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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native American and Colonial Literature Debate

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare the tone, purpose, point of view, etc. of traditional Native American poems and creation myths to traditional Colonial American literature. they debate which is the right way of thinking/living.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ann Arbor Growth & Immigration

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders describe some of the factors that brought early settlers to Ann Arbor. They read Narrative-A Trip from Utica, New York, to Ingham County, Michigan in 1838. As an added challenge, 3rd graders can use maps to track Silas...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Railroads and Settlement of the Great Plains

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Transforming the West: Did the Reality Match the Expectations for Kansas Homesteaders?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
They expected good soil and hearty crops ... but they found buffalo chips and grasshopper plagues. Using an advertisement encouraging famers to go west, budding historians examine primary sources including letters, photographs, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Treaties: Students Explore the Lives of Yakama People Before and After Treaties

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students analyze treaties made between the US government and Native American tribes. In this government lesson, students evaluate bias emotionally connect with what was gained and lost during the late 1700's. This is a 3 part lesson...
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Unit Plan
Oklahoma City Public Schools Native American Student Services

A Story of Survival: The Wampanoag and the English

For Students Pre-K - 4th Standards
Redesign your holiday celebrations with the aid of a lesson plan booklet packed with facts, images, maps, activities, and readings about the three-day feast that marked the English settlers' first successful harvest.
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Worksheet
Reading Through History

Early History and Exploration Unit

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
We all know about Christopher Columbus, but who else explored the Americas, and specifically, the future United States of America? Learners find out these answers and more in a resource that includes four different reading sections,...
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Worksheet
ReadWriteThink

Compare and Contrast

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Read about the ways that different cultures set up homes with a set of reading activities. Learners read short paragraphs that cover one or more different ideas, and answer four questions about what they have read, including whether or...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

English Perspectives

For Teachers 4th - 8th
To further their understanding of the basis of the conflicts between the Pocumtucks and the English settlers, class members research the religious beliefs and attitudes of the Puritan farmers that settled in Deerfield, Ma.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Harvest Ceremony: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth

For Teachers K - 12th
There is a grain of truth in myths. Young historians investigate the truths surrounding the popular beliefs about the First Thanksgiving in Plymouth, Massachusetts. After reading the information in a study guide, they use what they...
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Lesson Plan
American Documentary

American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawai'i

For Teachers 9th - 12th
In this lesson, learners will examine Hawaii's issues of colonization, authority, authenticity and cultural identity, and understand the distinction between native and non-native Hawaiians. This lesson includes links to videos, links to...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Myth of the West: Kit Carson to the Rescue

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOMESTEADERS

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students analyze the factors that inhibited and fostered African American attempts to improve their lives during Reconstruction, the role of class, race, gender, and religion in western communities, and the challenges diverse people...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Caught Between Worlds: Frontier Life as Reflected in Captivity Narratives

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze captivity narratives written between the 1600's and 1800's. In this narrative lesson, students think critically about the interaction between Native peoples and the settlers to understand the cultural beliefs held by...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Intermediate Level Lesson Plan THEMATIC ESSAY

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers identify three reasons why conflict arose in the Western United States during the late 1800s. Using specific examples, discuss how the United States government attempted to resolve these conflicts. Evaluate whether these...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where the Buffalo Roam

For Teachers 2nd
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

NATIVE AMERICANS

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students study the importance of nature to Native Americans and discover the growth stages of Northern beans and mustard seeds.
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Lesson Plan
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Memorial Hall Museum

Dedham Deed

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Class members examine primary source documents that expose the contrasting views of land ownership between the Pocumtuck and English settlers.
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

King Philip's War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
King Philip's War was the crescendo of a violent period between the Pequot and English colonists. Using documents from English settlers, including a contemporary report on the conflict, learners explore the little-known period. They then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

North Carolina Place Names

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine a map of North Carolina to discover the heritage left behind in the names of various places. They compare/contrast those derived from Native American culture to those derived from European settlers.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose Land Is It Anyway?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders comprehend the interaction and conflict beween Native Americans and white settlers in the years following the Civil War. They listen to T"his Land is Your Land." Students are asked what their interpretation of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How - To - Posters

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students investigate the skills needed to survive for the early colonial settlers and Native Americans. They conduct research, develop a list of skills, and create a how-to poster demonstrating a survival skill.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chief Sealthe's Speech

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explain the conflict over land between Native Americans and the United States government. They evaluate Native American values and the results of the U.S. expansion into Native American lands.
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Lesson Plan
Berkshire Museum

The Three Life-Giving Sisters: Plant Cultivation and Mohican Innovation

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Children gain first-hand experience with Native American agriculture while investigating the life cycle of plants with this engaging experiment. Focusing on what the natives called the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash - young...