Magna Carta Was Sealed by King John, on this day, in 1215

Magna Carta, is an English legal charter, originally issued in the year 1215 by King John of England. It was written in Latin and is known by its Latin name. The usual English translation of Magna Carta is Great Charter.

Magna Carta required King John of England to proclaim certain rights (pertaining to freemen), respect certain legal procedures, and accept that his will could be bound by the law. It explicitly protected certain rights of the King's subjects, whether free or fettered — and implicitly supported what became the writ of habeas corpus, allowing appeal against unlawful imprisonment.

Magna Carta was the first document forced onto an English King by a group of his subjects (the barons) in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges.

Magna Carta was arguably the most significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today in the English speaking world. Magna Carta influenced the development of the common law and many constitutional documents, including the United States Constitution.

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Lesson Plan Information
Title: Magna Carta: Cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will understand:
- why the rule of law is necessary in a free and democratic society.
- the relationship between Magna Carta and the evolution of constitutional government.
- how the Magna Carta was used to justify independence from Great Britain.

Watch a concert performance and analyze song lyrics.

Draft a personal narrative that relates a childhood experience.

Finalize a personal narrative and share it with the class.
Grade Level: 9-12
Subject: U.S. History / Civics
Handouts: Worksheets, activities and background information.
Time Needed: Three class periods
Provided by: EDSITEment (Author: Christine L. Compston, Bellingham, WA)
Year: 2007
Link: http://edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=737

The Purchase of Alaska - This Day, in 1867

The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from Russia in 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. The purchase, made at the initiative of United States Secretary of State William H. Seward (treaty signed on March 30, 1867), gained 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 km2) of new United States territory. Originally organized as the Department of Alaska, the area was successively the District of Alaska and the Alaska Territory before becoming the modern state of Alaska upon being admitted to the Union as a state in 1959.

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Lesson Plan Information
Title: The Purchase of Alaska
Subject: U.S. History
Grade Level: 6-8
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will understand that:
- there was disagreement among the American public regarding the purchase of Alaska
- Alaska has presented both benefits and challenges to the United States.
Materials: Documents, books, articles concerning the United States' purchase of Alaska from the Russians; computers with access to the Internet.
Time Needed: Three 50-minute class periods
Provided by: Discovery Education (Credit: Summer Productions, Inc.)
Link: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/alaska.cfm

Hollywood Legend Elizabeth Taylor Dies

Elizabeth Taylor (1932 – 2011) was considered one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age and a two-time winner of the Academy Award (Oscar) for Best Actress. The American Film Institute named Taylor seventh on its Female Legends list.

Best known for her films: National Velvet (1944), A Place in the Sun (1951), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Cleopatra (1963), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966), Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967).

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Lesson Plan Information
Title: Cleopatra
Subject: Ancient Civilizations
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will understand that:
- Comparing people and ranking them is a difficult challenge.
- People are important to society in many different ways.
Concepts / Vocabulary: Consort, femme fatale, linguist, dysfunctional, inflation, prenuptial, disembarked
Grade Level: 6-8
Materials:Access to a photocopier, biographical reference materials, computers with access to the Internet.
Time Needed: Two 50-minute class periods
Provided by: Discovery Education (Credit: Jay Lamb, world history and religion teacher, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria, Virginia; Sandy Lamb, social studies teacher, Thomas Jefferson High School.)
Link: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/cleopatra.cfm

 

Mikhail Gorbachev, best known for Perestroika and Glasnost, was born this day in 1931

Perestroika (reconstruction) was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev referring to the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system.

Glasnost (openness) was the policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of the 1980s.

Gorbachev's attempts at reform as well as summit conferences with United States President Ronald Reagan and his reorientation of Soviet strategic aims contributed to the end of the Cold War, ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.

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Lesson Plan Information
Title: “The Sinews of Peace” and the Cold War
Subject: World History / US History/ European History
Objectives: Students will identify the key ideas and themes in several important speeches of the Cold War era by Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman, the Berlin Airlift, John F. Kennedy, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan
Grade Level: 9-12
Materials: Computers with access to the Internet.
Time Needed: Five 50-minute class periods
Provided by: TeachingAmericanHistory.org (Author: Amanda S. Rowcliffe, Webb School of Knoxville)
Link: http://teachingamericanhistory.org/churchill/lessonplans/rowcliffe.doc

 

George Washington, the first president of the United States, was born this day in 1732

George Washington (1732 – 1799) was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander in chief of the Continental Army in 1775–1783, and he presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. As the unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States (1789–1797), he developed the forms and rituals of government that have been used ever since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. As President, he built a strong, well-financed national government that avoided war, suppressed rebellion and won acceptance among Americans of all types, and Washington is now known as the "Father of his country".

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Lesson Plan Information
Title: The Making Of Our First President
Subject: U.S. History
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will understand how General Washington's early military career influenced the making of George Washington the president.
Concepts / Vocabulary: edict, skirmish, squire, terrain, ultimatum
Grade Level: 9-12
Materials: Reference materials of Washington's early military experience; computers with access to the Internet.
Time Needed: Two 50-minute class periods
Provided by: Discovery Education (Credit: Summer Productions, Inc.)
Link: http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans/the-making-of-our-first-president.cfm

 

James Joyce was born this day in 1882

James Joyce (1882 – 1941) was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century. Joyce is best known for Ulysses (1922), a landmark novel which perfected his stream of consciousness technique and combined nearly every literary device available in a modern re-telling of The Odyssey. Other major works are the short-story collection Dubliners (1914), and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Finnegans Wake (1939), and his complete oeuvre includes three books of poetry, a play, occasional journalism, and his published letters.

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Lesson Plan Information
Title: Writing Lyric Poetry
Subject: English / Language Arts
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will:
- Read and discuss the poem
- Recall and interpret facts and extend meanings
- Respond to critical opinion about the poem
- Analyze lyric poetry and the use of stylistic devices in a poem
Grade Level: 9-12
Materials: The poems: "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordworth , "I Hear an Army" by James Joyce, "The Sky is Low" by Emily Dickinson, "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman, "Women" by Alice Walker, "maggie and milly and molly and may" by E.E. Cumming, "Dream Deferred"& "Dreams" by Langston Hughes.
Time Needed: Two 50-minute class periods
Provided by: SchoolLink (Author: B. Wu, Murry Bergtraum HS, New York, NY)
Link: http://www.schoollink.org/csd/pages/engl/lyricpoe.html

 

Winston Churchill, known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the World War II, died this day in 1965

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874 – 1965) was a British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War (WWII) and is widely regarded as one of the great wartime leaders.

Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. His steadfast refusal to consider defeat, surrender or a compromise peace helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult early days of the War when Britain stood alone in its active opposition to Hitler. Churchill was particularly noted for his speeches and radio broadcasts, which helped inspire the British people and the embattled Allied forces. He led Britain as Prime Minister until victory had been secured over Nazi Germany.

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Lesson Plan Information
Title: Churchill's Wartime Speeches: 1940-1941
Subject: History / World War II
Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will understand:
- how did Winston Churchill, through his speeches, contribute to the formation of a collective British resolve to continue fighting during the critical time period when Britain was alone in fighting Germany?
Grade Level: 9-12
Materials: Computers with access to the Internet.
Handouts: Winston Churchill's speeches
Time Needed: Three class periods
Provided by: WinstonChurchill.org (Author: Jannette R. Milligan, Thomas Worthington High School, Worthington, OH)
Link: http://www.winstonchurchill.org/images/pdfs/for_educators/milligan-churchills%20wartime%20speeches%20.pdf