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PPT
Curated OER

The 13 Originals: Exploring the Who, When, Where, and Why Behind the 13 Original Colonies of Early America

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Discover the stories behind each of the thirteen stripes on the American flag with this straightforward presentation. Complete with learning objectives, discussion questions, and solid information about each of the original thirteen...
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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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Worksheet
Curated OER

African Americans in South Carolina: Gullah

For Students 8th - 12th
In this African Americans worksheet, students research websites about them in South Carolina and answer short answer questions. Students complete 13 questions.
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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

Food: Early American Food Cycles Web Quest

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students complete a Web Quest on ways that Native Americans hunted for, harvested, stored, and prepared food and what types of natural foods were eaten.  In this early American food cycles lesson, students discover many of the ways early...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...
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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
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
Curated OER

The Trading Post with the Most: Colonial Dorchester's Settlement and Economy

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the Dorchester settlement, In this American colonial history lesson, 8th graders examine primary resources and maps from the Dorchester trading post in order to learn about its contributions to the Revolutionary War.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

That's My Colony Project

For Students 4th - 6th
In this American colonies activity instructional activity, students choose one of the 13 original colonies to research in order to respond to 10 short answer questions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Aloha Lesson Plan: Perpetuating Indigenous Cultural Traditions in Diaspora

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the culture and decline of the culture of native Hawaiian people as the islands were colonized. They study issues of cultural identity for Native Hawaiians.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Walking the Trail of Tears

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students, through the use of examining video clips and Websites, become familiar with the reasons that the settlers wanted the land, broke treaties, and initiated the Indian Removal Act leading to the Trail of Tears.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pilgrims: The First Americans

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders become familar with the pilgrims and first Thanksgiving through essays about important people of the time.  In this Thanksgiving lesson plan, 5th graders choose an important figure from the time of the Pilgrims and write a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners explore daily life and its influences in the late 1700s for two families in different colonies- Delaware and Massachusetts by becoming historical detectives. After gathering information from artifacts to make inferences about...
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Worksheet
Read Works

Plymouth Colony

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
Read about the tumultuous beginning to the United States with an informational text passage about Colonial America. As young researchers peruse an article about the arrival of the Mayflower, the settlers' relationship to the neighboring...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Settlement of New England

For Teachers 8th - 11th
A thorough exploration of the Puritan Migration and settlement of Plymouth, this presentation is sure to engage your young historians with its clear maps and historical documents. The presentation differentiates the philosophies of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Name That Place: Cultural Place Names in the United States

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the origin of the people that settled in the United States.  In this United States History lesson, students work in small groups to complete several activities that explore early settlement, such as a worksheet, a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Founding of Los Angeles, California

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine the social and cultural impact of settler groups in California and the origins of the founding of Los Angeles, California. They read and discuss an informational handout, and discuss what it is and was like to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revolutionary Money

For Teachers 4th - 12th
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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners explore the economic, political, racial, and religious roots of Manifest Destiny. They read articles and analyze how the concept influenced the nation's westward expansion. Students discover the motivations and expectations of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Powhatan Indians' English Boy

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the main...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Corn in Ancient America

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners explore the importance of corn to the survival of early civilizations of the Americas. Through research and discussion activities, they read and describe how corn was used as food and currency in early civilizations. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Life in Jamestown Settlement

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine life in early colonial settlements. Students investigate what settlers ate and create a menu for a fictitious restaurant in a settlement.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An International Menu

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students research etymologies using dictionaries. They explore the diverse origins of the common foods they eat after making a list of their favorite foods.