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1. Native Americans
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| Students learn how Native Americans in eight cultural regions adapted to their environments. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students use cultural maps to determine the cultural regions from which eight sets of artifacts originated. |
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2. European Exploration and Settlement
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Student learn how European nations explored and established settlements in the Americas between the 15th and 17th centuries. In a Visual Discovery activity, students analyze images and read to learn about New Spain, New France, Jamestown, and New Netherland. |
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3. The English Colonies in America
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| Students explore the similarities and differences among the New England, Middle, and Southern Colonies. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students work in groups of four to create a Colonial Fair booth that promotes one of eight colonies. |
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4. Life in the Colonies
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| Play the part of British journalists on assignment in the American colonies and visit stations to gather information about aspects of colonial life. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students create an illustrated journal to inform British readers about life in the colonies. |
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5. Toward Independence
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| Students learn about the growing tensions between the colonists and Great Britain from 1763 to 1775. In an Experiential Exercise, students assume historical roles at a town meeting to debate colonial independence. |
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6. The Declaration of Independence
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| Students learn about the Declaration of Independence and the key historic events that led to it. In a Writing for Understanding activity, pairs of students analyze excerpts from the Declaration of Independence to create an illustrated children's version. |
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7. The American Revolution
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Students learn how the Continental Army defeated the British in the Revolutionary War. In an Experiential Exercise, the class participates in a game of Capture the Flag, which models the strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the conflict. |
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8. Creating the Constitution
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| Students learn about the creation of the Constitution by reenacting key debates that influenced its design. In an Experiential Exercise, students take on the personas of delegates to the Constitutional Convention and debate three key issues. |
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9. The Constitution: A More Perfect Union
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| Students learn about the Constitution and how it created a government based on the principles of separation of powers and checks and balances. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students discover how one branch of government can check the power of another. |
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10. The Bill of Rights
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| Students learn about the important citizen protections provided by the Bill of Rights. In a Response Group activity, students debate four controversial Supreme Court cases related to the Bill of Rights. |
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11. Political Developments in the Early Republic
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Students learn about the differences between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans by comparing the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. In an Experiential Exercise, students work in groups of four to prepare for a political conference during which Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson debate which political party is best suited to lead the United States into the 19th century. |
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12. Foreign Affairs in the Young Nation
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| Students learn about foreign policy dilemmas faced by four U.S. presidents from 1789 to 1823. In a Response Group activity, students study the dilemmas faced by four presidents--Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe--and debate solutions to each dilemma. |
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13. A Growing Sense of Nationhood
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| Students learn about American society, culture, and politics in the early 19th century. Through a Writing for Understanding activity, students gather evidence about America's emerging national identity as reflected in its geography, politics, art, music, and literature. |
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14. Andrew Jackson and the Growth of American Democracy
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| Students learn about the growth of democracy during the Jacksonian Era. In a Visual Discovery activity, students analyze images and read information to assess Jackson's presidency from the perspectives of four groups: the common people, states' rights supporters, the rich and well-born, and Native Americans. |
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15. Manifest Destiny and the Growing Nation
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| Students learn how the United States expanded across the North American continent during the first half of the 19th century. In a Response Group activity, students learn about five key territorial acquisitions the United States made during this period, and they debate what the United States should have done in each case. |
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16. Life in the West
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Students learn about the lives of eight groups of people who moved to the West. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students work in groups to create minidramas about one group of westerners, such as the forty-niners or pioneer women. |
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17. Mexicano Contributions to the Southwest
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Students learn about Mexicano contributions to the culture and economy of the American Southwest. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students analyze images showing nine Mexicano contributions to the Southwest. |
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18. An Era of Reform
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| Students learn about reform movements of the mid-19th century and the role of women in these movements. In a Response Group activity, students debate the degree to which grievances outlined in the Declaration of Sentiments have been redressed. |
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19. The Worlds of North and South
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| Students learn about key geographic, economic, transportation, and societal differences between the North and the South. In a Visual Discovery activity, students examine images and determine which corresponds to each section of the country. |
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20. African Americans at Mid-Century
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| Learn about the conditions that characterized African Americans' lives in the period before the Civil War. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students analyze primary sources, images, and secondary text related to various aspects of life under slavery. |
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21. A Dividing Nation
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| Students learn about the issues that divided the North and South before the Civil War. In an Experiential Exercise, students assume the roles of northerners and southerners and attempt to reach compromises on four sets of issues that led to the Civil War. |
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22. The Civil War
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| Students learn how the Civil War affected civilians and soldiers in the Union and Confederacy. In an Experiential Exercise, students take on the roles of Civil War soldiers and civilians. |
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23. The Reconstruction Era
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| Students learn about African American's struggle to achieve full citizenship rights during the Reconstruction Era. In a Visual Discovery activity, students analyze images of five phases of Reconstruction. |
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24. Tensions in the West
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| Students learn about the expansion of the American frontier after the Civil War and Native Americans' response to this expansion. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students prepare a music video interpreting a song that describes the displacement of the Nez Percé by settlers. |
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25. The Rise of Industry
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| Students learn about the rapid rise of industrialism in the United States at the turn of the century, and labor's response to it. Students participate in an Experiential Exercise that re-creates the experience of working on an assembly line. |
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26. The Great Wave of Immigration
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| Students learn about the wave of immigration that occurred in the United States at the turn of the century. In a Writing for Understanding activity, students create scrapbooks about the experiences of Italian, Jewish, Chinese, or Mexican immigrants. |
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27. The Progressive Era
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Students learn about important and controversial issues facing the United States during the Progressive Era. In a Problem Solving Groupwork activity, students learn about the ideas and beliefs of one of nine Progressive Era figures. |
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28. America Becomes a World Power
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| Students learn about U.S. expansionism at the turn of the 20th century and U.S. involvement in World War I. In a Social Studies Skill Builder, students apply what they have read in the Student Edition to analyze political cartoons from the period and determine each cartoonist's point of view regarding U.S. actions. |
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29. Linking Past to Present
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| Work in pairs in a Social Studies Skill Builder to label and illustrate timelines showing events in the United States since 1914. Learn about the social transformation of the United States in the 20th century and the events that signaled a change in social and economic conditions. |
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