Curated OER
Dinosaurs Were Real!
Learners investigate the history of dinosaurs, as real animals. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students examine basic concepts that help them understand the history of all life. Included in this article is information on the world of the...
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Supermarkets, Sustenance and Sustainability
Students investigate jungles and the people who depend upon them. In this sustainability lesson, students research wild life conservation and discover the importance of a jungle to Amazonian people. Students create a group presentation...
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Enduring Influence: Rome, Greece, and Byzantium
Learners explore ancient cultures. In this ancient history instructional activity, students view programs that depict the ancient Roman, Greek, and Byzantine cultures. Learners consider how archaeologists, geologists, and scientists have...
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Make Your Own Petroglyph!
Students create their own petroglyph. In this petroglyph lesson, students study and compare various petroglyphs. They create their own petroglyph to symbolize the seasons.
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Native American Living Museum
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on Native Americans. They analyze Native American cultures, create a Native American artifact for a Living Museum, and develop a tour of the museum using a digital camera and a Powerpoint...
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Diggin' The Past
Students explore the culture of Ancient Egypt. In this ancient civilizations instructional activity, students are divided into groups to research how aspects of culture were influenced by the Nile River. Students create a slide show that...
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It's in the Garbage
Students analyze how studying garbage relates to methods of archaeology. They examine garbage to determine things about their culture and relate that to prehistoric peoples.
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Visit a Mesopotamian House
Students examine the various types of architecture used in Mesopotamia. In groups, they identify how climate, resources and cultures affect where and how people live. Using a worksheet, they compare and contrast their house to the one...
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People of the Past
Young scholars investigate the four groups of people that existed in the U.S. before the European settlers arrived. They predict how the people arrived in the U.S., then investigate their predictions to find out whether or not they are...
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Does This Belong to You?
Fourth graders examine legislation that has been passed to protect the rights and religion of Native Americans. In groups, they discuss their feelings on others taking artifacts from Native American sites and what they do if they find...
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Two American Entreprenuers: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penny
Students identify the attributes that helped Walker and Penney to succeed as entrepreneurs. They compare and contrast Walker and Penney for similarities and differences in backgrounds and business methods.
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Ceramics: A Vessel into History
Students create a personal clay vessel that has a specific use or meaning in their contemporary culture, which could be discerned through study by future archeologists and art historians.
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Kincaid Creatures
Students brainstorm a list of nocturnal and diurnal wild animals they see in their community and discuss how the animals would be different if they were living during the Ice Age. Using a handout, they discover how archeologists record...
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Discover Woodland Culture: Wisconsin Basic Pottery Techniques
Students take a field trip to a local woodland to find pieces of clay. Once they are back in the classroom, they dry the clay throughly and turn it in to clay slip. They watch a PowerPoint presentation on basic art terms and create...
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An Ancient Egyptian Journal Entry
Students, after watching W?hat Does This Show, describe everyday life in ancient Egypt by writing an entry in the journal of an ancient Egyptian man or woman.
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Pottery, Porcelain, And Posterity
Middle schoolers research and discuss the various ceramic techniques foudn throughout China's history using primary source documents and internet resources. This activity emphasizes small learning groups.
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Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot
Young scholars discuss the looting and vandalism of various archeological sites. In pairs, they read and complete a worksheet and review their answers as a class. In groups, they role play a artifact preservation skit and perform it to...
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Shigaraki Pottery
Students write position papers from the point of view of a Shigaraki art collector in this lesson on pottery techniques found in Japan between the Kamakura and Muromachi periods.
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Teaching About Trade in the Ancient Mediterranean
Sixth graders examine the trade routes in the Mediterranean of the Ancient world. In groups, they view slides of artifacts while answering questions on a worksheet. After watching a video, they discuss how each object was found and...
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Jamestown Changes
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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Artifact Classification
For this artifact classification worksheet, students are given a list of key terms and two activity sheets about classifying artifacts of the Pee Dee culture. Students analyze artifacts and group them to answer questions on the...
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The Museum as a Time Capsule: Mongolian Example
Students make defensible inferences based on observation of perceived evidence. They use observation and inference to recognize the validity of alternative approaches or solutions.
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Chinese Ritual: The Death Ceremony
Students discuss the importance of the Death Ceremony in Chinese culture using Du Fu's poem "Fireflies" as a basis of information and create original poetry in the style of Poet Du Fu.
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A Museum as Time Capsule
Students focus on museum artwork and artifacts as resources to study history and geography.