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Lesson Plan: Fighting for the Vote

World War I marked the first time American women were allowed to enlist in the military and serve in roles outside of nursing. It also marked a turning point in the fight for women’s suffrage in the United States. In this lesson, high school students will learn about women’s military contributions in World War I and practice for the AP U.S. History exam Document-Based Question as they review primary-source documents.
 

Lesson Plan: Women on the Homefront

During World War II, women were not allowed to serve in combat roles in the American armed forces. However, the work done by women who served on the American homefront was a vital support to the success of the Allied forces abroad.
In this lesson, students will examine primary sources related to the experiences of two women, both buried at Arlington National Cemetery, who served on the homefront in different ways. While the focus of this lesson is on analyzing primary sources and creative writing, through the lives of the two women highlighted students will also learn about the broader meanings of service and sacrifice during World War II, both in the military and on the homefront.

  • One or two class periods, 90 minutes total

Lesson Plan: Nurses in the Spanish-American War

Students use primary source documents and other resources to learn about the role of female nurses during the Spanish-American War.
The lesson also explores the expansion of career opportunities for women in military medicine before and after the war, and it addresses the different experiences of white women and women of color. Resources include quotes, images and cards with profiles of individual nurses. Students complete a gallery walk or work in groups on a jigsaw of teacher-curated resources.
  • Elementary: One class period, 45-60 minutes total
  • Middle: 1-2 class periods, 60-75 minutes total
  • High: 1-2 class periods, 60-75 minutes total

Lesson Plan: Freedman’s Village at Arlington

Freedman’s Village was a federally administered temporary community of formerly enslaved African Americans established on the former Arlington estate in 1863.
In 1887, the government decided to close Freedman’s Village and evict the residents. After analyzing documents and summarizing the arguments on both sides of the issue—should Freedman’s Village be closed or remain open?—students choose their own stance and respond to a reflection question. For an extension opportunity, students can write a letter to the secretary of war explaining what they think should be done.
  • Elementary School: 1-3 class periods, 45-120 minutes total
  • Middle School: 1-2 class periods, 60-90 minutes total
  • High School: 1-2 class periods, 60-90 minutes total

Lesson Plan: The Freedpeople of Section 27

Although Arlington National Cemetery is a military cemetery, it contains a section where thousands of African American civilians were buried between 1864 and 1867.
Through a class lecture and exploration of a Section 27 burial record, students explore what life may have been like for free African Americans during the years surrounding the Civil War. Students will write a short obituary for one of the African American civilians on the burial record.
  • Elementary School: 1 class period, 45-60 minutes total
  • Middle School: 1-2 class periods, 70-90 minutes total
  • High School: 1-2 class periods, 70-90 minutes total

Lesson Plan: Reconstruction Timeline

This timeline activity about the history of Reconstruction (1865-1877) can be used as an introduction, a review or at any time throughout a Reconstruction unit.
Timeline cards can be printed and ordered to give students an overview of important events during the Reconstruction era. For students who will be visiting Arlington National Cemetery, an optional set of Freedman’s Village timeline cards can also be printed and used.
  • One class period, 15-30 minutes

Lesson Plan: United States Colored Troops, Civil War

The United States Colored Troops (official U.S. Army name), or U.S.C.T., were Civil War regiments composed of African Americans.
Although African Americans had fought in the military since the Revolutionary War, the formation of the U.S.C.T. was the first time that the U.S. Army had actively recruited them. Their service opened the door for future generations of African Americans in the military. Students learn about the U.S.C.T. and explore their significance in historical and cultural context. Resources include a PowerPoint slide deck and handout.
  • One class period, 15-20 minutes total

Lesson Plan: Tuskegee Airmen, World War II

The Tuskegee Airmen have long been honored for their skills, valor and distinguished service despite facing segregation and discrimination.
From 1941 to 1946, nearly 1,000 African American military pilots completed their training in Tuskegee, Alabama. More than 350 of them served overseas during World War II; 84 lost their lives. Students learn about the Tuskegee Airmen and explore their significance in historical and cultural context. Resources include a PowerPoint slide deck and handout.
  • One class period, 15-20 minutes total

Lesson Plan: 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, World War II

The 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, popularly known as the “Six Triple Eight,” was a segregated Black unit of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) during World War II—.and the only non-medical Black women’s unit to serve overseas.

Students learn about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion and make connections to their prior knowledge in order to explore the significance of this military unit in historical and cultural context. One class period, 15-20 minutes total

Lesson Plan: 369th Infantry Regiment

The 369th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the “Harlem Rattlers” and “Harlem Hellfighters,” had one of the most distinguished records of any unit in the history of the United States Army.
The 369th saw extensive combat in both World War I and World War II. Most of the men in the regiment were African American, although it also included Puerto Ricans. Students learn about the 369th Infantry Regiment and explore its significance in historical and cultural context. Resources include a PowerPoint slide deck and handout.
  • One class period, 15-20 minutes total

Lesson Plan: “Buffalo Soldiers”

In 1866, Congress established the U.S. Army’s all-Black 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments and 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments, later known as the “Buffalo Soldiers,” to serve on the western frontier.
Students learn about the Buffalo Soldiers and explore their significance in historical and cultural context. Resources include a PowerPoint slide deck and handout.
  • One class period, 15-20 minutes total

Lesson Plan: The Unknown Soldier and National Community

Students explore efforts to define and unite the American national community by reading and discussing primary source documents related to the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921.
Students will be asked to cite evidence from the documents as well as to reflect on their own experiences. Resources include a PowerPoint slide deck, primary source excerpts and discussion questions.
  • Two class periods, 50-70 minutes total

Lesson Plan: It's Your War, Too

The scope and scale of World War II required unprecedented numbers of personnel on the battlefield, in warfighting industries, and in support capacities. This lesson examines how the need to “free a man to fight” opened many opportunities for women to serve in the U.S. military—and laid the groundwork for women to have a permanent place in the armed forces. 
 

Lesson Plan: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic

In this lesson, students will examine primary and secondary sources related to the 1918 influenza pandemic to understand how this public health crisis affected the American population and how the U.S. government responded. Students will also discuss historical context and causation, focusing on the relationship between World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Lesson Plans: Composing a Bugle Call

Buglers sound the call “Taps” to close military funerals many times a day at Arlington National Cemetery, and military bases use bugle calls throughout the day to signal different events. In these lesson plans, students listen to and analyze bugle calls and their purpose before composing their own “bugle call.” 

Lesson Plans: Analyzing Musical Form

Arlington National Cemetery honors two legendary American composers/ bandleaders: James Reese Europe and Glenn Miller. In this lesson, students will be introduced to these musicians and listen to a piece of their music. Teachers may choose to cover just one piece or both. The lesson can be started with an optional introduction to military music. 

Memorializing the Cold War

While Cold War events and individuals are memorialized at Arlington and in Washington, D.C., no memorial recognizes the Cold War as a whole. In this lesson, students will analyze what and how we memorialize. They will discuss why no national Cold War memorial exists and design their own memorial.

Lesson Plan: Cold War Timeline Activity

In these lesssons, high school students can learn about important Cold War events, including armed conflict, nuclear competition, and the space race. Timeline activities are adaptable and can be used as an introduction, a review, or at any time throughout a Cold War lesson/unit. 

Lesson Plan: Spying with Math

By studying the basics of cryptology (the science of breaking codes), students will use a few of the necessary STEM skills required to complete this type of work, including graphing skills, pattern recognition, and classification techniques.

Lesson Plan: Code Talkers

American Indians served in important military intelligence roles during World War I and World War II, using their native languages to transmit secret military messages on the battlefield. Their efforts proved crucial to U.S. military success.
In this lesson, students learn about the Code Talkers and the significance of this celebrated group of American Indian soldiers in historical and cultural context.
  • One class period (30 minutes)

Lesson Plans: Military Technology, High School

The military invests in the research and development of many different kinds of technology. These technologies can provide fascinating case studies for exploring the practical applications of science concepts taught in your classroom.
The three lesson plans in this module focus on technologies that are currently used at Arlington National Cemetery and partner agencies (LIDAR, DNA analysis), or that were developed by prominent individuals buried at ANC (nuclear submarines).
  • One class period (30 minutes)

Lesson Plans: Military Technology, Elementary and Middle School

Students learn about the history of military technologies by sorting technology cards into categories. Lesson plans are geared toward sorting the technology cards according to the war in which the technology was used.
This lesson can be taught as part of a unit studying the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, or World War II. It can also be revisited to refresh students’ understanding of which technologies were used during a particular war.
  • One class period (30 minutes)

Lesson Plan: Analyzing Opinion Writing

In this social studies lesson plan (for grades 9-12), students explore how major news events can be interpreted in various ways by analyzing opinion pieces related to the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters.
Students will discuss the difference between objective and subjective writing and the place for each within journalism. They are then assigned to write their own opinion piece on a news topic of their choice.
  • One class period (90 minutes), plus homework

Lesson Plan: Facts and Opinions in the News

In this social studies lesson plan (for grades 6-8), students analyze articles related to the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters to learn the difference between facts and opinions, and how they can both be used in journalism.
After discussing the articles, students will write their own fact and opinion statements on a chosen topic.
  • One class period (60 minutes)

Lesson Plan: The Powell Expeditions

Using the Powell Expeditions of 1869 and 1871, students (grades 4-6) will be introduced to social studies skills and themes, including analyzing primary sources.
John Wesley Powell was an American explorer and geologist. In 1869 and 1871, he led pathbreaking expeditions that mapped and described the geology, plants, and animals of the Colorado River and Grand Canyon. In this lesson, students work in small groups and use primary sources from the Powell Expeditions to practice primary source analysis, historical comprehension, and teamwork.
  • One class period (45-60 minutes)

Lesson Plan: Telling the Story of World War II

Explore the wide-ranging experiences of individuals buried and honored at ANC. Students select a perspective, read an article related to that topic, and then watch an oral history interview with an individual who lived through World War II. After completing their own study, students participate in a discussion on the uses of primary and secondary sources. They will discuss how primary and secondary sources on their chosen topic contributed to their understanding of World War II as a whole.
  • Two class periods; 10 minute introduction; at-home examination of sources; 30-40 minute in-class discussion and activity

Lesson Plan: Firsthand History

Students will analyze the purpose of primary sources before being introduced to Eddie Willner, a survivor of the Holocaust who is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
They will then listen to a portion of an oral history interview he gave to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM). While listening, students will answer questions about the interview and the importance of primary sources. Students do not need to already be familiar with World War II or the Holocaust in order to participate in this lesson.
  • One or two class periods, 90 minutes total

Lesson Plan: Designing a Cemetery

In this lesson, high school students will discuss the impacts of human activity on watersheds and biodiversity, through the lens of landscape management and design at Arlington National Cemetery.
Students will have the opportunity to plan a new section of the cemetery using a menu of options related to plantings, stormwater management, parking lots and walkways, fertilizer and pesticide. As they make their choices, students will be asked to consider the needs of the environment, the interests of cemetery visitors, and a budget, reflecting real-world challenges faced by Arlington National Cemetery administration.

 

  • Two class periods, 90-120 minutes total, with some homework

Lesson Plan: The Plant Plan—Putting the Right Plant in the Right Place

Students will use provided facts and data about different native plants and conditions at Arlington National Cemetery to make and defend planting decisions.
These lessons, designed for elementary and middle-school students, can either be used as a unit culminating activity or, with modifications, as an introductory activity to a unit on plants and the environment. Resources include a PowerPoint, plant cards, cemetery maps, a worksheet, and a grading rubric.
  • One class period, 45-60 minutes total

Lesson Plan: Who's Buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier?

Primary sources enable students to consider who might be buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and why he is buried there.
Optional materials discussing Memorial Day and Veterans Day, along with their connections to the Tomb, are also included. Students will use the information they learn to reflect upon what the Tomb and/or holiday means to American society and to them. Resources include PowerPoint presentations and student reflection worksheets. 
  • One class period, 45-60 minutes total

Lesson Plan: What Is the United States of America?

Students use maps to explore the concept of the United States of America as a nation and to learn about its geographic boundaries over time.
Resources for teachers include handouts and a PowerPoint-guided lesson on the United States' geographic expansion.
  • One class period, 35-45 minutes total

Lesson Plan: Spanish-American War Timeline

This timeline activity about the Spanish-American War can be used as an introduction, a review or at any time during a lesson/unit.
Timeline cards can be printed and ordered chronologically to give students an overview of events in the war.
  • One class period, 15-30 minutes total

Lesson Plans: A Splendid Little War?

Students use primary source documents and other resources to learn about arguments for and against the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Materials also explore the meanings and consequences of U.S. global expansion at the turn of the 20th century. Resources include personal accounts, historical photographs, political cartoons, historical commentaries and a student worksheet.
  • 1-2 class periods, 75-90 minutes total