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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre-Columbian Cultures in the Americas

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Native American studies is fun, educational, and highly motivating. Fifth graders will gain a deeper understanding of the six major pre-Columbian culture areas on the North American continent. They will choose one group and conduct...
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Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Mound Builders and Pueblos

For Students 9th - 10th
The first Native-American group to build mounds in what is now the United States often are called the Adenans. They began constructing earthen burial sites and fortifications around 600 B.C. Some mounds from that era are in the shape of...
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Article
The Washington Post

Ancient Cahokia: Metropolitan Life on the Mississippi

For Students 9th - 10th
This article from the Washington Post gives a great description of Cahokia, one of the largest cities in the world before Columbus' contact with the New World. Read about how the great mounds were made, the trade networks established,...
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Website
Other

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site: Explore

For Students 9th - 10th
An extensive look at the Cahokia Mounds which can be explored by mound name or number. An interactive timeline traces the development of the civilization at the place that the Cahokia mounds were eventually built. The section on the...
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Website
Other

Mississippi Valley Archaeolgy Center: Common Projectile Points

For Students 9th - 10th
This scholarly work describes the various projectile points used by Paleo-Indians and later cultures in the Upper Mississippi Valley. Find diagrams, photographs, and descriptions of the points, and compare their differences and...
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Website
Other

Indiana Historical Bureau: George Rogers Clark: 225th Anniversary Exhibit

For Students 9th - 10th
Through this extensive exhibit, learn about the War in the West during the Revolutionary War, George Rogers Clark's part in the campaign, and why his success was so important. Much of the information is from Clark's journals.
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Website
Other

Early Cultures: Pre European Peoples of Wisconsin: Mississippian and Oneota

For Students 9th - 10th
The Mississippian and Oneota cultures were the first true farmers in the Mississippi Valley. Read about their transition from hunting and gathering, and see what differences in their life styles farming brought about. Find a chart that...
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Website
University of Wisconsin

The Why Files: Effigy Mound Culture

For Students 3rd - 8th
Site introduces the concept of mound building and explains the concept in easy-to-understand terms. Discover why the mounds were build and what they possibly meant to the ancient people.
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Website
Other

Schiller Institute: George Rogers Clark Captures Vincennes

For Students 9th - 10th
Read an account of George Rogers Clark's campaign to capture Vincennes. Find out about the places he captured on his way to Vincennes, and the surrender of Col. Henry Hamilton.
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Handout
Other

Cabrillo College: Cahokia

For Students 9th - 10th
A concise, bulleted description of Cahokia, the major trade and population center of the Mississippian Mound Builders on the banks of the Mississippi River.
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Website
Other

University of Wisconsin: Cahokia Mounds Research Facility

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource offers excellent photographs of excavations in progress although there is not much detail of Mississippian culture.
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Website
United Nations

Unesco: Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

For Students 9th - 10th
This World Heritage site includes a photograph of Cahokia as it appears today, a brief description of the excavation of the site, and a short video.
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Early America: Mound Builders and Pueblos

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief survey of the mound building and cliff dwelling Native Americans in the period between 1000 BC and 1600 AD.