Curated OER
Talking Rocks
Artists imitate the symbols used by tribes of the Southwest or use their own word pictures that communicate something about themselves. This lesson is a perfect blend of visual art and social studies. Students create a beautiful piece of...
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Treaty Trail: Crossing the Bitterroot Mountains
Students examine art and primary documents that depicts the Native Americans' crossing of Washington's Bitterroot Mountains to arrive at the Spokane Council. Students investigate and compare maps and other historical materials determine...
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The Night Chanter Project
High schoolers sketch a design based on "The Night Chanter." In this art design lesson, students listen to the Native American prayer, "The Night Chanter" and illustrate their personal vision of the chant. High schoolers critique the...
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Textured Metal Boxes
Discuss the art process called repousse with this activity. Learners discuss the history of this artistic method, talk about the technique, and create their own examples. They use boxwood tools, paper mache boxes, and sandpaper to create...
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Sentence Completion 30
Use this multiple-choice vocabulary assessment with your advanced English language learners or your native speakers. There are six sentences provided, and your class must determine which word best completes each sentence. Example words...
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Designing Clay
Maria and Juliana are two of the most famous Pueblo pottery makers of the modern era. The class will learn about pueblo pottery design and the ways that Maria and Julian use traditional designs in a new and innovative way. They will...
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Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.
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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.
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Perceiving the Prairie
Twelfth graders explore the changing concept of "prairie" through written and artistic works. They write their own poem or essay describing the prairie after discussing how differently people perceive the prairie.
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George Winter
Who is George Winter? Learners review knowledge of George Winter, an artist who captured images of the Trail of Tears. They distinguish the difference between primary and secondary sources and determine the reliability of a document....
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Raven Mask
Students explore the artistic expressions of the Northwest Native American Indians and using traditional palette of colors, create a personal interpretation of the traditional raven mask.
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Mini Coil Pots: Ceramics Lesson
Art is a wonderful way to teach historical or cultural concepts. Here, learners view a series of coil pots that have been created throughout history by a variety of civilizations. They then create and decorate a pot of their own that...
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India: Where Remarkable Differences Are Ordinary
Students research India and Indian culture. In this Indian research lesson plan, students research and report on the lives of Indian children. The report will be in the form of a mock interview between a journalist and an Indian child....
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American Genre Painting in the Nineteenth Century: Teaching Artistic Interpretation as a Tool for Critically Viewing History
Young scholars view a variety of artwork to determine the history and lifestyle of people from New Haven, Connecticut. In groups, they develop their individual hypothesis about why the paintings were created and share them with their...
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A Look at Life of the Plains Indians through artists like George Catlin
Students identify and interpret the life of the Indians on the Plains during the 1800's through artworks of George Catlin and others during this time period. Students examine life of the Pawnee Indians and interpret conditions that...
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Latin American Colonial Diary
Learners examine the class systems of New Spain. In small groups, they create a five-day diary about the family life, food, occupation, and government involvement of an assigned personality from the time of Colonial Latin America.
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Social Studies: People in the Rocks
Students discover characteristics of Native Americans as depicted in their rock art. By examining the rocks from the Human Figures Photo Gallery, they make inferences about the activities and purposes of the people drawn on them.
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The Life and Work of Jacob Lawrence
Black History Month provides a time to talk about the accomplishments of African Americans like Jacob Lawrence.
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Social Studies: Treaty Comparisons of Indigenous People
Young scholars assess the Treaty of Waitangi and compare it to various Native American treaties. After discussing the legal issues of the treaties, they role-play as groups representing a nation-state and indigenous people who negotiate...
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The Importance of Buffalo Culture to Blackfeet Indians
Learners examine importance of buffalo in culture of Blackfeet Indians, and explore types of technology used by Indians to kill large numbers of buffalo. Students research transition of Blackfeet from subsistence economy to capitalist...
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Reading Images: Maconaquah
Students examine a portrait of Maconaquah and compose a list of things they observe about her. They look at her age, clothing, jewelry, and her emotions based on her facial expression. Conclusions are drawn as they "read" the pictures...
National First Ladies' Library
Will the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up?
Learners explore the life of Pocahontas and Powhatan Indians. After studying information on a given website, students compare and contrast what they read about Pocahontas and what they previously thought of her. They explore life in a...
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Money Talks
Students move from fact finding to interpretation as they examine paper money from the time of the American Revolution. In the final exercise, they use the issue dates of the bills to construct a chronology of political changes during...