Curated OER
Immigration and Oral History
Students examine immigration. In this oral and social histories lesson, students analyze primary sources to research immigration history in their community. In this year-long research project, students participate in visual and...
Curated OER
What is the history of rice in the United States?
Fifth graders become familiar with the history of rice and create a board game. In this rice lesson, 5th graders understand the history of rice through the playing of a game. Students use vocabulary words related to the history of rice.
San Francisco Symphony
Music and Early Man
Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...
Curated OER
Early American Quilt Patterns
Students explore the history and purpose of quilts in early America. They create and name their own unique quilt blocks. Students combine their quilt blocks with other students in the class to create a class quilt.
Curated OER
Early Explorers
Fourth graders examine how the early explorers from Spain and England competed in their search for riches and new lands. They read and discuss text from their book, participate in a debate, and create a poster.
Curated OER
Colonial America Introduction
Students watch a teacher presented Readers Theater about Colonial America to introduce the students to the topic. In this Colonial America lesson, 4th graders recreate a timeline of early American history, using unconventional...
PBS
Women's History: Clara Barton
Students investigate Clara Barton's contributions to society. In this Clara Barton lesson plan, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding Clara Barton's life and her possible authorship of a Civil War...
Curated OER
The History of Maple Syrup
Students explore the process of harvesting maple syrup. In this science and history instructional activity, students make their own maple syrup and create a picture book that shows the Native American and American pioneer methods of...
Curated OER
Zora Hurston Teacher's Guide
Students explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. In this African-American history lesson, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions of the real life...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin and the Way to A Good Life
Young scholars explore American history by reading biographical text in class. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson, learners research the famous inventor by reading assigned text and answering reading comprehension questions afterwards....
Curated OER
A Practical Experiment In Colonization
Role-play and simulation exercises are fantastic ways to help learners understand the reality behind many social and historical events. Pretending they are colonists, upper graders choose a location, create a history, establish laws, and...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Lists to Live By: Developing a Self-Improvement Plan
Ben Franklin was a man with a plan. Learners investigate his plan for self-improvement using excerpts from Franklin's autobiography. Then, pupils develop their own plans and discuss how to sell them to others using the two-session lesson...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
The Junto Meets Again
Out of the classroom and into the streets! With Ben Franklin’s Junto society as inspiration, learners develop their ideas for improving their communities and put them into action. After analyzing meeting notes to discover what the Junto...
Curated OER
Dressing in Early American Times
Fifth graders, by doing research and seeing actual and simulated artifacts, gain knowledge of and make comparisons about clothing in the Colonial and early Republican eras with attire of present time.
Curated OER
A New Society Project
Ninth graders examine the social and political movements of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. In this American history lesson, 9th graders work in groups to form their own society and laws. Students make a diagram of their town and...
Curated OER
Women's Lives in American Paintings
Students analyze paintings to determine characteristics of women and attitudes toward them in different time periods. They create a portrait of a woman and discuss their views of women through their own artwork.
Smithsonian Institution
Stamp Stories of Westward Expansion
What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the unit,...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I
As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...
Curated OER
Atlatl (Native Americans)
Students discover what an atlatl is and how to use it. In this Native American lesson, students discuss the history of the Native American atlatl and practice throwing with it. Students will analyze the effects of the atlatl in terms of...
Curated OER
African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders learn about this history of jazz music. In this musical influences lesson, 5th graders read God Bless the Childand listen to a recording of it. Students create a KWL chart on jazz and early 1900s music and dance. Students...
Curated OER
Ben Franklin and the Rising Americans
Students prepare for and learn through a walking tour of Philadelphia. In this history activity, students support their studies with a field trip. This activity could be adapted to suit regions with other historic places or museums.
Curated OER
Native Lands: Indians in Georgia
Students investigate the Native Americans of the Muscogee Creek and their use of the land. In this U.S. history lesson plan, students investigate the importance of the deer for the Muscogee Creek peoples' way of life and the many uses...
Scholastic
Thanksgiving Lessons Grades PreK-2
A quintessential resource for teaching an elementary unit on the first Thanksgiving addresses a variety of skills, including informational reading, critical thinking, comparing and contrasting facts, technology tools, and historical...
Curated OER
Early Explorers
Fifth graders study early explorers. In this World history lesson, 5th graders draw an outline of a map labeling each part, build geographical features out of dough, and paint each of the land and water features.