Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Branding of America (And Your State)

For Teachers K - Higher Ed
Students investigate about the origins of some major U.S. brands. They explore local products that stimulate the economy. Students create a map showing where those products originate. Students discover the products that their local area...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Louisiana Purchase

For Teachers 5th - 11th
Students explore U.S. territorial expansion. For this Louisiana Purchase lesson, students investigate how the purchase was funded and determine how diplomatic actions were part of the land transfer. Students analyze several primary...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Eerie Canal

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners discover bodies of water in the United States by investigating the Eerie Canal.  In this U.S. Geography lesson, students discuss Lake Eerie and the canal that was built in order to transport goods.  Learners research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trading Traditions: Based on the American Samoa Quarter Reverse

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars investigate U.S. Currency by researching American Samoa.  In this monetary unit lesson, students define the reverse and obverse of a coin while completing a currency related worksheet.  Young scholars identify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Popcorn Geography

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students use kernels to create a "Top Corn-Producing States" map or graph. They read and round off numbers. Students identify on a U.S. outline map the location of corn-growing states. They create a visual (map or graph) illustration...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using History to Teach Tolerance: A Ripple of Hope

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students investigate the prejudice and racism that has existed in the U.S. for centuries by attending a field trip.  In this equality lesson, students visit the Tolerance Museum and discuss the history of the U.S.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bison on the Plains

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration instructional activity, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

About the U.S.A.

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students research the United States and discover its different climate zones, geographical features, animal life, and various cultures. Students complete a research chart using books, encyclopedias and the internet and present their...
Unit Plan
New York City Department of Education

Geography and Early Peoples of the Western Hemisphere

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Young historians discover the early people of the western hemisphere. The unit explores how the land changed, how it was used and homes of early Americans such as Incas, Mayans, Inuits, Aztecs, and Pueblos. Individuals also examine these...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where We Live

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students forecast future population growth of the U.S. Virgin Islands. In this U.S. Census lesson plan, students explain the factors that influence population density on the U.S. Virgin Islands, including geography and economic activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bank Loans Money to Start Businesses

For Teachers 4th - 6th
After locating Latin American countries on a world map, children read about how microbanks are loaning money to help start small businesses. Involving both current events and economics, the teacher introduces the article with a map...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Made in the USA

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Young scholars map products made in the United States. They discuss regional interdependence and identify goods the U.S. produces and trades. They describe how economic links make Americans more alike, and locate major manufacturing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Civil Rights Movement

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students compare and contrast African-American, Asian-American, Chicano and Native-American movements with the civil rights movement and are exposed to the sociopolitical and economic factors involved in the rise of social movements.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

On the Road Again": Moving People, Products, and Ideas

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this lesson students learn how to identify modes of transportation and communication for moving people, products, and ideas from place to place. Students also study the advantages and disadvantages of different modes of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Home Sweet Home-Far From Home

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students observe slides of U.S. coastal geography. They study topography and vegetation maps for one region. They gather geographic facts on a guided worksheet. Students pretend to be colonists. They decide what kind of economic system...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Establishing Borders: The Expansion of the United States 1846-48

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students investigate how the United States acquired land after the Revolutionary War ended. In this establishing borders lesson, students use maps to identify territories acquired by the US and the states that later developed. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Does It Come from?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students read articles about various agricultural products and create a map using the statistics in the article.  In this agricultural statistics lesson, students look at the geography of the country and which products come from the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

More Than One Grain of Rice

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners explore mathematics, geography and agriculture by studying world rice production. In this production of rice instructional activity, students read One Grain of Rice and use a worksheet grid to calculate how much rice was...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Relationships and Cultural Exchanges Between Native Americans and the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students are introduced to the geography of the Columbia River basin and its history. Using the internet, they research the relationships between the Native Americans and the Hudson Bay Company. They also discuss the effects on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tropical Travel choices

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students recognize the difference between needs and wants. In this tropical travel lesson, students observe a coin from the Northern Mariana Islands and plan a trip.  Students read text about the island and complete a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In the Wake of Columbus

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students explore how the population decreased in native cultures.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Overland Trails To The West

For Teachers 5th
After observing a map of trails that settlers took in the 1800s, your class will write a journal with the perspective of a settler. In their journals, they must describe the trail they traveled, geographical features they saw, states and...
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,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where Does It Come From?

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners explore where agricultural commodities used in snack foods are grown. They choose a snack food and locate the top five states that produce the food that the snack is made from.