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Rancho San Pedro
Students perform 15 different activities in order to investigate what life on a rancho in California was like in the 1800's.
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From Missions to Ranchos
Fourth graders examine the conversion of the California missions into ranchos. They develop a pros and cons chart, write a first person narrative describing the changing life from the missions to the ranchos, and create a poster of...
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California Indians
Fourth graders discuss the major nations of California Indians, their geographic distribution, economic activities, legends and religious beliefs. They describe the function of Spanish missions and the influence of Catholicism. In...
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California Mission Slide Show
Fourth graders research the details of a California Mission. They design a slide show to present their research.
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The Rancho Period
Third graders describe how the Rancho period of settlement left its mark on the development of the local community.
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Pre-Columbian Settlements and People
Fourth graders describe the social, political, cultural and economic life and interactions among the people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.
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Savvy in Sacramento
Students take a field trip to the state capital, Sacramento. Using the Internet, they explain the physical and human geographic features of the area and discuss interactions between the people of California between the time of explorers...
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Gold Rush Abolitionists: How different was the role of Spanish-speaking blacks under Mexican rule from the role of English-speaking blacks under U.S. rule?
Young scholars determine how Spanish-speaking blacks and English speaking blacks were treated differently. For this emancipation lesson, students compare the Mexican and American rules regarding slavery.
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Island of the Blue Dolphins Jigsaw
Fourth graders research three topics from the book, either Village Life, Sea Life, or San Nicholas Island. They research independently and meet in a jigsaw format to share what they learned. As group they create a poster for class...
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Two Sources of Story Ideas for Our Paper
Learners research and identify story ideas for the school newspaper. In this story ideas lesson, students pitch story ideas to their teacher on a weekly basis using a specific format. Learners find the majority of their ideas from print...
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What Was It Like?
Students use the Internet to gather historical facts about the county in which they live. Using the information, they discover how to check it for accuracy and present their findings to the class. They write an essay about the history of...