American Centuries

Pocumtuck Valley
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American Centuries > Lessons > History Lessons By Teachers

History Lessons By Teachers

Here are over 100 brief U.S. history lessons based on the artifacts and documents from Memorial Hall Museum’s Online Collection. These lessons were created by teachers and librarians for other teachers and librarians. You can use the “Topics” filter below to help locate lessons of interest to you.

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Lessons in this group

  • “Four Little Girls”

     Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that the exposure to segregation encouraged young adults to participate in the civil rights movement.

  • “No Taxation Without Representation!”

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Through role play, students will understand that the colonist in the 1760s and 1770s felt unfairly taxed by the British Parliament and they will understand how feelings of unjust taxation brought about anger and revolt that led to the creation of The Declaration of Independence.

  • “So What Are We Going To Do About It?” The McCarthy Era

     High School (9–12) Students will understand that even in Western Massachusetts, citizens were fearful of a communist takeover of the United States in the years after World War II.

  • “Town Hall Meeting” on Shays’ Rebellion

     High School (9–12) There were two main viewpoints related to the events of Shays’ Rebellion: those of the Regulators, and those that sided with the government of Massachusetts.

  • A Ball for George!

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) Students will create an invitation to a Washington’s Ball. They will read, practice, and give toasts to the first president, after learning the proper elocution and posture of the late 1700s.

  • A Child’s Daily Routine – Then and Now

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand after reading the diary excerpts from Ellen Louisa Arms (1859-1860) and through discussion, that the routine of a child’s life in the middle 1800s was very different and also, in some ways, similar to a student’s daily routine today.

  • A Childhood Lost

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) Students will understand that instead of going to school, children as young as eight years old spent long hours working at various difficult jobs, created by demands of the expanding Industrial Revolution.

  • A Cultural Math Lesson – Rum vs. Water

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Using page 20 from “The North American Arithmetic” book by Frederick Emerson (Boston, 1841), students will understand that cultural aspects of society in 1840 appear in arithmetic problems of the time.

  • A Day In The Life. . . The World War II Homefront

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that the lives of civilians on the homefront changed during World War II, and will examine ration cards as well as other sources to discover the actions necessary for daily life and the “war effort”.

  • A Man’s Home Is His Castle: The Story of the Erving Castle

     Elementary (K–5) Using primary documents and picture books about John Smith and Henry David Thoreau, students will understand that the lives of the two men from the 1800s shared similarities and differences.

  • A Nation Prepares for Civil War

     High School (9–12) Students will read several contemporary news accounts of the attempt by both the Union and Confederacy to mobilize the resources necessary to achieve their respective objectives.

  • A Soldier’s Personal View of the Civil War

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Through the lesson activities students will develop an understanding of a soldier’s personal perspective of war and how families supported their soldiers. Students will understand that we can learn a great deal about past events through the writings and artwork created by the people living during these events.

  • A Young Person’s Diary: 1859 and 2010

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that there are similarities and differences in the lives of young adolescents from 1859 to the present.

  • African American Experiences During the Pre-Civil War Era

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that there was not a single perspective on the events leading up to the Civil War. They will read and analyze several primary documents from 1860.

  • African Americans: A View from New England

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) Through the close examination of text and pictures representing African Americans during the Civil War era, students will understand that Massachusetts residents held contrasting views about African Americans and slavery.

  • All Work and No Play

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand the ways in which 19th century students spent their after-school hours by comparing and contrasting after-school activities of the past with their own modern after-school activities.

  • American Voting Rights Timeline

     Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that the voting rights Americans have today came in distinct stages.

  • American Women Boycott British Goods

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) Students will understand that people can engage in political and economic life through protests and boycotts, as women did during the revolutionary era.

  • An Investigation of Tools: A Historical Perspective

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that people used more primitive tools in the past.

  • Analyzing Historical Fiction: Boy Captive of Old Deerfield

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that “Boy Captive of Old Deerfield” is historical fiction, yet much of it is based on a primary source, the memoirs of Stephen Williams.

  • Battles of Lexington and Concord Poetry Comparisons

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) The students will understand that poets use language to create powerful mood in a piece, although the poem may not be historically accurate,

  • Beavers and Trade

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) To learn about the trade between Native Americans and English settlers during the Colonial Period, the students will be asked to read and decipher a 1703 broadside, listing trade goods with prices in beaver.

  • Burial Customs: 19th Century Deerfield and Ancient Egypt

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that examining funerary customs can provide insight to the beliefs and cultures of historical time periods. While studying the ancient Egyptians and their techniques of body preservation and how beliefs about the afterlife influenced their daily lives, students can look at the beliefs and customs of people in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts in the 19th century.

  • Can Anyone Feel A Draft

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will learn about the draft process, create their own draft cards, and examine the probability that their card would be chosen from the group.

  • Comparing Attitudes: Three American Wars

     High School (9–12) This lesson offers students the opportunity to compare homefront attitudes towards the Civil War, WW II, and the Vietnam War through primary sources.

  • Determining Perspective in Art of the American Revolution

     Elementary (K–5) Following this lesson, students will understand that art can be used as a form of propaganda to promote a cause. They will have a deeper understanding of the events that led up to the Revolutionary War through observing artwork that depicts one perspective on the Boston Massacre.

  • Do Onions Make You Cry?

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that observation of paintings and photographs can help them to obtain information about Eastern European immigrant onion farmers in the Connecticut River Valley.

  • Do Your Work!

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will investigate Massachusetts child labor in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

  • Documents & Artifacts Related to Massachusetts & the Revolutionary War

     Elementary (K–5) View and describe attributes of primary and secondary sources, especially those related to colonial America and the Revolutionary war.

  • Early American Lighting

     Elementary (K–5) This lesson will help students to understand the importance of light and how different types of lighting fixtures have changed over time.

  • Greenfield Tap and Die: An Economic Review

     High School (9–12) Students will demonstrate an understanding of specific economic concepts as they analyze the development and work of this Greenfield, Massachusetts, company.

  • Immigration in the Pioneer Valley: A Poem in Two Voices

     High School (9–12) Students will understand that immigration has long been a controversial issue in the US, crossing time and ethnic boundaries.

  • Irish Immigration and Industrialization in Holyoke, MA

     Elementary (K–5) Students will analyze the given primary sources to make a conclusion as to whether they feel the Irish immigration to America, specifically Holyoke, was a successful venture for these individuals.

  • Letters Home from a Civil War Soldier

     Elementary (K–5) After discussing the modes of modern personal communication, students will examine the handwritten letters of a Civil War soldier and will understand that there was great effort involved.

  • Little Rock or Bussed

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that, because of the racial climate of the late 1950s and early 1960s, the process of school integration was slow, scary and, at times, threatening for both Blacks and Whites.

  • My Very Own Factory

     Elementary (K–5) Using a map of newly industrialized Greenfield, Massachusetts, students will choose a site for their factory and justify their choices.

  • Reading Old Letters: Another View on History

     Elementary (K–5) Children will study Civil War era letters and discover another way of looking at history different from reading a textbook.

  • Shays’ Rebellion and American Promises

     High School (9–12) This activity is designed to explore Shays’ Rebellion as it relates to the theme of “American Promises” and the question, “How have Americans understood the promises of the American Revolution as expressed in our founding documents and in what ways have Americans contested and claimed these ‘promises’?”

  • Simulated Archeological Dig of Native American Artifacts

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand the process and problems archeologists face when locating and identifying artifacts and determining what these artifacts tell us by taking part in a simulated “dig” using pictures of artifacts on the website.

  • Snowshoe Speeds

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that the relative time it would take to snowshoe, walk or drive between two towns they are familiar with will be different. Students will estimate then learn the distance between the towns, learn the average speeds of the modes of transportation, and compute the time needed to make the trip.

  • So you’re the little woman who wrote the book…

     Elementary (K–5) Students will examine the historical background for the Fugitive Slave Law and other slavery issues. The students will understand that these issues inspired people to speak out and try to bring about change.

  • Standing Tall on Propaganda, Falling Short on Accuracy

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that Paul Revere’s depiction of the Boston Massacre was an example of propaganda at that time by examining and comparing a variety of other depictions of that same event.

  • Stories in Cloth

     High School (9–12) Students will synthesize history and literature by researching details and other information that is mentioned in slave narratives in order to complete quilt squares.

  • Story Problems Now and Then

     Elementary (K–5) Using an arithmetic textbook from 1841, students will compare and contrast story problems from their own math books and those in the 19th century school book. They will discern the important aspects of daily life in the early 19th century as well as what moral lessons were being conveyed.

  • Student Investigator – “The Boston Massacre”

     High School (9–12) In this lesson students will examine primary and secondary sources related to The Boston Massacre. They will then will write short essays stating their opinions, citing evidence and source information to support them.

  • Sugar and Spice, Snips and Snails

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that toys are often more than just items for entertainment. Students will identify the hidden purposes of toys played with by children of other eras, as well as toys of our own era.

  • Sunderland Bridges Falling Down

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that examining and comparing primary documents can be a valuable tool in learning about the history of one’s town. students will utilize the online collection of the American Centuries website, comparing images of two of Sunderland’s bridges in order to make predictions and ask questions regarding Sunderland’s town history. After reading and discussing the labels accompanying the pictures, students will understand that floods had a devastating effect on the bridges of Sunderland.

  • Susan B. Anthony – A Fighter for Rights

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that Susan B. Anthony lived long ago and during a different time by looking at the images from the online collection and reading a book about her.

  • Taverns and Their Signs

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that taverns played various and important roles in the lives of 18th and 19th century folks.

  • The American Flag – Symbols of Today and Yesterday

     Elementary (K–5) Children will understand that the American flag has changed over time in the U.S. but continues to symbolize pride, unity and strength. They will develop a beginning understanding of how historians use primary sources and previous knowledge to develop theories about our past.

  • The Boston Tea Party

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that the Boston Tea Party was a significant event and a prelude to the American Revolution by listening to a first person historical monologue detailing the event and the reasons behind it, engaging in a discussion with the “visitor from the past,” and examining images of the event.

  • The Changing Role of Religion in US Education

     High School (9–12) Students will learn that unlike modern times, religious instruction was once not only the responsibility of the church but a civic responsibility as well.

  • The Constitution and Shays Influence

     Middle School (6–8) Through the use of primary sources, students will understand that Massachusetts writers used Shays Rebellion not only to inform citizens of current events but also to influence them to consider and/or accept a change in the current government, The Articles of Confederation.

  • The Controversial Nature of U.S. Involvement in WWI

     High School (9–12) Students will learn that although WWI was primarily a “European war,” the U.S. played an important role. They will also learn that while there was general support for U.S. involvement in the war, there was also opposition to U.S. involvement.

  • The Five Themes of Geography

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that there are five themes of geography in images. By reading and reviewing a short video to learn to recognize the themes, they will then be able to successfully sort historical pictures from the digital collection and present day photographs into these categories.

  • The Five Themes of Geography Through Historical Maps

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) After this lesson students will understand that there are Five Themes of Geography. They will achieve this outcome by an in-depth discussion and note-taking session that will introduce the Five Themes of Geography. Through close inspection of historical maps, they will experience the basic concepts of the Themes.

  • The Fugitive Slave Act in Boston: A Spectrum of Opinions

     High School (9–12) Through investigative learning using primary sources, and differentiated instruction and assessment using student choice, students will understand that the Fugitive Slave Law and the rescue of Shadrach Minkins had a widely varied impact on citizens in Massachusetts. Students will also understand that the opinions regarding actions surrounding fugitive slaves varied.

  • The Great Depression

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) By reviewing Western Massachusetts newspaper articles and editorial cartoons, students will understand that the Great Depression had a significant impact on Western Massachusetts. Students will also examine the lyrics from three popular songs from the Depression era and draw conclusions about the message(s) they each contain.

  • The Hundred Dresses and the Treatment of Immigrants

     Elementary (K–5) By reading a work of historical fiction about a Polish immigrant family and reading primary sources, students will understand that immigrants were not always welcomed in their new communities.

  • The Impact of WWII on New England Families at Home

     High School (9–12) The student will develop skills for historical analysis, including the ability to analyze and interpret primary sources to better understand sacrifices made by New England families during WWII. The focus of the activity is on developing an understanding of how families dealt with imposed restrictions on their way of life. This lesson is designed for students with special needs.

  • The Legend of the Great Beaver

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that legend often has a basis in fact by illustrating the connection between the legend of the Great Beaver and the geography of Mt. Sugarloaf.

  • The Life and Times of Sarah Bishop

     Elementary (K–5) During and after the reading of Sarah Bishop, Scott O’Dell’s book, students view digital photos of objects similar to those described in the book. They use information from the text to create an original wanted poster.

  • The Lives and Times of Women

     Elementary (K–5) Through the use of primary and secondary sources, class discussion, readings, and a writing assignment, the students will be able to understand the roles, rights and struggles of women in the 19th and 20th centuries.

  • The Making of Santa Claus

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that Santa Claus has had many different faces throughout history and that the image of Santa is also influenced by the region in which Christmas is being celebrated.

  • The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

     Elementary (K–5) Students will begin to understand the significance of Paul Revere’s ride to warn the colonists of the British Army’s march on Lexington and Concord.

  • The Mill Bell Rings

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will examine the child labor laws and mills of Massachusetts.

  • The Mill River Calamity

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) In this 2-day lesson, students will understand that the Mill River Flood of 1874 destroyed many towns and could have been prevented had the overseers of the dam and the construction crews been more careful in their construction.

  • The Politics of Women’s Suffrage

     High School (9–12) Students will understand that over many decades, groups associated with the women’s suffrage movement employed a variety of political activities that moved the country toward adopting the 19th Amendment in 1920.

  • The Shape of Things to Come

     Elementary (K–5) In this activity, students will understand that basic two-dimensional geometric shapes are the building blocks of quilt design. Students will have the opportunity to identify geometric shapes, manipulate the shapes to replicate traditional patterns, and create their own quilts designs.

  • The Thoughts of a Civil War Soldier

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) By reading letters written by a Civil War soldier, students will be able to connect on a personal level to the subject, examine period language, social/political concerns, time frames and geography, and build reading/writing, oral presentation, and group cooperation skills.

  • The Times They Are a Changing

     High School (9–12) This activity uses local primary documents from the early 1900s to focus on changes that gave rise to Ku Klux Klan activity in the late 1920s in the Pioneer Valley region of western Massachusetts.

  • The Tory and Whig Perspectives

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) In this activity, students will examine these two different opinions that divided the colonists during the time of the Revolution. Students will identify reasons why one group may have chosen a different viewpoint than the other.

  • The War of 1812

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that the War of 1812 had several effects on the New Nation, one of which was a strong sense of nationalism (devotion to one’s nation, or country).

  • Then and Now Simple Machines

     Elementary (K–5) Students will participate in a comparative study of 19th century simple machines with those used today. Students will understand that 19th century machines were made of natural materials such as wood, iron, rocks, steel and resources that surround them while many modern day simple machines are made of synthetic materials such as plastic, steel, vinyl, latex and any other material that may be man made.

  • Time Saving Inventions

     Elementary (K–5) By examining objects from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, students will understand that people solved problems through inventions that made tasks easier.

  • To Grandfather’s House We Go…Then and Now

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that primary documents help us infer what a celebration of Thanksgiving might have been like during a different time period.

  • Toast!

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that people from long ago loved to eat toast just like people do today, but the tools and the process to make toast were different.

  • Top Chef

     Elementary (K–5) During this lesson, the students will understand that cooking utensils have changed over time.

  • Town Meeting: A Local Example of Direct Democracy

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) The New England town meeting provides an example of direct democracy. By examining relevant primary documents such as town warrants and notes from town meetings, students will understand the structure and role of the town meeting in local government. Students will also understand that they have a role as citizens in the decision-making process in their communities.

  • Town Meeting: Democracy in Action

     Elementary (K–5) Town meetings are one of the purest examples of democracy in our country. By viewing primary documents from town meetings of colonial Deerfield and exploring issues considered at present-day town meetings, students will learn about the history of democracy in America and the responsibilities of the people in a democracy.

  • Trading Beaver Pelts

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand how Europe’s hunger for beaver pelts connected Native Americans and European settlers in an incarnation of the global economy. Through a simulation of the beaver trade, students experience first hand how an oversupply of pelts can drive down prices.

  • Transportation Time Line

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that aspects of transportation have changed significantly over time. Students will first brainstorm different modes of travel and create a time line showing the changes.

  • Traveling on the Underground Railroad

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that the Underground Railroad was a vast network of people and safe houses that aided fugitive slaves’ escape to the Northern states and Canada. Students will learn about the dangers that both the slaves and those aiding them faced in their quest for freedom.

  • Trees: A Tremendous Natural Resource

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that trees and rivers together played an important role in local history. They will learn about the uses of these natural resources by examining newspaper accounts and images of the log drives from the museum’s collection.

  • Two Battles 35 Years Apart-What Do They Share?

     Elementary (K–5) By reading “Bars Fight” by Lucy Terry, a poem written in 1746 recounting an attack on Deerfield, and War Comes to Willy Freeman, a historical fiction book about the battle of Fort Griswold during the American Revolution, students will understand that literature can be used to compare and contrast historical events and to develop a sense of the emotions felt by those who experienced them, whether fictional characters (Willy Freeman) or living people (Lucy Terry).

  • Two Cities Upon a Hill

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Following this simulation exercise, students will understand that both Loyalists and Whigs had legitimate perspectives.

  • Two Schools of Thought: Hudson River vs. Ashcan Schools

     High School (9–12) Students will understand that Landscape Painting can be both rural and urban. Students will also understand that art is a lens through which different eras in history can be viewed. This lesson is designed to expose students to two uniquely American perspectives in Romantic and Realistic art.

  • Understanding Shays’ Rebellion

     Elementary (K–5) The students will understand that the citizens, and the state of Massachusetts faced pressures which led to Shays’ Rebellion.

  • Understanding the Role of Legends in Local History

     Elementary (K–5) Through reading, students will be introduced to the importance of legends and oral traditions in Native American history. Students will then further deepen their understanding by connecting a legend to local history and the location in which they live.

  • Using Geometry to Explore Houses in Deerfield

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that houses and buildings are made up of geometric shapes, line segments, parallel lines, intersecting lines, and angles after viewing digital images of houses in Deerfield.

  • Vietnam and the Pioneer Valley

     High School (9–12) Students will understand that local communities took part in anti-war protests during the Vietnam War and that those actions were often in association with university students.

  • War Protests: Civil War and Vietnam

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) Students will understand that the concept of “war protest” is not unique to any one historical period or conflict by analyzing materials from the Civil War and Vietnam eras.

  • What Does a Flag Stand For?

     Elementary (K–5) Children will use web site sources and children’s literature, as well as personal flag creations, in order to gain a better understanding of what a flag or banner represents.

  • What Makes a Civilization?

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that the definitions of “civilization” and “civilized” have changed throughout history and are open to multiple interpretations.

  • Wheels for Work and Play

     Elementary (K–5) The children will understand that the wheel is a Simple Machine that has impacted our ability to work and play.

  • Where to Build a Dam and Mill/Hydroelectric Facility

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that many features need to be considered when selecting dam and mill sites (or hydroelectric sites for a modern-day connection) along a river valley.

  • Where Were the Animals?

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that animals have been used over time in different and similar ways by examining uses of animals in the past and today.

  • Who is Who in Women’s Suffrage

     Elementary (K–5); Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) Students will understand that the Women’s Suffrage movement had many differing views and this led to interesting debates. Students will research one notable person of the late 19th or early 20th century’s suffrage movement.

  • Winter in New England: Then and Now

     Elementary (K–5) By viewing a photograph of a late 1800s blizzard, students will understand that there are differences and similarities between people’s lives now and in earlier times.

  • Women During World War II

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that the nation’s need for women to enter the workforce during World War II changed their role in society during that time, and that it was the powerful production of this workforce that ensured victory for the Allied Forces.

  • Women’s Suffrage: Opposing Views

     Middle School (6–8) Students will understand that before women were granted the vote in the United States by the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, there was a heated debate.

  • Work Made Simple–Then and Now

     Elementary (K–5) Students will understand that six simple machines; wedge, lever, pulley, screw, inclined plane, and wheel and axle, were used in the past, as well as now to make every day work easier.

  • World War I Propaganda: How and Why It Was Used

     Middle School (6–8); High School (9–12) Students will understand that propaganda can be used to promote an idea or cause. Students will understand and appreciate its use in World War I to promote patriotic support of the U.S. troops and Allies.

  • World War II and the War on Terror

     High School (9–12) After first studying World War II and events of post-9/11 in the United States, students will examine documents from World War II. Comparisons will be made in the use of propaganda, fear, and patriotism during both of these time periods.

  • WWII Rationing

     High School (9–12) Through examining the artifacts, reading, and discussing the information provided, students will understand that rationing was a nationwide plan to help the country’s war effort and to provide everyone with the same amount of things that were scarce.