Activities & Lesson Plans
This page contains various activities, lesson plans, and projects for instructors. Make your student’s Patriot Week fun and memorable with the following resources:
9/11 Memorial Classroom Activities & Competition
9/11 was a tragic day in our nations history, and is a day that we should not let be forgotten. In order to commemorate the terrible loss our country suffered and keep students aware, we offer you the 9/11 memorial project.
Declaration of Independence Lesson Plan & Activities
Seneca Falls Declaration Lesson Plan & Activities
Resolution of Congress of September 28, 1787 Lesson Plan & Activities
19th Amendment Lesson Plan & Activities
"I have a Dream" Speech Lesson Plan & Activities
Gettysburg Address Lesson Plan & Activities
Emancipation Proclamation Lesson Plan & Activities
Marbury v. Madison Lesson Plan & Activities
Pledge of Allegiance- Lesson Plan & Activities
John Hancock Revolution Poem - Middle School
Comparative Government Venn Diagram - Rule of Law
Comparative Government Chart (Middle School)
Compare and contrast a military dictatorship such as Cuba, a presidential system of representative democracy such as the United States, and a parliamentary system of representative democracy such as Canada. Use this chart to assess knowledge before and after your lesson on different types of government.
Equality (gender) Classroom Debate - Middle School
Engage in activities intended to contribute to solving a national or international problem studied.
Equality (Gender) Service Project Ideas for Middle Schoolers
Service Learning Projects to help or inform others
Social Compact Assessment - Middle School
Social Compact Four Corners Activity for Middle Schoolers
Social Compact Lecture - Powerpoint
Unalienable Rights Answer Key
Unalienable Rights Assessment - Exit Slip
Unalienable Rights Lecture - Powerpoint
Essay Contest
Essay contests are an excellent way to engage students of all ages in Patriot Week. By making it a friendly competition, students will be motivated to undertake self-directed learning.
Classroom Decor
Teachers and Students at any level of education can take the following ideas and make the classroom a fun and educational display of patriotism. These are displays that can be done in a single classroom, multiple classrooms, in hallways, or in sections of the schools.
Patriot Competition
Something that can really get students motivated about their country is a good old fashioned competition. The competition is suggested to be held between each grade, although it can be held between classes within a grade.
"Hello I am" Elementary Assignment
During the course of a week, each student will research information about the assigned historical figure and prepare a 1 to 3 paragraph summary of his or her life starting with “Hello I am…”
"How am I Patriotic" Elementary project
In this project students are exposed to the themes of Patriot Week and then create a representation of how they are patriotic. Perfect one day project. requiring minimal materials.
Patriot Jeopardy
This project is centralized around the basics of gameshow Jeopardy. Patriot Week is all about celebrating great Patriots and documents that make America great and this fun activity reinforces this.
Original Flags Project
In this project students will be put in groups (or individually) and make a flag based on one of the seven days of Patriot Week. This original flag project must also include a paragraph on the flag’s meanings and why each symbol was put on the flag. Very creative and very fun!
Patriotic Plays
This lesson plan is completely generic and depending on age group may need to be tweaked. Patriot Week is a holiday that is supposed to be celebrated with joy, completely fun, but still serious and commemorative. Acting out a great Patriot or re-enacting the Gettysburg address can be serious or absolutely funny. It is up to the teacher and students to interpret this lesson as they please, with the idea that students will remember and embrace what they learn through re-enactments or plays.
Civil War Instruction Materials
The curriculum requires students to grapple with primary source materials, the real stuff of history, instead of a textbook. It requires a student to think and read like a historian.
Suggested Reading Materials
Courtesy of Lisa Valerio-Nowc, Library Management and Library Program Specialist Children’s/Teen Librarian, Macomb County Michigan Library.
Preamble to the Constitution
Includes comparing the original draft of the preamble and the final version adopted by the Constitutional Convention. Courtesy of the Cal Humanities & the California History-Social Science Project.