Social Studies Assignments
Dave Phillips
Eleventh Grade
ED 439 02/28/01
American Heritage
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/featur
es/immig/immig.html
Activities:
• From this web site compare and contrast the
experiences of immigrants coming to America
• Write an essay that describes how the interaction
of different cultures has strengthened America.
• Create a display that reflects a contribution to
America from each of the immigrant groups.
American Heritage
http://www.ohiokids.org/kids/ohc/history/h_in
dian/tribes/miami.html
Activities:
• Read the web page related to the Miami Native
Americans. How has the American Indian culture
strengthened present day American society?
• Create a display that demonstrates Native
American ideas about land use, art, harmony with
the environment and democracy.
American Heritage
http://steggy.minn.net/~keithp/cn.htm
Activities:
• Read the information about Christopher Columbus on
the web page.
• Construct a cause and effect chart that contains the
following elements:
– What caused European exploration?
– What effect did European exploration have on the
Americas?
American Heritage
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/w
omen/women.html
Activities:
• Read the above web page. Explore the
role of women pioneers in early
America and how the role has changed.
• Address these changes in your journal.
American Heritage
http://www.educationplanet.com/search/
redirect?id=51652&mfcount=10&mfkw
=pearl_Harbor&startval=0
Activities:
• Develop a news broadcast detailing the events of
the attack on Pearl Harbor
• Identify any gaps in the information that is known
with possible explanations for the lack of
information.
People in Societies
http://www.educationplanet.com/search/redirect?id=
12294&mfcount=17&mfkw=underground_railroa
d&startval=0
Activities:
• Explore the roots of slavery
and identify ways the slaves
escaped, maintaining their
culture.
People in Societies
http://www.educationplanet.com/search/redire
ct?id=12226&mfcount=5&mfkw=trail_of_te
ars&startval=0
Activities:
• Examine how people from the Cherokee tribe
preserved their culture, while at the same time
explain what their reasons
may be for participating
in the U.S. society and
economy.
People in Societies
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/al
html/almintr.html
Activities:
• Imagine you are a Union
soldier in the Civil War. In
your journal record your
thoughts about the
Emancipation Proclamation
and the issues surrounding it.
People in Societies
http://www.learningspace.org/instruct/jr_high/
projects/bgilbert/ozette.htm
Activities:
• Imagine that your classroom has been
buried in a mudslide. Five hundred years
later archaeologists excavate the site. List
the artifacts that would be found. What
could they learn about this time and place?
People in Societies
http://www.seanet.com/Users/pamur/13colony
.html
Activities:
• Between 1680 and 1750 the total colonial
population grew rapidly. As the total population
grew some colonies went through bigger changes
than others.
• Use this web site to determine why.
World Interactions
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/
General/ ThirdWorld_def.html
Activities:
• Investigate a third world country and build a
portfolio on the relationship between the culture,
technology and the environment of the country.
• Discuss the opportunities and/or constraints that
technology can bring about.
World Interactions
http://www.greenpeace.org/~toxics/index.html
Activities:
• The dumping of toxic wastes into the water supply
has resulted in the death and mutation of living
things.
• Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper
describing your opinion on this matter.
• Click on site for more information.
World Interactions
http://www.tnc.org/
Activities:
• Create a timeline that reflects the increase in nature
preserve activities beginning in 1951 to the present.
• Think about existing community conservation
efforts and how you could create or extend them.
World Interactions
http://www.civil-war.net/
http://www.sirius.ca/running/olympics.html
Activities:
• Compare athletic competition to war.
• Do you believe that the Olympic Games promote
peace. Why or why not?
World Interactions
http://www.music-contact.com/
Activities:
• It is often said that music is an international
language.
• Analyze the role music has played in
international relations throughout the world.
Decision Making & Resources
http://www.telepath.com/erics/furtrade/fur1.ht
ml
Activities:
• Summarize the causes of friction between the
French and the English in North America.
• Present a chart which illustrates which country is
in the best position to profit from the natural
resources of the American interior. Include the
likely places that the countries might clash.
Decision Making & Resources
http://www.coins.nd.edu
/ColCurrency/index.html
Activities:
• Analyze why colonial currency lost its value after
the American Revolution.
• In your own words express the position of
merchants who stopped accepting bills issued by
other states.
Decision Making & Resources
http://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/
Activities:
• Organize into small groups and come up with an
example of how borrowing and lending money
works.
• Why might the government be involved in
banking? What argument might be made by
people opposed to the government involvement in
banking.
Decision Making & Resources
http://www.steamlocomotive.com/
Activities:
• Trace the development of the steam locomotive
and how it has impacted the growth and
development in America.
• Imagine the differences that would have occurred
had the decision to develop the
steam locomotive been rejected.
Decision Making & Resources
http://members.tripod.com/xu_chen/indusrevo
lt/ppframe.htm
Activities:
• Pretend you are a business person in the 1820’s
starting up a cotton mill. Discuss and list your
major needs: location, equipment, raw materials
and workers.
• Identify readily available resources in good
transportation options.
Democratic Processes
http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton/
Lincoln2.html
Activities:
• Compile a list of words and phrases describing the
current President’s ideas, background, appearance
and performance.
• Identify where this information might have come
from.
• Compare Lincoln with the current President and
assess Lincoln’s chances of being elected today.
Democratic Processes
http://www.oneworldaction.org/
Activities:
• Make a placard that people attending a
women’s rights rally in 1848 might have
displayed.
• Decide what women’s cause you support or
oppose in the year 2001 and compare issues
involved.
Democratic Processes
http://www.lwvohio.org/
Activities:
• Collect information that supports the statement
that low voter turnout among young people is a
national concern.
• Design a chart that lists the reasons for low voter
turnout among young people.
• Offer solutions to this problem that will work in
America today.
Democratic Processes
http://www.usconstitution.org/
Activities:
• Some people believe that certain economic
rights such as the right to work should be
added to the Constitution.
• Should the Constitution be amended to
include this right? Why or why not?
Democratic Processes
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
Activities:
• Write a letter to your state or federal
representative or senator expressing your
strong opinion on a topic.
• Some topics include: gun control, death
penalty, functions of local governments,
abortion, and crime.
Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities
• http://www.volunteermatch.org/
Activities:
• Research a national volunteer group such as, the
Volunteers of America, the Salvation Army,
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or the Easter
Seals Society.
• Contact the local chapter of the volunteer group of
your choice and gather information about
volunteer opportunities.
• Design a format for a student organization that
would support both local and national levels.
Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities
http://www.dayton.lib.oh.us/archives/newcom
2.htm
Activities:
• Develop an oral presentation on one of the
following local agencies: the police department,
fire department, parks department, transportation
department, and the water bureau.
• Find out how many people work for the agency,
what the agency’s responsibilities are, how much
money the agency has to work with, and what
problems the agency faces.
Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities
http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/
http://www.library.unt.edu/govinfo/state/
stinfo.html
Activities:
• Chart the different levels of government in the
United States. Include local, state and federal.
• Include the public services handled at each level.
• Determine one advantage and disadvantage of
local control over public services.
Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities
http://www.netstate.com/states/
Activities:
• Which of the following symbols of our
country have the most meaning to you?
• The Liberty Bell, The Great Seal, Uncle Sam, The
Bald Eagle, Mt. Rushmore, and the Statue of
Liberty.
• What other symbols of our nation can you think
of?
• Write in your journal what each of these symbols
represents and what they mean to you
Citizenship Rights & Responsibilities
http://www.nara.gov/exhall/cha
rters/constitution/confath.ht
ml
Activities:
• Research the three ways in which a bill
can become a law.
• Do you think the President should have
the power to veto just a part of a bill?
Explain.