Curated OER
Talking Rocks
Third graders consider the differences between pictographs and petroglyphs. They create symbols from a story about their worlds. They make pottery art.
Curated OER
Navajo Weaving
Middle schoolers explore the Navajo culture. In this Navajo Indians lesson plan, students gain information about their weaving and dancing. Middle schoolers note the patterns in the weaving. Students create a dance that corresponds with...
Curated OER
Jamestown Celebrates 400th Anniversary
Learners view a world map and identify the locations of England and Virginia and discuss what kinds of things they would take with them on this kind of trip. They read the words in the news box on the student page and fill in the blanks...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Island of the Blue Dolphins
Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question to be...
Curated OER
Coming to America
Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...
Curated OER
The Oregon Trail
Fourth graders discover the significance of the Oregon Trail in Idaho history. In addition, 4th graders conceptualize the Oregon Trail in relation to their own lives. They engage in a wide variety of curricular activities, culminating in...
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...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Women's Suffrage: 140 Years of Struggle
Students create PowerPoint presentations about women's suffrage. In this women's rights instructional activity, students use primary documents to study the women's suffrage movement. In pairs, students create a PowerPoint presentation...
San Francisco Symphony
Adding Music to Oklahoma History
To better understand Oklahoma state history, learners will use a website to find a song that supports or represents aspects of Oklahoma's history. They'll write three sentences defending their choice, and then they will create...
Curated OER
Louisiana's Indian Tribes At the Time of the Louisiana Purchase
Students research primary readings concerning first hand accounts of the Indian tribes living in and around Louisiana's River systems. They complete a brief character sketch of each tribe characterized in the digital readings. These...
Curated OER
Salt of the Earth: A Caddo Industry in Arkansas
Middle schoolers explore the history of the Caddo Salt Industry found in Arkansas. Along with learning about how salt deposits formed in Arkansas, learners study the process of salt production and how valuable salt is as a natural...
Curated OER
Benjamin Franklin: Goods and Services in Colonial America
Fifth graders examine the impact of Benjamin Franklin's ideas on the goods and services available in Colonial America as well as analyze the importance of Franklin to modern society. While listening to "How Ben Franklin Stole the...
Curated OER
36 Public Policy Questions to Energize Your Government/History Classroom Debates
Need topics that are sure to engage your debaters? This list of public policy questions includes such topics as school mascots, regulation of major league baseball, physician-assisted suicide, and violence in video games. A great...
Curated OER
Mapping the Prairie
Fifth graders study maps of the Chicago area looking at defining characteristics and place names. They investigate settlement patterns by looking at the maps.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Indians of the Pacific Northwest
Students organize acquired information and make inferences as to the kind of habitat and its probable location. They identify and replicate art forms characteristic of the Pacific Northwest coast involving the use of ovoids and "u forms".
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
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
Miwok Storytelling Legend Movie
Students research the art of storytelling. The stories were used by societies to tell about significant events in the lives of individuals. There are important aspects of storytelling composition and performance that make the delivery...
Curated OER
Who Says Plants Can't Move?
Students discover how plants spread their seeds using other plants and animals. In this plant lesson, students role play different plants and how their seeds travel. Students then have a class discussion to ensure their understanding.
Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Curated OER
Our First Families
Students complete a variety of activities in which the Washington Post Newspaper is used to reinforce concepts pertaining to the history of the Washington, D.C. area.
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark's Journey West: A Timeline Activity
Students complete a scavenger hunt which highlights events on the journey by Lewis and Clark. Using the internet and journals, they identify events on the journey and places them on a timeline. They complete a worksheet as well to end...