Lessons
These lessons and units are designed to provide classroom activities based on our resources. They show the application of our Scope and Sequence within a classroom setting and provide examples of how Facing History has been implemented in courses of 6 weeks or more.
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Lessons marked private indicate that you must be part of the Facing History network to view the resource. Learn more about how to become a part of the network.
Who am I?
This lesson is part of the following unit: Identity & Community: An Introduction to 6th Grade Social Studies "Who am I?" is a question we all ask at some time in our lives. It is an especially critical question for adolescents. As students study world history, they will explore how individuals and groups over time and across continents have answered questions about identity.
The Story of Emmett Till
This lesson is part of the following unit:
A Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement: The Murder of Emmett Till
A rich understanding of ourselves and history includes understanding why certain events carry special significance as "pivotal" moments-moments that change the direction of attitudes, customs, and actions. In this lesson, students begin to explore how Emmett Till's murder became a pivotal moment in civil rights history through understanding the choices made by individuals and groups and the consequences of those choices. This lesson also helps students think about the pivotal moments in their own lives and to consider the different ways people respond to violence and injustice today.
The Legacy of Lynching
This lesson is part of the following unit:A Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement: The Murder of Emmett TillLesson two deepens students' understanding of the murder of Emmett Till by introducing aspects of the historical context that influenced the decisions made by individuals involved in this event.
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Investigating Emmett Till's Historical Context
This lesson is part of the following unit:
A Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement: The Murder of Emmett Till
In this lesson, students will explore primary documents in
order to learn more about the historical context of Emmett Till's murder.
Studying about segregation, the rise of the media, the impact of World War II,
and earlier civil rights activism will help students develop an awareness of
how multiple factors combine to influence events. Many students have practiced
drawing simple cause-effect relationships, and the activity in this lesson
pushes them toward deeper historical analysis.
Why Was the Murder of Emmett Till a Pivotal Moment in Civil Rights History?
This lesson is part of the following unit:
A Pivotal Moment in the Civil Rights Movement: The Murder of Emmett Till
In this lesson, students synthesize material from the first
three lessons in order to develop a thesis that answers the question: Why was
the murder of Emmett Till a pivotal moment in civil rights history?
At this point in the unit, students have learned about many
factors that combined to create a pivotal moment in American history. Lesson
Four asks students to evaluate the relative significance of these factors and
to make some claims about how they interacted.
During April 2004, commemorations across the world marked the 10th
anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide in which more than 800,000 Tutsis
and some Hutus were slaughtered in a bloody 100-day rampage. The
commemorations were marked by solemn pledges from diplomats and human
rights activists to never allow another "Rwanda." Yet, even as people
remembered the failure to prevent slaughter in Rwanda, a steady stream
of reports about deportations, massacres, and systematic sexual abuses
in the Darfur region of Sudan were beginning to make news. On the
influential Op-ed page of the New York Times, Samantha Power, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide,
wrote a column entitled "Remember Rwanda, but Take Action in Sudan.
This lesson encourages students to explore the historical basis for the modern human rights movement born in the aftermath of the Holocaust and deepens understanding of the Charter for the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Readings include selections from various ancient legal codes, the United Nations Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Holocaust and Human Behavior.
This lesson is part of the American Idealist Unit
Why
should students study the life of Sargent Shriver? While there are many
ways to answer this question, one answer that inspired the production
of this film was the belief that Shriver's life offers important lessons
about the power of idealism to solve social problems such as poverty,
to promote peace, and to nurture civic participation. Explaining his
decision to title the film American Idealist, Bruce Orenstein, the film's producer, explains,
Actually nobody explicitly stated to me that Sarge Shriver was an idealist.
This lesson is part of the American Idealist Unit
In a speech to university students in 1965, Sargent Shriver remarked, "Built into each individual's experience must be an occasion for giving, a task of humanity, an act of sharing and sacrifice." As students learned in Lesson 1, this idea of public service-performing actions that benefit a larger community-was central to Shriver's upbringing. Shriver's parents, Robert and Hilda, modeled "sharing and sacrifice." For example, they worked to improve conditions for the poor in New York and they organized support for political causes. As an adult, Shriver continued to serve his community, whether on a battleship in the South Pacific during World War II, as president of the Board of Education in Chicago, as founder of the Special Olympics, or as director of the War on Poverty.
This lesson is part of the American Idealist Unit
There are many ways individuals and groups choose to influence their communities. One way is through working with government to shape and manage public policy. In this lesson, students will study how public policy was used to fight poverty in the 1960s.
In 1964, 30 million Americans lived in poverty. As part of his Great Society program, President Lyndon Johnson launched a War on Poverty and asked Sargent Shriver to direct this effort. Speaking about the challenge facing Shriver, Scott Stossel, author of Sarge: A Biography of Sargent Shriver, remarked:
If a general was asked, you know, I want you to launch a war on Grenada, could you invade it and take it over, well you know that's something you can get your mind around.
During the ninety-one years since the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, officials from the Ottoman government, and later from the Republic of Turkey have refused to acknowledge the mass murder and deportation of Armenians and others constituted genocide. The denial has taken many forms and used many strategies. The readings in this lesson, along with the film clip, provide background for an informed discussion about this pattern of denial. While it is important for students to understand that there is no legitimate debate that the Armenian Genocide occurred, there is disagreement over the motivations of the perpetrators.
As American newspapers turned attention to the unfolding horrors within the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, leaders in the United States and other countries struggled to find an appropriate response to what was recognized as a massive violation provides an opportunity to recognize the ways people can work today to prevent neighbor from turning against neighbor. This lesson focuses on two American responses to the Armenian Genocide: the diplomatic response of Henry Morgenthau Sr., American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, and the humanitarian response of the American Committee for Relief in the Near East.
This lesson looks at the choices made by individuals, groups, and governments during the Armenian Genocide. It addresses the following essential questions: What did individuals and groups do when they learned of the atrocities being committed against Armenians? What choices did they make? What dilemmas do people face as they grapple with how to act in the face of mass violence?
Lesson one introduces students to the Armenian Genocide by having them think about the role of history in shaping their own identity. Looking at an autobiographical painting by Arshile Gorky, a renowned American artist and a refugee from the Armenian Genocide, will stimulate students' questions about how his identity was shaped by the past. These questions should provide an entry point into a study of the Armenian Genocide.
Essential questions addressed in this lesson include:
What does my name mean? Where did it come from? How is my identity shaped by the past?
Who is Arshile Gorky? Why did he change his name? What influenced his painting of
"The Artist and his Mother?" How was his identity shaped by the past?
How do you interpret a work of art? What can we learn from looking at a painting?
This lesson examines the role of the United States in nation building, and specifically the US role in facilitating the establishment of an independent Armenia. After World War I, the "League of Nations" used mandates to rebuild conquered nations (see Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations). A League of Nations mandate gave one of the Allied nations authority (i.e. permission to protect, manage public services, establish a government, etc) over territory gained during WW1. The Allies were willing to support an American mandate for Armenia. Congress was considering whether to accept the League of Nations' mandate over this area.
This lesson introduces students to the challenges of seeking justice in the aftermath of genocide. Unlike the Holocaust, most of the primary perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide were not held accountable for their actions. While there were several sets of trials inside Turkey, Talaat, the Young Turk Minister of the Interior, and other key architects of the Armenian Genocide were able to avoid punishment by going into exile. Although Allied leaders threatened to punish Ottoman officials for "crimes against humanity and civilization", following the First World War an absence of political and moral will dashed any hopes for justice.
This lesson examines the ways in which historical evidence has been used to construct a narrative of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915, there was no word to accurately describe what the Turks were doing to the Armenians. Raphael Lemkin did not coin the term "genocide" until Nazi brutality in Europe brought mass murder closer to the heart of the Western world. In the Ottoman Empire, journalists, diplomats, and other witnesses struggled to find language to convey the depth and the enormity of the anti-Armenian measures. Accounts refer to "horrors," "barbarity," "massacres," "murder," "deportations," or "ravages," but no word captures the scale of the violence.
This lesson explores the challenges facing Armenians during the second half of the 19th century as they advocated for equal rights within the Ottoman Empire. Throughout the 19th century, Armenians and other minorities struggled to obtain equal rights. At the same time, nationalism swept through the Ottoman Empire, convincing Greeks and other nationalities to demand independence. Most Armenians rejected calls for separation and instead pushed for reform of the Ottoman government. They looked for allies both inside and outside of the empire, including leaders of what would become the Young Turk movement.
This lesson considers the impact of group membership on identity and explores what it means to be seen solely as a representative of a group rather than as an individual. Students will use a model to create identity poems that examine the tensions between identity and group membership.
This lesson is an icebreaker that provides an opportunity for students to reflect on and share how names reflect identity. By creating a class identity chart, they will explore both what is diverse and what is shared in their classroom community.
