Browse lesson plans

Canning for country and community

In this lesson plan, students will use primary source documents to evaluate the technological challenges of food preservation in the 30s and 40s, compare food preservation in the first half of the twentieth century with today, and consider the political role of food in the community.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Melissa Thibault.

Effects of civic action

In this lesson, secondary students will analyze primary source materials to investigate how 4-H clubs made an impact on the home front in completing projects that supported the war effort during World War II. This lesson should be taught at the end of a World War II unit.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Feed a fighter

In this lesson students will examine “Additional Helps for the 4-H Mobilization for Victory Program,” a Cooperative Extension Work document from the Green 'N' Growing collection at Special Collections Research Center at North Carolina State University Libraries. The document will help students understand the efforts civilians underwent to support military efforts in World War II.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Lisa Stamey.

Live-at-Home in North Carolina

In this lesson students will examine pictures and documents relating to the Live at Home program started in North Carolina by Governor O. Max Gardner to help North Carolina farmers refocus on food crops rather than cash crops during the Depression. These photographs, from the Green 'N' Growing collection at the North Carolina State University, will help students draw conclusions about the culture of North Carolina in the early 1930s and understand how they overcame the hardships of the Depression.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Loretta Wilson.

Stories from the Holocaust

This lesson is designed to supplement a study of World War II. Students will read first hand accounts of individuals who escaped Nazi persecution and eventually settled in Asheville, North Carolina. This lesson may be used as an 8th grade Social Studies or English project(It could also be used as an integrated project), 10th grade English, or 11th grade US History. This lesson uses the NCEcho portal to access the material.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–10 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Billie Clemens.

World War II at home: Victory Gardens

Students will learn about home front activities during World War II. Using primary source documents and photographs, students will discover how children their own age participated by growing Victory Gardens. They will design their own gardens and propaganda posters.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

By Linda Mazzei.

Resources on the web

The Digital Classroom

Resources and guides to using the primary history materials of the United States in research and teaching. Links to the wealth of materials held in the National Archives and Records Administration collection. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: The National Archives and Records Administration

Giving voice to history

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students explore a somber period in American history. During World War II the U.S. government ordered more than 120,000 Japanese Americans to detainment camps. Drawing upon research and analyzing a variety of sources, including... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

The legacy of Pearl Harbor

This lesson, from the National Geographic Xpeditions web site, introduces students to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and asks them to consider the reasons why Japan might have wanted to expand its territory in the early 1940s. They'll also consider... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

Provided by: Xpeditions

The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color

Witness World War II through rare color film, and read letters from a nation redefining itself. View footage of Midway, Pearl Harbor, and the Doolittle Raid. Learn about the psychology of war, how American prepared and reacted to WWII, and what the social... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: PBS

Teaching With Documents: Lesson Plans

A collection of lesson plans which use NARA primary resource documents spanning eras from the 1750s to the present. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: National Archives and Records Administration

The U-505 Submarine

Take a virtual tour and learn the history of the U-505, a captured a German U-boat submarine from World War II. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago

Was the United States ready for Pearl Harbor?

In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore the United States' level of preparedness for the attack and think about what the U.S. could have done to be better prepared. Activities in this lesson engage students in whole class discussion, online research,... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 Social Studies)

Provided by: Xpeditions