Curated OER
Learning from Artifacts Uncovering Clues, Large and Small
Students observe artifacts from Fort St. Louis at a website in order to make inferences about the people who lived there. They paint pottery in the style which might have been used by one of the cultural groups who inhabited the fort.
Curated OER
Artifacts We Don't Dig Up
Students play a game of artifact show and tell using household items.
Curated OER
Cityscapes: Architecture as Artifact
Students research an architecture artifact in their community and journal about the experience.
State University of New York
Going Back in Time Using “George Washington’s Socks”
After reading Elvira Woodruff's George Washington's Socks, young readers and writers embark upon writing their own historically based story, with a focus on developing ideas and details throughout the piece. In small groups, class...
Curated OER
Crystal Blue Persuasion
Students examine historic posters, jewelry, quilts and buttons that were created to protest or call attention to a political issue. After evaluating how these items were used to communicate a political message, students create an item...
Curated OER
Tea for Two
High schoolers examine how certain items can link family and friends together in unique and interesting ways. They analyze how historic artifacts have helped people connect in the past by focusing on a silver teapot used by a family in...
Curated OER
Today We Encountered the White Man
Students analyze and interpret artifacts and a timeline to get specific information. In this timeline lesson plan students work in groups to research an Indian tribe and write an information piece of their research.
Curated OER
Traveler's Trunk
Students analyze and interpret artifacts from the 1920s and explore the Great Migration. In this 1920s history lesson, students review background information about the Great Migration and use artifacts to study history of Chicago....
Curated OER
Smiley Face Circle Stories
Students examine different artifacts from the 1970's. In this history lesson, students discover what each artifact is by seeing the artifact and reading a card defining what the artifact represents. On the second day, students create...
Curated OER
Quilting Our Communities
Students share personal artifacts and use them to make a classroom community quilt.
Curated OER
Titanic: Looking for Clues
Students make inferences about a shipwreck based on the location of artifacts. They role play as marine archaeologists and list three processes that contribute to the deterioration of the Titanic.
Curated OER
Photo Analysis of American Inventions
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this inventions lesson plan, students analyze photographs of American inventions and and discuss the needs the inventions met...
Curated OER
Methods of Mystery
Students utilize the scientific method to discover the age of an item. In this historical dating lesson, students compare and contrast a 400 year old cabinet to one made within a few years by using carbon dating. Students complete a...
Curated OER
Roots: The Ancestry of Modern People
High schoolers investigate the models for the origin of modern humans and the conditions that facilitate speciation and evolution. The classification and nomenclature of hominid species is also examined.
Curated OER
Playing Historical Detective: Great Grandmother's Dress and Other Clues to the Life and Times of Annie Steel
Students draw conclusions about an mystery person based on documents and artifacts provided. In this drawing conclusions instructional activity, students become detectives by reading and analyzing evidence provided. This instructional...
Curated OER
Historical Maryland Women
Students identify objects, activities, and people in pictures of women in Maryland's history. In groups of four, they analyze photo packets of historical women. Students complete an acrostic using phrases reflecting specific...
Curated OER
Analyzing the Lewis and Clark Journals
Students examine and interpret Corps of Discovery journal entries as primary documents/sources providing insight into the Lewis and Clark expedition's journey. They present information they have documented on included activity sheet in...
Curated OER
Jamestown: A Brief History
Eighth graders investigate the history of the United States by researching Jamestown. For this archaeological lesson, 8th graders attend a field trip to historical Jamestown in Virgina to discover key figures that formed our country....
Curated OER
Exploring Historic Cemeteries
Students explore how artifacts vary at different times and in different places. They examine gravestones, observe both the individual markers and the larger context or setting of the graves.
Curated OER
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory
Eighth graders study the history of Lincoln's home. In this American History lesson, 8th graders examine artifacts from his home to learn about his beliefs. Students participate in a webquest on Lincoln's home.
Curated OER
American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...
Curated OER
Introduction to Primary Sources
Students explore the usage of primary sources, what they are and how they originate. Artifacts are compared and contrasted as part of this historical inquiry as questions are formulated and conclusions drawn.
Curated OER
Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
Scholars study a historical photograph to make predictions of what happened right after the picture was taken. They research a variety of different topics and use primary sources to answer questions about common food, fashion trends, and...
National History Day
Helping Life and Aiding Death: Science, Technology, and Engineering at Work during World War I
Science, engineering, and United States history? Pupils research collections of artifacts from the Smithsonian to learn about historical scientific innovations. At the end of the lesson, they write an essay to discuss technology's...