Back to Standards Index: National Council for the Social Studies C3 Framework

Standards Index: D2.His.5.9-12.

Find lessons and videos that align with D2.His.5.9-12.

Analyze how historical contexts shaped and continue to shape people’s perspectives.

Image from How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan

How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan

Students will learn how the U.S. military response to the 9/11 attacks led to decades of war and a chaotic ending."
Image from The War on Terror and the Debate Over Torture

The War on Terror and the Debate Over Torture

Students will learn about the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, focusing on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” and the ensuing calls for accountability.
Image from Aftermath of the War on Terror

Aftermath of the War on Terror

Students will learn how the climate of fear and panic following the 9/11 attacks resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of innocent Arab immigrants.
Image from 1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party

1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party

Students will learn how former President Theodore Roosevelt used the newly created direct primary system to challenge incumbent President William Howard Taft for the Republican Party’s nomination in 1912.
Image from 1924 Democratic Convention: Tension Over Immigration

1924 Democratic Convention: Tension Over Immigration

Students will learn how the 1924 Democratic National Convention became a raucous battleground over the influence of the Ku Klux Klan.
Image from 1964 Republican Convention: Chaos & Conservatism

1964 Republican Convention: Chaos & Conservatism

Students will learn how Senator Barry Goldwater’s nomination in 1964 led to a disastrous Republican convention and a Democratic landslide in November, but not without giving birth to the conservative movement that has come to dominate today’s Republican Party.
Image from 1968 Democratic National Convention: The Mess in Chicago

1968 Democratic National Convention: The Mess in Chicago

Students will learn how internal tensions over Vietnam and the cultural changes of the 1960s led to violence and chaos at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Image from American Reckoning

American Reckoning

Students will learn about a little-known story of the civil rights movement told using excerpts from “American Reckoning," a Retro Report and PBS Frontline collaboration.
Image from Dictators and Civil Wars: The Cold War in Latin America

Dictators and Civil Wars: The Cold War in Latin America

Students will learn how driven by fears of the rise of Communism, the United States adopted a policy of containment, intervening in the politics of countries across the globe, including many countries in Latin America.
Image from Election of 1860: Slavery Splits the Democrats

Election of 1860: Slavery Splits the Democrats

Students will learn how the issue of slavery caused a split in the Democratic Party that led to the Civil War and paved the way for 50 years of Republican dominance in national politics.
Image from Extremism in America

Extremism in America

Students will explore the seeds of the extremist ideologies that continue to be influential today and the government’s failed attempts to stop the broader white supremacist movement.
Image from Facing Eviction

Facing Eviction

Students will learn about housing insecurity during the Covid-19 pandemic and how eviction outcomes often came down to what county, or even city, a tenant lived in.
Image from From Women's Suffrage to the ERA

From Women's Suffrage to the ERA

Students will examine the history of the Equal Rights Amendment, develop a claim, and use evidence gathered from a variety of sources to support their answer.
Image from Holocaust Survivors Fleeing Ukraine Find New Home in Germany

Holocaust Survivors Fleeing Ukraine Find New Home in Germany

Students will examine the history of the Holocaust in Ukraine, and compare and contrast the current crisis in Ukraine.
Image from How a Folk Singer’s Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past: Mini-Lesson

How a Folk Singer’s Murder Forced Chile to Confront Its Past: Mini-Lesson

Students will connect the events of the 1973 U.S.-backed Chilean military coup to the Cold War by focusing on the killing of folk singer and activist Victor Jara.
Image from How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees

How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees

Students will examine the question of what obligation countries have to refugees. As Afghan and Ukrainian migrants settle in the U.S., this video asks whether refugee resettlement is better now than it was for the Vietnamese 50 years ago.
Image from Immigration in the 1990s: Proposition 187

Immigration in the 1990s: Proposition 187

Students will learn about the anti-immigration movement in California in the 1990s, and why it is relevant today.
Image from McCarthyism: Populism and the Press

McCarthyism: Populism and the Press

Students will learn how Joseph McCarthy rode to power on a wave of anti-communist fears, and how television contributed to both his rise and fall.
Image from Reagan: Foreign Policy and a Story from Central America (El Salvador)

Reagan: Foreign Policy and a Story from Central America (El Salvador)

Students will learn how President Reagan’s administration, trying to stop Soviet communist influence around the world, supported authoritarian regimes, and the impact that had in El Salvador and in the U.S. then and now.
Image from Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago - Mini-Lesson

Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago - Mini-Lesson

Students will learn about how as deportations of unauthorized immigrants rose under President Donald Trump, some churches and cities declared themselves sanctuaries and shielded migrants from immigration enforcement.
Image from The Battle for Votes: Gerrymandering

The Battle for Votes: Gerrymandering

Students will learn the causes and effects of gerrymandering, and how court decisions authorizing race-based gerrymandering have reshaped American politics and created complex legacies.
Image from The Birth of the Environmental Movement: DDT and Rachel Carson

The Birth of the Environmental Movement: DDT and Rachel Carson

Students will learn how the U.S. government came to develop environmental protection policies and what that means today as we struggle to balance the risk between pesticides and disease.
Image from The Cold War and the Nuclear Weapons Threat

The Cold War and the Nuclear Weapons Threat

Students will learn about the Cold War-era nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union, and its connection to the threat of nuclear conflict today.
Image from The Cold War in Latin America: Massacre in El Salvador

The Cold War in Latin America: Massacre in El Salvador

Students will learn about the Cold War in Latin America, with a focus on the El Mozote massacre in El Salvador.
Image from Unprepared: Lessons From Two Massive Oil Spills

Unprepared: Lessons From Two Massive Oil Spills

Students will learn about the Exxon Valdez and BP Deepwater Horizon oil spills, as well as examining the long-term effects on ecosystems and coastal communities.
Image from Why Supreme Court Confirmations Have Become So Bitter: Mini-Lesson

Why Supreme Court Confirmations Have Become So Bitter: Mini-Lesson

Students will examine the nomination and confirmation process for Supreme Court Justices and learn why the judges often reveal so little.