Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, including excerpts from John Calvin’s famous book, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain Calvin’s basic arguments behind salvation through predestination and how the spread of his ideas left an indelible and lasting legacy on the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the 16th century and later with the Puritans would settle the New England colonies in the 17th century.

Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the story of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, including how and why the brigade formed, its experiences in Spain during the civil war, and how these soldiers were treated when they returned home.

Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of the Reconquista, how Muslim forces came to rule over Christian Iberia, the cultural contributions Spanish Moors developed, and ultimately what led to their downfall after such a long rule.

Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of Al-Andalus (Moorish Iberia), including how Muslim forces came to rule over Christian Iberia, the cultural contributions Iberian Moors developed, and ultimately what led to their downfall after such a long rule.

Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of Columbus’ First Voyage to the New World, why he undertook the challenge of sailing west to reach the east, why the Spanish monarchs supported the voyage, and finally how the world was forever changed on 12 October 1492.

Today, most American high school students learn about the Spanish American War through stories and images of Teddy Roosevelt and his Roughriders charging up San Juan Hill in Cuba, but few teachers discuss Puerto Rico. Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students here will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of how and why the United States came to rule over the island of Puerto Rico, what legal and constitutional status the US granted Puerto Rican citizens, and how the relationship between the US and Puerto Rico has evolved since 1898.

How were the Spanish able to conquer the Incas so easily? What advantages did the Spanish have over the Incas in terms of technology? Why did Atahualpa discount the threat posed by Pizarro and the Spanish? Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students here will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of how and why the Spanish were able to conquer the Inca Empire of Peru, why the Indians (especially Chief Atahualpa) discounted the Spanish threat until it was too late, and finally what the legacy of the conquest meant for the native population of Peru then and today.

Through the investigation of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the details of Ireland’s Great Famine of the 1840s, what caused it, the government’s response to the tragedy and how the famine helped cause the Irish Diaspora.

Through an in-depth analysis of various primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the story of the Dachau Concentration Camp, the experiences of camp prisoners throughout its history and how the camp is seen today both by Germans and by the rest of the world.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the events surrounding Operation Overlord (commonly known as the D-Day Invasion of Normandy), why the Allied Supreme Command chose the Normandy beaches for the invasion, and how mistakes made by the German high command before and after the invasion ultimately doomed the Third Reich.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the events surrounding the Liberation of Paris, what role French all Allied forces played in taking the city, how the French Resistance in Paris helped precipitate the liberation, and what role the German governor of the city may have played in limiting the bloodshed.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the events surrounding the Battle of the Bulge, why the German High Command decided to engage in a counterattack in the Ardennes Forest, how the German advance was eventually halted and then defeated, how the battle helped cement George Patton and the US Third Army’s reputation, and how the battle ultimately proved to be a turning point on the western front of the Second World War.

Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, including excerpts from the Edict of Nantes (1598) and the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685), students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain who the French Huguenots were, the religious persecution they faced in the 16th and 17th centuries in France and how the exodus of Protestants from France after 1685 left its legacy around the world.

Through an examination of both primary and secondary sources on the subject, including various types of visual media in addition to electronic and written sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basic plot of Hemmingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises and how the main characters in the book represent different aspects of societal change and the rejection of Victorian social norms inherent in the “lost generation” of the 1920s.

Through an analysis of primary and secondary sources, students here will identify, understand and be able to explain the basic facts behind Wilson’s “Fourteen Points”, how they spelled out the ideas of self-determination and equality among nations, why Allied representatives to the Peace Conference in Paris objected to many of the president’s ideas, what role the League of Nations was supposed to play in Wilson’s mind and how ultimately the Treaty of Versailles (1919) contained clauses contrary to both the spirit and the language of the Fourteen Points.

Through the use of various primary and secondary sources, including excerpts from the Franco American Alliance (1778), students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basic terms of the 1778 alliance between France and the United States, how and why an absolutist French government under Louis XVI that was diametrically opposed to republican principals decided to support the American colonial cause against his arch rival Britain, and how the alliance was the deciding factor in a colonial victory over Britain and thus how the alliance undoubtedly helped cause the downfall of the Ancient Regime in France itself.

Through an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, specifically by reading and analyzing excerpts from two of Jean Jacques Rousseau’s major works, The Social Contract (1763) and Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality among Men (1754), students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain Rousseau’s philosophical ideas and how those ideas inspired French Revolutionary leaders after 1789.

Through an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the split between London and Rome, how Henry VIII and his children each changed both the church and the government, the drama and intrigue behind characters such as Anne Boleyn and Sir Thomas More (religious opposites, and yet both executed at the Tower of London by Henry VIII) and finally the twists and turns of English history under the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth (half-sisters who ended up buried in the same grave at Westminster Abbey).

Through an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, students in this lesson will identify, understand and be able to explain the basic ideas contained in the Magna Carta of 1215, why King John was forced to sign it, why the document forms the foundation for the English constitution, and why the Magna Carta is seen today by many historians as a founding document in constitutional and parliamentary democracy.