian War, and causes and provocations of the American Revolution. Students are introduced to major ideas in the Declaration of Independence and to key figures in the Revolution, as well as art and literature representative of the period.
Includes 25 lessons of roughly 45 minutes each.
The United States Constitution (CKHG Unit)
This unit explores the creation and central ideas of the United States Constitution. Across 18 lessons, students learn how, after the Revolution, the Founding Fathers worked to confront the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation. They learn why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution, and explore reasons why the Constitution has survived as the guiding document of government in the United States.
Jefferson and Slavery – for ELD students
Students engage in a thoughtful and academic discussion about Jefferson and slavery after having worked through key quotes and primary sources regarding the topic.
Hamilton: An American Musical Resources
Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father and Broadway star, clashed with Thomas Jefferson politically and morally. But both figures were essential to the founding of the United States of America. Check out this page for resources on Jefferson, Hamilton, and other main players from the Broadway musical “Hamilton: An American Musical.”
Thomas Jefferson and Slavery
Thomas Jefferson, the man who wrote the famous line “all men are created equal,” was a life-long slave-owner. Over the course of his life, he would own 600 human beings, and at any given time there would be roughly 100 slaves living and working on and around Jefferson’s plantation and farms. This handout describes Thomas Jefferson’s views on slavery.
Timeline of Thomas Jefferson’s Life
This resource is a timeline of the private and public events in Thomas Jefferson’s life, including his election to the House of Burgesses and death of his mother.