The 1934 West Coast Longshore Strike
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond.
Students “become” several of the social groups who participated in the 1934 Longshore Workers Strike—some of whom had to answer the question, “Which side are you on?”
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Labor, Organizing, Social Class
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Andrew Jackson and the “Children of the Forest”
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
A lesson in which students develop critical literacy skills by responding to Andrew Jackson's speech on "Indian Removal."
Time Periods: 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849
Themes: Native American, Racism & Racial Identity
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Birth of a Rank-and-File Organizer
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow and Norm Diamond. 7 pages.
Writing activity for students to complete the narrative of women workers striking at a glove-making factory, exploring possible outcomes.
Themes: Labor, Organizing, Social Class, Women's History
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Burned Out of Homes and History: Unearthing the Silenced Voices of the Tulsa Race Riot
Teaching Activity. By Linda Christensen.
Teaching about racist patterns of displacement and wealth inequality through the 1921 Tulsa Massacre.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: African American, Economics, Racism & Racial Identity
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COINTELPRO: Teaching the FBI’s War on the Black Freedom Movement
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca. 29 pages.
Through examining FBI documents, students learn the scope of the FBI’s COINTELPRO campaign to spy on, infiltrate, discredit, and disrupt all corners of the Black Freedom Movement.
Time Periods: 20th Century, People’s Movement: 1961 - 1974, Post-Civil Rights Era: 1975 - 2000
Themes: African American, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Organizing, Racism & Racial Identity
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The Cherokee/Seminole Removal Role Play
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
What led up to the Trail of Tears? Students role play the decision to remove the Cherokee and Seminole people from their lands.
Time Periods: 19th Century, Early 19th Century: 1800 - 1849
Themes: Democracy & Citizenship, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity
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Climate Change Mixer
Teaching activity. By Bill Bigelow.
Role play introduces students to 17 individuals around the world—each of whom is affected differently by climate change.
Time Periods: 21st Century
Themes: Environment & Food, World History/Global Studies
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Climate Change and School in a Yup’ik Fishing Village
Teaching Activity. By Jill Howdyshell.
This article describes how climate change is hitting Indigenous communities in Alaska much harder than other places in the world. And yet, administrators still insist that school discussions should focus on student test scores.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Economics, Environment & Food, Native American
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Coal, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mountaintop Removal
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 15 pages.
A lesson examining the motives, goals, and environmental consequences of the coal mining industry.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Environment & Food
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The Color Line
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
A lesson on the countless colonial laws enacted to create division and inequality based on race. This helps students understand the origins of racism in the United States and who benefits.
Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764, 18th Century
Themes: African American, Laws & Citizen Rights, Native American, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery
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Congo, Coltan, and Cell Phones: A People’s History
Teaching Activity. By Alison Kysia. 28 pages.
In this lesson, students learn about the colonial history of Congo, debate responsibility for crimes against humanity, and investigate the connection, past and present, between the exploitation of natural resources and violence.
Time Periods: 19th Century, 20th Century
Themes: Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, World History/Global Studies
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Constitution Role Play: Whose “More Perfect Union”? and The Constitutional Convention: Who Really Won?
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 23 pages.
The U.S. Constitution endorsed slavery and favored the interests of the owning classes. What kind of Constitution would have resulted from founders who were representative of the entire country? That is the premise of this role play activity.
Time Periods: 18th Century, Revolution & Constitution: 1765 - 1799
Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery, Social Class
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Daughter of Earth: Reading, Writing, and Social Class
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 7 pages.
Students read a poignant excerpt from Agnes Smedley's novel, Daughter of Earth, and use it to think and write about how schooling—their own included—teaches lessons about social class.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Turn of the Century: 1900 - 1909
Themes: Education, Social Class, Women's History
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Deportations on Trial: Mexican Americans During the Great Depression
Teaching Activity. By Ursula Wolfe-Rocca.
In this role play students analyze who is to blame for the illegal, mass deportations of Mexican Americans and immigrants during the Great Depression.
Time Periods: Prosperity, Depression, & World War II: 1920 - 1944
Themes: Immigration, Labor, Latino, Laws & Citizen Rights, Racism & Racial Identity
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Dirty Oil and Shovel-Ready Jobs: A Role Play on Tar Sands and the Keystone XL Pipeline
Teaching Activity. By Abby Mac Phail. 17 pages.
Role play on the Keystone XL Pipeline battle.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Environment & Food, Native American, Organizing, US Foreign Policy, World History/Global Studies
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Discovering Columbus: Re-reading the Past
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
How to engage students in a critical analysis of the textbook version of "discovery."
Time Periods: Colonization: 1492 - 1764
Themes: Education, Imperialism, Native American
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‘Don’t Take Our Voices Away’: A Role Play on the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Summit on Climate Change
Teaching Activity. By Julie Treick O’Neill and Tim Swinehart. 16 pages.
A role play on the Indigenous Peoples' Global Summit on Climate Change asks students to develop a list of demands to present to the rest of the world at a climate change meeting.
Time Periods: 21st Century, 2001 - Present
Themes: Environment & Food, Native American, Pacific Islander, Science, World History/Global Studies
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The Draft Riot Mystery
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
Students are invited to solve a mystery, using historical clues, about the real story of the Draft Riots.
Time Periods: 19th Century, Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864
Themes: African American, Democracy & Citizenship, Immigration, Racism & Racial Identity, Slavery, Social Class, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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The Election of 1860 Role Play
Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow.
A role play based on the election of 1860 allows students to explore the political debates of the time and the real reasons for the Civil War.
Time Periods: 19th Century, Civil War Era: 1850 - 1864
Themes: African American, Slavery, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
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Exploring Women’s Rights: The 1908 Textile Strike in a 1st-grade Class
Teaching Activity. By Dale Weiss. 3 pages.
A teacher's reflections about a curriculum unit on women's rights contextualizes the history of the feminist movement within the broader struggle of people working for greater equality in the United States.
Time Periods: 20th Century, Turn of the Century: 1900 - 1909
Themes: Labor, Organizing, Women's History
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