Teaching US History can seem like a daunting task for teachers, but with a few creative tools and ideas, you can bring historical events and people to life for your students! I love providing students with an interconnection to the people who shaped our country. However, our history is on-going and by studying our past, we can hopefully learn from our successes and mistakes to better shape the future! Therefore, if you are looking for a quick way to add a little pizzazz to your lessons with some United States History Activities that your students will love, check out the resources below!
Project Based Learning United States History Activities!
Welcome to the American Revolution!
First, you travel back in time to 1775, where the minutemen are alerted the British are on their way. A shot is fired, but you don’t know which side fired first. Eight colonists are killed in battle, and the British continue into Concord.
PBL Activities (Problem Based Learning | Project Based Learning)
In this United States History Activity, students will create their very own PBL booklet. PBL activities utilize creative learning and real-world problem-solving strategies!
Lastly, students use mapping skills as well as knowledge of simple machines to build tools!

United States History Interactive PowerPoints Activities!
This video features a fast-motion screen capture of an interactive powerpoint from the US History PowerPoint Bundle. These teaching resources are quite the virtual experience! PowerPoint Activities can be used as powerful classroom presentations or students can click their way through them.
STEM Challenges
Are your students up for the challenge?! In this specific United States History Activity, students must design a spinning wheel! For example, using a list of supplies, STEM teams must engineer a model that contains the following elements: a drive wheel, a bobbin, and legs. The drive wheel must be able to spin… learn more about this fun challenge here!
The Constitution Quill and Ink STEM Challenge! In this exciting challenge, STEM groups must create a unique ink recipe. Above all, the challenge is to create a recipe that produces a dark, thick ink that students can write clearly with… (read more about it here!)
United States History Interactive Notebooks Activity

5th grade students love these interactive notebooks for our Social Studies / Early United States History curriculum. This resource is actually aligned with the US History Interactive PowerPoint Bundle. Therefore, I highly recommend using these interactive PowerPoints along with the notebooks but it is optional. The notebooks are a stand-alone resource. Materials include: Interactive notebook covers for each of the 7 units, reading passages, answer keys, critical thinking and analysis questions, flaps, foldables, timelines, graphic organizers, and more.
Or, have all the United States History activities all in one quick download!
Do you like all the teaching resources above? Above all, you can find them all in the United States History COMPLETE Curriculum. Did I mention it comes with FREE curriculum binders (with dividers) and a sample pacing guide for the full school year?
You may also like these creative United States History Activities!
Do you have any creative United States History activities that you do with your students? Share in the comments section below!
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