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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

First European Settlers:Oh, California

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Learners trace the paths of the early explorers who sent three expeditions to settle California. They analyze possible reasons why the land expeditions took longer than ocean routes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native Americans

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students participate in a skit. In this Native American history instructional activity, students read a book about Native Americans and answer comprehension questions. Students then read a story about the Wampanoag people and work in...
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Lesson Plan
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Education World

Thinking About Thanksgiving: Lessons Across the Curriculum

For Teachers K - 8th
Bring two integrated curriculum resources about Thanksgiving to an elementary social studies unit. The first activity focuses on Squanto's contributions to the early Pilgrims' survival with a gardening activity in which learners add fish...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown Changes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine how the Jamestown settlement changed the first few years after it was founded. They take a virtual field trip of Jamestown, read primary source documents, discuss census information, and write a summary of changes in...
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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...
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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
Stanford University

Edward Curtis Photographs

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A picture is worth a thousand words. The photos of Edward Curtis capture the life and culture of Native American Tribes during the early part of the twentieth century. A presentation first gives background information on Edward Curtis...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Camping Near the Estuary

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the first meeting between the first Spanish settlers and the native groups of the Tijuana estuary. Using a map, they trace various expeditions throughout Goat Canyon and the Spanish migration. After reading text,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Why Do You Live Where You Do?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders identify reasons why settlers bought land from the railroad and not a Homestead grant. Using that information, they compare and contrast the types of land given in each situation. They discuss the reasons why given...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

English-Indian Encounters in Early 17th Century Virginia

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers participate in a three part lesson in which they examine the initial encounters between the English and the Indians, the different ways in which the colonist and Indians interacted and why English settlers and Native...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

National Road to Indiana

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore the National Road to Indiana. For this U.S. highway history and primary source research lesson, students read an original journal written by Jane Voorhees Lewis in 1806 describing her trip west on the first federally...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Treaties

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore Canadian history by participating in a role-playing activity. For this First Nation treaties lesson, 3rd graders identify the difficulties the Aboriginals faced when dealing with early European settlers. Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Lansing Old Stars Trading Card Collection

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students study about the first people that came to the Lansing area. After reading a series of stories students have gained an examineing of how people in the 1800s and 1900s dressed. They design trading cards to portray their settler...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magnolia

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explore the first English colonies in America. They watch a video on the era of colonization. Students answer questions about the colonies. They visit a specified website to gather information on American settlers and the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Treaties

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore Canadian history by investigating the First Nations. In this Aboriginal treaty lesson, 2nd graders identify the specific agreements made between European settlers and Aboriginals which caused the formation of...
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Lesson Plan
Briscoe Center for American History

Who Was Mary Maverick?

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
To begin a study of how to use primary source documents, class members read a brief biography of Mary Maverick, one of the first white women settlers in Texas, and answer comprehension questions based on the reading. The first is a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Overland Trails To The West

For Teachers 5th
Consider the political, physical, and geographical factors that led to and marked the Westward Expansion. Learners will track the various routes developed during the 1800's. They create a first person journal describing what they see,...
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Lesson Plan
Teacher Vision

The Wampanoag Indians: A Thanksgiving Lesson

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Spark some lively conversation about American holiday traditions and debunk accepted notions about the first Thanksgiving at the same time. After reviewing the mainstream version of the Thanksgiving story with your class, offer some...
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Lesson Plan
BBC

Walk Through History

For Teachers 4th
First the Vikings raided Great Britain, and then they set up camp and moved in. Learners explore Viking times and discuss reasons why groups choose to settle. They construct a class timeline, engage in several online activities, and then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Settler's Shopping List

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students browse through catalogs from the 1890's and 1900's and make a list of items needed for a year in the wilderness.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Third Grade Social Studies- Quiz

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this social studies worksheet, students complete a 25 question multiple choice quiz about early American colonial life and the Cherokee and other Native American tribes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore the Manifest Destiny. They interpret quotations, study point of view in writing, research English words that derived from Mexico, and analyze reasons why settlers moved west. After writing journal entries in first-person...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is the (No) Establishment Clause?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research and discuss the Establishment Clause.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pumpkins By the Pound

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
Use pumpkins of various sizes to experiment with weight and perimeter. First the class lifts the pumpkins one by one, estimating each pumpkin's weight. They arrange the pumpkins from lightest to heaviest, and then string weigh each one...