Curated OER
Exploring the History of the I&M Canal
Students examine the building of the I & M canal in Chicago. Using the internet, they research the lives of the individuals who worked on the construction and develop a timeline of events. They explore the impact of the canal on...
Curated OER
Utah History & Geography
Fourth graders practice large digit addition. Students become familiar with column addition. Students develop knowledge of counties and county seats.
Curated OER
Natural Beauty: Looking Sharp
Students create covers for their "nature journals" using watercolor techniques and the artistic ideas of color, depth, and focal point. This lesson can be used in the Science or Art classroom and meets national standards for both.
Curated OER
Learning from the Past: A New Approach
Young scholars research nonprofit organizations. As they research, they learn how those living in the colonial period formed community organizations to provide for the common good of their society. Each pupil chooses one organization to...
Curated OER
A Case Study: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in Philadelphia, PA, (17th-19th Centuries)
Eleventh graders work in teams of three. Each team visits a workstation to interpret, analyze, and apply information from documents for their final project. The final project is an exhibit at Independence National Historic Park
NYC Department of Records
Citizenship and Elections: The Importance of a Ballot
Approximately 58 prcent of those eligible voted in the 2016 US Presidential election. In an attempt to impress upon learners the importance of voting and voting rights, class members examine primary source documents related to the...
Curated OER
Where the Buffalo Roam
Second graders explore what life in the Chicago area was like hundreds of years ago. They discuss how settlers impacted the environment, and why there are no longer herds of buffalo in the Chicago area today. They read an article and...
Curated OER
Migrating to Texas
Fourth graders explore the migration to Texas from other parts of the United States. Through journal entries they write about the trip as if they were the settlers coming to a new and foreign country. Working in small groups, 4th graders...
Curated OER
Caddo Circle Book
Learners are introduced to the Caddo Indians of Texas. Using a compass, they draw a circle given specific dimensions and cut them out. Using the text, they read one section abut the Indians and complete the task listed on one of their...
Curated OER
Defining moments from the past with lessons for a post-9/11 world...
Young scholars examine extension ideas concerning 9/11, Defining Moments. They analyze a variety of Supreme Court cases, the U.S. Constitution, Mass Media Interpretations, Racism, Immigrant groups and U.S. geography. Many questions are...
Curated OER
The Role of Fire in Healthy Prairie, Brush and Forest Lands
Sixth graders read and discuss background information and brainstorm reasons for wildfires. They use a Venn Diagram to list the similarities and differences between wildfires and prescribed fires and then track the weather forecast for...
Curated OER
Homes of the West
Fourth graders read about homes in Utah over time and design models of the homes. In this homes of the west lesson, 4th graders draw and label five homes that existed in the west. Students research each home and gather information for...
Curated OER
Indigenous Cultures Change Over Time
Fourth graders research and take notes while viewing a video on the Navajo Indians. In this Indigenous people lesson, 4th graders use the notes they've taken to compare and contrast the Navaho tribe to other Indigenous tribes. Students...
Curated OER
Football at Carlisle Indian School: A Tool for Assimilation?
Middle schoolers become familiar with procedures for helping Indians assimilate in the 1800's. In this history lesson plan middle schoolers explore how football helped Indians to assimilate in a positive way. Middle schoolers recognize...
PBS
Primary Sources
Students see how to use primary and secondary sources to investigate history. Whether it is a photograph, book, map, letter, postcard, newspaper, or official document, students can use sources to reconstruct and relive history.
Curated OER
It’s a Big, Big World
Students examine the role of the explorers. In this explorers and conquistadors, students create word puzzles (Wordles) regarding the time period in history. Students conduct research regarding a particular explorer and create foldables...
Curated OER
Forward, Into the Past!
Students, during a (virtual) visit to a burial ground, think about the past by viewing tombstones as primary sources. They explain how the attitudes of Deerfield residents toward death and burial evolved from 1780-1880.
Curated OER
I & M Canal: Technological, Economic
Students read about and discuss the reasons European countries were interested in the Ohio Valley. They complete a puzzle to review vocabulary and watch a video on the Illinois Prairie and the I & M Canal. They rewrite the historical...
Curated OER
"We, the People": New Voices in the Constitutional Debates
Learners study the goals set out for the Constitution. They examine the resolutions arrived at to resolve three major conflicts which arose during the writing of the Constitution. They discuss or write down a one-sentence summary of...
Curated OER
I Have No Money, Would You Take Wampum
Students engage in a discussion about their experiences with goods, services, and money. For this bartering lesson, students read The Wampum Bird story and brainstorm their personal experiences with economics.
Curated OER
Immigration, Where Do We Go From Here?
Students describe difference between immigration and emigration, and summarize impact that immigration and emigration have on a community.
Curated OER
Documenting an Historic Journey
Students read and analyze journals written by Lewis and Clark. They watch and discuss a video segment, complete a graphic organizer, and write a journal entry written from the point of view of someone involved with the Lewis and Clark...
Curated OER
Expanding Journal Writing Entries For Beginning Writers
First graders through a variety of strategies assess how to write in journals openly and effectively. Those strategies include integration of technology, story telling, group and team work, performance-based assessment/rubrics, visual...
Curated OER
Slave Auctions in South Carolina
Students examine primary sources in the form of auction records, create frequency charts, graphs and diagrams that they analyze to anwer questions followed by the writing of a paper that demonstrates their comprehension of the lesson plan.