Curated OER
The Great Exchange
Sixth graders examine the connection that the present has to the past and how different cultures impact each other with lasting results. They discuss European exploration in North America and West Africa by describing cultural...
Curated OER
Disney's Pocahontas: Fact or Fiction?
Did you know that Pocahontas was 12 when Jamestown was established? Did you know that she later married John Rolfe? Did you know that she lived in London for two years? Did you know that she died of small pox? Class members study the...
Curated OER
Western Expansion and Native Americans
Fifth graders research the Oregon, Old Spanish, California, and Mormon trails, and the impact western expansion had on the Native Americans living on those lands.
Curated OER
A Differentiated Way through Think Dots
Students examine reasons that led people to explore, identify "West" as defined following Revolutionary War, explain importance of finding natural resources, develop time line of dates and events leading up to Lewis and Clark Expedition,...
Curated OER
Anasazi Basket Weaving
The Anasazi Indians of Mesa Verde are the focus of this art and social studies lesson. Working in pairs or groups of three, young scholars utilize computers and go online to search for websites about the Anasazi. Students will choose two...
Curated OER
Native American Images in the Media
Pupils examine various images of Native Americans in the media. In groups, they create a list of present Native American stereotypes and what the media did to continue the stereotype. To end the lesson, they write in their journals...
Curated OER
How the West was Won? Conflict and Change on the Western Frontier
Seventh graders assess the conflict and change that occurred in the westward expansion following the Civil War. They list specific reasons why different groups moved west and the interaction between the "white" European civilization and...
Curated OER
Lesson 3
Students demonstrate knowledge of geography and early inhabitants of Virginia by locating and identifying water features important to early history. They also locate three American Indian language groups. Both of these activities require...
National First Ladies' Library
Will the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up?
Learners explore the life of Pocahontas and Powhatan Indians. After studying information on a given website, students compare and contrast what they read about Pocahontas and what they previously thought of her. They explore life in a...
Curated OER
Reasons for English Colonization
Learners explain the reason for English colonization. They review the reasons for the colonization and settlement in Virginia and trace the route from England to Virginia through the Chesapeake Bay to Jamestown on a map.
Library of Virginia
Antebellum Freedom
From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: The Math of Removal
Students consider the plight of those who walked the Trial of Tears. In this Indian Removal lesson, students compare statistics regarding Indian survival rates.
Curated OER
Women in India: Tradition vs. Modernity
Students explore cultural aspects such as gender roles and their impact on Indian culture and compare and contrast issues associated with those roles in America through literature.
Curated OER
Farming on the Virginia Frontier
In this social studies worksheet, students discover how early frontier settlers in Virginia planted and raised their crops. Students read an information paragraph and answer 5 questions.
Curated OER
The First & Fourteenth Amendments
Learners analyze the historical implications of the First Amendment of 1791 and the Fourteenth Amendment of 1868, upon American Indians and African Americans. They consider the applicability of the 14th Amendment to African Americans in...
Curated OER
Athabaskan Migration & Bering Strait
Students study Athabaskan migration patterns and the Bering Strait Land Bridge theory. They investigate the importance of the expansion of trade and compare the differences between American Indian oral tradition accounts of origin and...
Curated OER
Tribal Termination & Urbanization
Students list the main events in historical sequence of tribal termination and urbanization. They identify a present-day American Indian experience or phenomenon as a result of termination and urbanization and refer to 'Navajo...
Curated OER
Whose Land Is It Anyway?
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...
Curated OER
Jamestown Celebrates 400th Anniversary
Students view a world map and identify the locations of England and Virginia and discuss what kinds of things they would take with them on this kind of trip. They read the words in the news box on the student page and fill in the blanks...
Smithsonian Institution
Picturing George: A Pictorial Survey of the Life of George Washington
Students create pictorial biographies of George Washington. Working in groups, they research various portions of Washington's life, highlighting significant events. After presenting their projects to the class, they are displayed for...
Curated OER
Anasazi Basket Weaving: 0-500 A.D.
Sixth graders study Period 1- Basket Maker 0-500 A.D. of Anasazi Culture. They identify the sequence of history in Anasazi Culture and Indians of the Mesa Verde. They discover American Indian contributions to the world and develop...
Curated OER
Anasazi Pueblo Period: 700-1050 A.D.
Sixth graders study Period 3-Developmental Pueblo 700-1050 A.D., of Anasazi culture. They identify the sequence of history in Colorado and recognize American Indian Contributions to the world. They study Indians of the Mesa Verde and...
Curated OER
Expansion and Reform: Applying the Declaration of Independence
Students conduct inquiries and research-acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and communicating facts, themes, and general principles operating in American history. They use the Declaration of Independence to...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Early English Settlements History Detectives
Young historians play the role of history detectives as they investigate some primary source texts and images related to the early colonization of America, The Jamestown Settlement, and the Mayflower Compact.