Smithsonian Institution
Borders and Community: Early 20th Century Chicago Neighborhoods and Ethnic Enclaves
Chicago is one city, four neighborhoods, and countless nationalities. The lesson plan explores the ethnic division of Chicago in the early twentieth century. Academics read primary sources, analyze maps, and tour an online exhibit to...
Smithsonian Institution
Borders within the United States: Indian Boarding Schools and Assimilation
Native American Nations ... sovereign entities or removable tribes? A thought-provoking lesson explores the relationship between Native American tribes and the United States, including forced assimilation and removal from their ancestral...
Smithsonian Institution
Borders with the World: Mexican-American War and U.S. Southern Borderlands
The Mexican-American War created social borders—not just physical ones. Scholars learn about the effects of the Mexican-American War on the people living in the borderlands using text excerpts, maps, and partnered activities. Academics...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: "Maps" by Yesenia Montilla
After examining a physical map of the world, learners conduct a close reading of Yesenia Montilla's poem "Maps." They note the interesting words and phrases, the way the poem is structured, and list questions they might have. After...
PBS
Extranjeros and Expansion
A three-part lesson gives light to the Unites States expansion from the view of Texans, New Mexicans, and Californians. Through videos and written activities, scholars work collaboratively to research specific individuals and their...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: The United States Confronts Great Britain, 1793–1796
After the Revolutionary War, the success of the United States was far from guaranteed. Foreign powers coveted the new land, and Great Britain challenged American sovereignty. Learners consider the challenges facing the new nation using...
National Park Service
Same Colors, Different Flavors
Who says getting to know your neighbors has to be difficult? The first resource in a three-part series creates an engaging project that teaches your scholars about Canadian culture. A question-and-answer format takes place via e-mail and...
Curated OER
Solving the Puzzle
Students create a map showing the United States borders at a specific period in history and produce three questions to be answered by examining the map. They also write a productive paragraph explaining who, what, when, where, how/why a...
Curated OER
Title: Rivers as Borders
Students are introduced to the concept of borders. They read maps and identify rivers that separate different countries and states. They examine how or why a landform such as a river border might be the reason for different cultures.
Curated OER
Border History
High schoolers research primary sources to construct an outline of a border city's history.
Curated OER
Language: Border, Bridge or Barrier?
Students examine how they view language differences along the border between the US and Mexico.
Curated OER
No Magic Borders: Haleakala Style
Students discuss borders and boundaries. They discuss pollution and the fact that boundaries cannot stop pollution and that pollution affects even protected wildlife and plants. They participate in an activity in which they must place...
Curated OER
This Land is Your Land
Students consider the concept of borders and their development by looking at maps and documents. They create a presentation highlighting a current border dispute and propose solutions.
Curated OER
The Border Goes to Hollywood
Students view a movie or tv show, or listen to music to analyze the ways border life is depicted in arts and entertainment.
Curated OER
Drawing The Line
Young scholars explore how arbitrary borders affect communities by participating in two hands-on activities and by reading about and discussing a community divided by national borders. They investigate the borders of their own...
Curated OER
No magic borders
Middle schoolers discuss what they have heard about pollution. They explore the purposes and limitations of political boundaries and borders and identify some of the causes and effects of pollution.
Curated OER
Borders, Bindings, & Edges: The Art of Finishing Your Quilt
Students explore a variety of methods used to finish quilts. They explore selection, planning, and the design process, color, proportion and scale when finishing a quilt. Students create corner triangle borders, narrow borders, pieced...
Curated OER
Order Out of Borders
Students examine the differences between natural and man-made borders by investigating the Texas quarter. They create clay models of the state of Texas.