Curated OER
The Navajo Homeland
Students identify the historical and traditional location of the Navajo Homeland. They study the four original clans system and the development of other adopted clans, e.g. Nakai Dine (Mexican), Notahi Dine(Ute), Ozii Dine (Hopi); and,...
Curated OER
Artistic Symbols
Students compare and contrast symbols used in African and Plains Indian art. In this visual arts instructional activity, students compare symbols of 2 cultural groups found in their art. Students write a description of what items might...
Curated OER
One Grain of Rice
Pupils complete a Know / Want to Know / Learned chart about India. They locate India on a map and read facts about India. They access the Internet and view a slide show about India. They read "One Grain of Rice" in the Scott Foresman...
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...
Curated OER
Indian Mathematical Achievements
Pupils explore how Indian culture and religion prompted Indian advancements in math and science. In this Indian culture lesson, students read "India's Work in Math" and conduct research regarding Indian mathematicians.
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: What Is Happiness?
Jack London's heart for adventure has come to define the spirit of America and its frontier. Selected passages from the foreword The Cruise of the Snark take eighth graders through London's construction and voyage of his ship before...
Annenberg Foundation
America's History in the Making: Classroom Applications One
Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...
K12 Reader
From Nomad to Farmer
The gradual evolution of the earliest settlers in North America from nomads to farmers is the subject of a reading comprehension learning exercise that asks kids to answer a series of questions using information provided in the reading...
University of California
The Cold War (America)
The Cold War—with its roots in World War II—impacts the world today. Using an extensive curriculum, scholars consider its impact through primary sources, including speeches and propaganda, as well as other skills-enhancing activities. An...
Curated OER
Exploring a New World
Fifth graders create a PowerPoint presentation about Christopher Columbus. The integration of technology helps them to be engaged in the subject matter. The basis for the information in the presentation is for students to answer some...
Curated OER
Environment: River of Life
Students assess the impact of human activity on the environment. After reading the book, "A River Ran Wild," they role-play and discuss how people changed the river. Students write stories about living along a river from the point of...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Treaty Comparisons of Indigenous People
Students 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 a...
Curated OER
Labor Unions and Strikes
Teens explore economics by listening to a labor history lecture and an excerpt from Looking Backward, by Edward Bellamy. A detailed outline is provided for the lecture, along with follow up and assessment questions. In groups, they...
Curated OER
Pablita Velarde: A Biography
Students listen to Pablita Velarde: Painting Her People, a story by Marcella J. Rich. They discuss the book and why they think the author wrote it. They make a concept map of their ideas using Kidspiration software.
Center for Civic Education
What Basic Ideas About Government Are Included in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Young historians explore the meaning of the Preamble to the US Constitution in this upper-elementary social studies activity. Working with partners or in small groups, children discuss the purpose of government before reading and...
Curated OER
Navajo Code Talkers of WWII
Eighth graders assess different ways that significant individuals and events influenced economic, social and political systems in the United States after 1880. They experience a Navajo code talker's dictionary to create and decode messages.
Curated OER
Quilt Squares
Learners research the history of the quilt in American History and view a PowerPoint Presentation. They create a quilt square with colored paper using polygons, transformations, rotations, and reflections on the computer and on a...
Curated OER
Written Clues About the Past
Third graders investigate written clues from the past. In this clues from the past lessons, 3rd graders read and entry called, "Rick's Backyard Site." They complete the associated resource sheets. They read about a second site and use a...
Curated OER
Fur Trade Economics
Learners demonstrate understanding of what the fur trade was and how it was operated, including the bartering process, by participating in a mock trade activity and assessing the value of items based on their needs and wants.
Curated OER
At the Crossroads
Third graders explore where South Africa is and then research details about the country to fully assess the background to the book, "At the Crossroads." They receive a map of Africa and color in the country of South Africa and list five...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
Students research, list, define and discuss all the aspects to the United States Bill of Rights. They assess their foundations by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson and reflect on all the conditions happening at the time period of...
Curated OER
Exploring Lines of Symmetry
Students investigate the concept of symmetry. They use cut out shapes that are folded in order to practice identifying the lines of symmetry. The lesson is observed by the teacher working with students for the purpose of scaffolding and...
Curated OER
The First Americans Today
Fourth graders identify at least one similarity and at least one difference in the following categories: celebrations, daily activities, values and beliefs, other.