Teacher Resource Materials
Contest is now closed. Another America’s Field Trip contest for the 2024-2025 school year will begin in/around September 2024. Sign up here to receive updates!
Commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation with America250 and worldwide edtech leader Discovery Education! America’s Field Trip takes learning beyond the classroom and allows students to experience firsthand the places that have helped shape the nation and build a deeper connection with America’s history and culture.
Below you will find standards-aligned lesson plans and ready-to-use activities that leverage Discovery Education’s award-winning platform, giving educators instructional inspiration and saving time by packaging digital content and proven strategies into a turnkey student-facing resource. Designed to have different levels of investigation and discovery, these models are familiar to students and easily incorporated into the lesson cycle.
Please note that the ready-to-use activities are only interactive using the free Discovery Education Experience platform.
Lesson Plans by Grade Band
Grades 3–5
Lesson Plan: America’s Future
Students will explore their role in shaping the future of their community and America at large. They will start by sharing their thoughts on what America means to them and their hopes for the nation’s future. They will also learn about the concept of active citizenship, which dates all the way back to America’s independence. Through readings and discussions, students will discover examples of active citizenship in America’s past and present. Students will then work in groups to create plans to get involved in their community or work toward positive changes as they collaborate to be active citizens who strive to make America the best it can be.
Community Connections: Z Chart Student Activity
Students will make connections to the concept of community strength using linguistic and non-linguistic representations.
Grades 6–8
Lesson Plan: Civic Power
Students will explore what it means to be civically engaged and how civic action is tied to American identity. They will brainstorm their own ideas about civic action, investigate misconceptions, and analyze historical examples of civic action from the past to present. Through discussions, station activities, and personal reflection, students will discover the power of civic action and identify ways they can make contributions or improvements to their community.
America for All: Reminds Me Of Student Activity
Students will connect prior knowledge to new content related to The American Dream.
Grades 9–12
Lesson Plan: We the People
Students will explore how the Preamble to the United States Constitution outlines opportunities for reflection and civic action. Students will consider the importance of civic action in their school and community, analyze the text of the Preamble, and identify how the goals outlined in the Preamble create a blueprint for civic action today and in the future. Through peer discussion, historical inquiry, and textual analysis, students will explore how the concept of “We the People” empowers them to become engaged community members.
The Semiquincentennial: Read All About It Student Activity
Students will create a summary statement that supports a headline about America’s journey since the Declaration of Independence.
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America’s Field Trip Awardees!
Thousands of students from across the country submitted inspiring entries, responding to the prompt “What does America mean to you?” for the first-ever America’s Field Trip contest. A panel of current and former educators selected 150 students as awardees, hailing from 44 states and territories.