Grade 3   Massachusetts, Home to Many Different People 

• Discovering Justice  - Virtual Mock Trial Units In these virtual mock trial units for grades 1-5, students learn about the Judicial System and strengthen skills from across content areas (close reading, evidence based argumentation, speaking and listening etc.), and apply them as they engage in a mock trial.

• Emerging America - History's Mysteries Historical Inquiry for Elementary Classrooms - Third grade includes Why do people celebrate the 4th of July? Why did Americans declare independence on July 4th, 1776? Why would a patriot refuse to celebrate the 4th of July?

Grade 4   North American Geography and Peoples

• Discovering Justice - Virtual Mock Trial Units In these virtual mock trial units for grades 1-5, students learn about the Judicial System and strengthen skills from across content areas (close reading, evidence based argumentation, speaking and listening etc.), and apply them as they engage in a mock trial.

• Emerging America - History's Mysteries Historical Inquiry for Elementary Classrooms - Fourth grade unit on water and the industrial history of Holyoke, MA asks What push and pull factors affected where Mr. William Skinner lived and worked? How does water affect people's choices about where to live and work? How did the city of Holyoke shape water to attract businesses? and Who were William Skinners workers?

Grade 5   United States History to the Civil War and the Modern Civil Rights Movement

Topic: American Revolution

• Liberty's Kids -Youtube video series created by student reporters covering the events of the Revolutionary War

• Massachusetts Historical Society - Johnny Tremain and the Members of the Long-Room Club: Learn about Boston in the 1770s and using primary sources, discover what really happened at the Boston Tea Party. This series of lessons centers on the characters in Esther Forbes's novel Johnny Tremain, comparing them to members of the Long Room Club, the actual group on which Forbes's Boston Observers were based.

• Massachusetts Historical Society - The Adams Family of Massachusetts: A Legacy of Justice in Action: Learn how to use primary sources as you discover John Adams’s philosophy of justice by unraveling the events leading up to the Boston Massacre, and explore the life of John Quincy Adams and his work against slavery.

• Massachusetts Historical Society - Abigail's War: The American Revolution through the Eyes of Abigail Adams: This activity book, based on letters exchanged between John and Abigail Adams, promotes writing and mathematical skills at the same time as it helps students relate to the world of the American Revolution.

Topic: Local Government / Civic Participation

• iCivics game Cast Your Vote and Extension Pack lessons, on local elections; includes Spanish version and supports for English Language Learners

• iCivics game Responsibility Launcher and Extension Pack lessons, on civic duties and responsibilities

• iCivics WebQuest Civic Heroism, on civic duties and acts of civic courage; students conduct their own research using questions, pre-vetted websites and guiding tools provided

• Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Kids’ Zone, various activities listed below:

  • Visit the State House: What’s Under the Golden Dome? 

  • The Ladybug Story: A Story about Lawmaking

  • State House Trivia Quiz

Topic: Immigration and Citizenship

• iCivics game Immigration Nation and Extension Pack lessons, on immigration and citizenship; includes Spanish version and supports for English Language Learners

Topic: Civic Action / Civics Projects

• iCivics game Activate and Extension Pack lessons, on civic action in the local community

• iCivics WebQuest Who Represents Me?, investigate who represents you at the local, state and federal level; students conduct their own research using the questions, pre-vetted websites and guiding tools provided.

Topic: The Bill of Rights / Amendments to the Constitution

• iCivics game Do I Have a Right? and Extension Pack lessons and other resources, on the Bill of Rights and other amendments

• Discovering Justice - Virtual Mock Trial Units In these virtual mock trial units for grades 1-5, students learn about the Judicial System and strengthen skills from across content areas (close reading, evidence based argumentation, speaking and listening etc.), and apply them as they engage in a mock trial.

• Emerging America - History's Mysteries Historical Inquiry for Elementary Classrooms - Fifth grade unit includes What is "Free Speech" and why does it matter? Does Free Speech mean I can say whatever I want? and What can I say in school?

Topic: Geography

• Interactive Map Quiz GamesL 

  • U.S. States in the Northeast

  • U.S. States in the South

  • U.S. States in the West

  • U.S. States in the Midwest 

  • All 50 states

Topic: News and Media Literacy

• Newsomatic - free daily newspaper for kids, translated into Spanish and French, includes voiceover as well as writing and drawing activities

• Newsela -provides current and differentiated content in multiple subject areas. Currently offering free access to all of their resources to individual teachers. 

Topic: Slavery, the Legacy of the Civil War, and the Struggle for Civil Rights for All

• Massachusetts Historical Society - Creative Collaborators and Communicators: Abolitionists and Their Propaganda: Evaluate various types of antislavery propaganda (including images, artifacts, letters, speeches, poems, and other published works) to become familiar with the techniques that abolitionists used to share their messages.

• Massachusetts Historical Society - African Americans and Citizenship in the Civil War: Explain the types of persuasive appeals made to Irish, African American, and female volunteers to support the military effort by analyzing the symbols and texts in broadsides to infer the motivations of each group for joining the war.

• Massachusetts Historical Society - To Arms! Civil War Recruiting in Massachusetts: This primary source set allows students to investigate recruiting broadsides and images from the early years of the Civil War.

• Massachusetts Historical Society - Descriptive Writing through Civil War Letters and Landscapes: Examine how soldiers communicate their experiences in the war to loved ones at home.

• Massachusetts Historical Society - Massachusetts Ecosystem and the Civil War: Explore the impact of the ecosystems in which Civil War era forts were constructed as well as the human face of the war.

• Democratic Knowledge Project - 5th Grade Curriculum: Expanding Liberty and Equality: Agency, Abolition, and Suffrage - The Democratic Knowledge Project (DKP) has partnered with the History and Social Studies Department and 5th grade educators in the Cambridge (MA) Public School District to create 5th grade curricular materials aligned with the Massachusetts History and Social Studies Frameworks. 

Multiple Topics/Instructional Strategies

• Emerging America - accessible, teacher-created lesson plans on Disability History, Immigration History, and other topics created through the Accessing Inquiry program

• Discovering Justice - K-5 literacy based curriculum. Teachers may adapt lessons for online learning by supplementing trade books with video recordings of read alouds. 

• Discovering Justice - Grade 4 supplementary lessons for at home/online learning, lessons covering geography, regions, and indigenous people.

• Discovering Justice - Grade 5 Units

• Discovering Justice - Virtual Mock Trial Units - In these virtual mock trial units for grades 1-5, students learn about the Judicial System and strengthen skills from across content areas (close reading, evidence based argumentation, speaking and listening etc.), and apply them as they engage in a mock trial.

• We the People / Project Citizen - elementary school lesson plans