Many of my high school students have limited English proficiency and lack the background knowledge that comes with attending school in the US for your entire life. To help them grasp large topics, I created simple to read, 1 page overviews of our unites in American History.
This one (which you can download here) covers the American Civil War. Vocabulary that students need to know if defined and each aspect of the war is explained in simple terms for students so that they do not need to rely on background knowledge.
The 2nd page is a worksheet of 8 open-ended and multiple choice questions based off the reading. These questions guide students toward the essential information they need to know.
Here are some sample images of what the worksheet looks like:
