Annenberg Foundation
Reconstructing a Nation
Think back to the aftermath of an family dispute. The awkwardness of having to make up, get along, and move forward can be very difficult. The tenth lesson of a 22-part series on American history examines the Reconstruction Era following...
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 6
Students survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 7
Students survey free jazz and fusion. They explore how free jazz and fusion reflected American culture and society in the 1960s and 1970s.
Curated OER
Classroom Archaeology
Students, in groups, receive a box of artifacts. They record their findings and discuss what the items would have been used for. They come together at the end of the lesson to share their findings.
Curated OER
Fossil Find
Students investigate the practice of digging for fossils. They participate in a mock dig of fossils using real bones and other artifacts. Then students dig through sand in order to go through the simulation. Students make observations...
Center for History and New Media
Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860
What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies lesson plan. Learners of all ages explore...
Reading Through History
Ain't I a Woman?
Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech has reverberated through American history, giving voice to women of color who had not previously been heard. Learners analyze the tone, audience, purpose, occasion, and speaker of the speech’s...
Curated OER
Site Robbers
Fourth graders interview a Native American and write a newspaper article or letter that expresses concern about robbing archaeological sites.
Curated OER
Making Inferences About a Llano River Rancheria
Seventh graders research the Indian groups that lived 1,000 years ago on the Llano River. They analyze paintings and photographs of tools and artifacts, develop inferences and conclusions about how the Indians lived, and present the...
Curated OER
The Iceman 2
Students identify and analyze the Iceman found in Europe with all of his organs preserved along with his personal artifacts. Students identify then about North Native Americans and write an essay defining their differences.
Curated OER
Tag It and Bag It: Archeology Lab Lesson
Seventh graders practice analyzing, collecting and categorizing artifacts. Using charts, they organize and interpret information about the artifacts they classified. They work together to create a graph to represent class totals and...
Curated OER
From Object To Story
Students engage in a study that focuses upon the study of artifacts for the purpose of defining the heritage of family. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order to create a personal family...
Curated OER
A Reporter's Recovery of Place
Students read and write their own story about an artifact they find in their community.
Curated OER
Visual Arts, Literary Arts, and Performing Arts: Their Connection and Place in America's Minority Culture
Students explore the rich, varied, and full artistic culture of each of these three minority groups, Native Americans, Chicanos, and African Americans. They explore art through dance, music, literature, and many other different mediums....
Curated OER
Pieces of the Past
Seventh graders compare and contrast the way of life of Native Americans in Texas and around the country. As a class, they brainstorm about the uses of pottery today and use broken pieces of pottery to create an artifact. In groups,...
Curated OER
The Kanaka Village at Fort Vancouver: Crossroads of the Columbia River
Students study the interaction between Native American and European cultures in the Pacific Northwest in the 1800s. They focus their study on the Hudson's Bay Company and Fort Vancouver.
Curated OER
The Buffalo Jump
Eighth graders investigate the disappearance of buffalo. They conduct research into the uses of buffalo by the Native Americans. There are resource links included in this lesson. They answer specific questions to help guide the research...
Curated OER
Show Me a Flowerpot
Students compare and contrast handmade and machine-made products in a study about the evolution of production processes in American history. In this production history lesson, students explore a flowerpot in depth. Students make their...
Curated OER
Indians in Georgia: How Do We Know What We Know?
Students discover archaeology by investigating the history of Native Americans in Georgia. In this U.S. history instructional activity, students participate in a mock archaeological excavation in their classroom by recovering artifacts...
Curated OER
Virginia: Jamestown and Its People
Learners familiarize themselves with the settlement of Jamestown and practice describing objects and their use. For this Jamestown lesson, students listen to stories about Jamestown, complete an artifact activity, and explore the story...
Curated OER
Businesses and Communities on the Move
In this American transportation history worksheet, students read about various forms of transportation and respond to 16 multiple choice and short answer questions regarding trains, streetcars, automobiles, and trucks.
Curated OER
The Study of the Spanish-Speaking People of Texas: Overcoming Adversity
Students examine the photographs of Russell Lee and identify the obstacles faced by Mexican-Americans in Texas during the early and mid-20th century. They discuss the ways they overcame these obstacles and relate it to obstacles in...
Curated OER
Trade Trials Treaties
Fourth graders explore the trade relationships that existed in the late 1700's Colonial America. In this American history lesson, 4th graders examine English and Cherokee trade treaties by reviewing primary and secondary sources....
Curated OER
Like Comparing Bison and Fish
Fourth graders study the development of North American Indian cultures by looking at how geography impacted their development. They write a five paragraph essay comparing the Plains Indians and the Clatsop Indians.