Elizabeth Murray Project
Gender and Opportunity in Colonial America
What was life like for women in Colonial America? What restrictions were placed upon them and what opportunities were they afforded? A case study of Elizabeth Murray offers high schoolers a chance to investigate primary source...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Effect of the Great Depression on Children
How did the Great Depression affect children? Sometimes studying the Great Depression means only studying about how it affected adults, however, relating the experiences of children and peers their age to themselves may make the...
National Museum of the American Indian
The Kwakwaka'Wakw: A Study of a North Pacific Coast People and the Potlatch
Discover the cultural practices and unique value systems of a group of native peoples from Canada called the Kwakwaka'wakw. Your young historians will discuss how conceptions of wealth can vary and how these native...
Stanford University
Great Plains Homesteaders
"Westward, ho!" may have been their cry in spite of the hardships. Using a series of photographs by Solomon D. Butcher of those who ventured west, class members consider what life was like in the 1800s for those who embarked on the...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Dueling Telegrams: 1963 Verbal Power Play Between Wallace and JFK
Information, inferences, and innuendos. Text and subtext. Class members examine telegrams exchanged between President John F. Kennedy and Alabama Governor George Wallace, studying both what is stated and what is implied by the...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Strange Fruit: Lynching in America
To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring Little Women
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...
Curated OER
Santana
The orchestra plays the National Anthem and discusses their origin. Students listen to other nation's National Anthems, and discuss how they felt while listening. As the students play the National Anthem, the teacher sings. The students...
Curated OER
Exploring Ethnic Groups in Africa
Students research the ethnic groups located in African countries where African Americans immigrated. They view a multi-media presentation imbedded in this plan, then construct posters that represent ethnic groups.
Curated OER
Survival Skills
Students investigate the challenges the Inuit people face in today's society. Students conduct Internet research on Inuit history and culture. Then students write a news report about the Inuit Nation and their struggles in the...
Curated OER
Letters from the Frontier: Reading and Writing Primary Documents
Students examine historical documents about George Caitlin to derive meaning about his life and contributions. The lesson is multicultural and helps students to appreciate art and history.
Curated OER
Murals
Students investigate how murals portray cultural expression. They study the history of mural making, explore its symbolism and design a mural of their own.
Curated OER
Let's Make a Meal: A Study of Oats
Students investigate the history and health benefits of oats. In this food history and nutrition lesson, students describe the origin of oats in America, define nutrition related vocabulary, and read and follow recipes for making...
Curated OER
The Growth of the Suburbs - and the Racial Wealth Gap
This lesson explores structural racism by revealing the important role that family wealth plays in shaping life chances how opportunities to accumulate wealth have been racialized, and the roots and consequences of the current race-based...
Curated OER
All The Way to Timbuktu
Young scholars discuss the concept of historic preservation and relate it to their own families and communities. After reading an article, they discuss the efforts of Mali to preserve their history. Using the internet, they research...
Curated OER
The Great Depression: Eating on a Shoestring
Students explore the realities of feeding a family on a very limited budget by comparing the cost of living in the 1930s to the cost of living today. Using primary documents and technology to make the comparison, they identify the impact...
Curated OER
Letters from Rifka
Fourth graders read Letters from Rifka and discuss the feelings of people forced to leave their homes and countries. In this migration instructional activity, 4th graders relate their feelings about moving from their home forever....
Curated OER
Kings, Knights, And Countrymen
Students look back in time into the feudal form of government. They view Powerpoint presentations to take them back in time.
Curated OER
Pioneer Perspectives-Diverse Opinions on Westward Migration
Learners examine the Westward Migration and expansion of the United States from the perspective of a family migrating westward. They analyze pictures, and in small groups write and present a script based on a photograph, expressing the...
Curated OER
Gender Roles
Students explore psychology by answering gender study questions. For this sexuality lesson, students discuss the stereotypes often referred to men and woman and what the truth is about their characteristics and abilities. Students...
Curated OER
American Made
Students view the Film American Made and view the experiences of a Sikh family in the Western part of America. In this life in America lesson, students explore the life of Americans who might by looks be thought to be...
Curated OER
Racism No Way
Students explore different cultural influences and their contribution to Australian identities. They reflect on their own backgrounds and making links with their peers, reflect on our heritage. Students view My family- My Australia,...
Curated OER
Carnival Celebrations: Masks and Vejigantes
Students explore Carnival. In this Puerto Rico Carnival lesson, students discover the history of the cultural celebration as well as the significance of the elaborate masks worn for the festivities. Students create their own Carnival masks.
Curated OER
Working in Photographs
Students analyze illustrations of workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this social science lesson plan, students examine photographs of workers and identify the types of work that were available in the 19th century compared to the...