History and Current Issues Curriculum

The Choices Program draws on scholarship from Brown University to produce innovative curriculum and videos that make contested international issues accessible, engaging, and relevant to secondary school audiences.

Featured Unit

Colonization and Independence in Africa

Students explore Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and consider the changes colonialism imposed on African governments, economies, and societies. Students consider the ways Africans responded to European colonialism.

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Updated Unit

China on the World Stage: Weighing the U.S. Response

Students explore the history of U.S. relations with China and consider the implications of China’s economic growth, societal transformation, and increasing international role.

Updated TWTN Lesson

Refugee Stories: Mapping a Crisis

New update: December 2019. Students gain an understanding of the current refugee crisis by mapping data and exploring personal accounts of refugees.

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Teaching with the News

The Impeachment Process and President Trump

This lesson helps students understand the Constitutional basis and historical precedents for impeachment.

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Featured Unit

The Civil War and the Meaning of Liberty

Students probe the history of the United States from 1830 to 1865. Using primary sources, readings, and lessons, students consider the experiences of people in the U.S. as well as the issues driving the political confrontation over slavery and the meaning of liberty.

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Digital Editions

The same award-winning content teachers expect from the Choices Program is also web based! Purchase an individual, site, or district license and always have the most up-to-date version of our materials.

Curriculum Content

Guiding Principles for Choices Content Development

Why use the Choices Program’s materials? What will your students gain? The Choices Program’s curriculum materials develop the skills and knowledge young people need to be informed global citizens capable of engaging in thoughtful discussions about history and decision making on contested contemporary policy issues.

Video Series on Memorials to Slavery

Why is it important to commemorate the history of slavery in the United States?

Explore the purposes, challenges, and controversies related to historical memorials.

Videos featuring Renée Ater, Associate Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland, explore the purposes of historical memorials and analyze several memorials to slavery in the United States.

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