Annenberg Foundation
Pre-Columbian America
What was life like in America before Christopher Columbus discovered the New World? Scholars investigate life in the Americas through the eyes of Native Americans in the first lesson of a 22-part series covering America's history. Using...
Education World
A Walk Through The 20th Century
Students review the people, places, and events of a particular decade of the 20th Century. They write a report about that decade and create a booth of memorabilia, music, dress, pictures and other artifacts representing the time period.
Curated OER
This Old Ship
Junior archaeologists will be able to describe shipwreck artifacts and the information they reveal. They work in small groups to reasearch wreckage features of different period ships, making this not only a science lesson, but a social...
Henry Ford Museum
Transportation Systems
Learners analyze the evolution of cultural attitudes through the lens of transportation, examining several artifacts, documents, and photographs. Topics covered include how American attitudes have influenced society's evolution into a...
Curated OER
Ancient Artifacts
Students research the earliest Americans. In this ancient civilizations lesson, students investigate the Mayas, Aztecs, and Incas. Students examine artifacts used in the cultures and then determine what the artifacts were used for and...
Curated OER
Native American Culture: The Light in the Forest
Seventh graders read the novel, The Light in the Forest. They work in groups to research and create artifacts for a Native American Living Museum. They complete a Powerpoint presentation of their virtual museum to classmates.
Curated OER
Southeastern Native Americans' Lifestyles
Young scholars complete activities to learn about Southeastern Native Americans. For this lifestyles lesson, students watch a PowerPoint about Southeastern Native Americans, view artifacts from the region and discuss the objects with a...
Channel Islands Film
Sa Hi Pa Ca (Once Upon a Time): Lesson Plan 2
What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a history of the...
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 6
Young scholars survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 7
Students survey free jazz and fusion. They explore how free jazz and fusion reflected American culture and society in the 1960s and 1970s.
Curated OER
Issues in Public Education During the Kentucky Civil Rights Era
Young scholars conduct oral history interviews and research historical and contemporary media articles about multiculturalism and diversity.
Curated OER
Ragtime: 1880-1920
Build an understanding of the social, economic, and cultural changes that were incited by the American Industrial Revolution. Learners will research the historical context of the Ragtime Era, and compose an oral presentation in the voice...
Curated OER
Rock Speaks
Students create primitive forms and caricatures to represent meaningful figures and/or events in their own lives, present their own works to the class, and attempt to interpret the relevant meaning from other students' work.
Curated OER
Artifacts: What Am I?
Students practice simple Japanese expressions. They explore the information available from artifacts. Groups of students attempt to figure out other groups culture by examining a series of artifacts in a paper bag.
Curated OER
Visual Arts, Literary Arts, and Performing Arts: Their Connection and Place in America's Minority Culture
Students explore the rich, varied, and full artistic culture of each of these three minority groups, Native Americans, Chicanos, and African Americans. They explore art through dance, music, literature, and many other different mediums....
Curated OER
Using HyperStudio
Second through eighth graders use the software "HyperStudio" to create a presentation of their choice on Native American lifestyles. One thing I like a lot about this lesson, is that the students are the ones who get to choose and...
Curated OER
Mapping the Past
Students study historical maps to view how the world evolved from medieval times through the Renaissance. They work in groups to examine the maps and present a report on one of the listed maps.
Curated OER
American Indians, European Settlers, and Colonial Arkansas
Students identify the interdependence among various ethnic groups in early Arkansas history. They illustrate timelines and visit historic sites. They make maps of the site and give class presentations.
Curated OER
Shadows of North Carolina's Past
Students construct a timeline of four major culture periods in Native American history from studying archaeological evidence cards.
Curated OER
Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 6
Fifth graders explore cool jazz and how it reflected American culture in the 1940's and 1950's.
Ocean Explorer
Looking for Clues
Upper graders become "shipwreck detectives" by studying the debris field from a shipwreck in the Aegean Sea which took place in the 700s. A website is accessed that gives specific information about the debris field, and pairs of...
Curated OER
Kwanzaa: An African-American Heritage Celebration
Students explain some of the symbols of Kwanzaa. They demonstrate their understanding of Kwanzaa by making a book about what they have learned.
Smithsonian Institution
Ceramica de los Ancestros
Scholars join a field expedition team to unearth a plethora of treasures from Central America. Artifacts listed in alphabetical order come with an informational blurb and a picture designed for participants to color. Activity pages...
Channel Islands Film
Cache: Lesson Plan 1 - Grades 9-12
Archaeologists have discovered a cache of Native American relics. They want to preserve these relics by removing them from the rapidly eroding site to a lab where they can be studied. Native American traditions demand that the items be...