Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP), a program of the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places, uses historic properties to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created a variety of tools -- including lesson plans, publications, and other valuable materials -- to help teachers bring historic places into the classroom. All lessons are based on sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places, which include historic units of the National Park System and National Historic Landmarks -- landmarks are nationally significant historic places designated by the Secretary of the Interior because they possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Lessons plans that feature units of the National Park System and National Historic Landmarks are noted.

Among the lessons plans offered are several on varying aspects of maritime history from coastal forts to inland canals and from well-known historical figures to the anonymous faces of early settlers as well as the U.S. Life-Saving Service and the U.S. military. To explore the maritime related lesson plans, click on the links below.

Maritime History Lessons Plans

The Building of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)

Decatur House: A Home of the Rich and Powerful
Inspect Commodore Stephen Decatur's home near the White House, a gathering place for the politically ambitious, and learn why the naval hero felt compelled to fight a fateful duel. (National Historic Landmark)

Fort Hancock: A Bastion of America's Eastern Seaboard
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)

Fort Morgan and the Battle of Mobile Bay
Follow Admiral Farragut's attack on Fort Morgan and Mobile Bay, and consider the human reaction to technologies such as ironclads and underwater mines. (National Historic Landmark)

Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe

Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War
Learn how the United States mobilized a massive construction effort to build a large merchant fleet to serve in war and peace. (The SS Red Oak Victory is part of a National Park. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS Lane Victory are National Historic Landmarks.)

Life on an Island: Early Settlers Off the Rock-Bound Coast of Maine
Discover how early settlers survived on Maine's coastal islands despite harsh living conditions. (National Park)

Little Kinnakeet Lifesaving Station: Home to Unsung Heroes
Learn about the United States Lifesaving Service daring rescues to save imperiled lives from the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." (National Park)

The Ohio and Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)

The Penniman House: A Whaling Story
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)

Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial
Trace the course of the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and consider the significance of the sunken USS Arizona as a war memorial. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)

The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.

For further information on the Teaching with Historic Places program (TwHP) or to search for other lessons plans on a variety of topics, please visit the TwHP website.