San Francisco Symphony
Adding Music to Oklahoma History
To better understand Oklahoma state history, learners will use a website to find a song that supports or represents aspects of Oklahoma's history. They'll write three sentences defending their choice, and then they will create...
Curated OER
Life On The Oregon Trail
Students investigate the concept of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The class divides into different groups to take a different aspect of the research. Then the groups present the findings to the...
Curated OER
Westward Movement/the Oregon Trail Using Power Point
Fifth graders research and examine the Westward Movement using a computer. they create their own word search from facts they discover in their research or while interacting with the Oregon Trail software. They create PowerPoint...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Sensory “Star Spangled Banner”
Music can help us to access memories and events in a meaningful way, and Francis Scott Key used specific words to convey what he had seen and felt when writing what would become America's national anthem. Help your class connect to...
San Francisco Symphony
Going West
Now this sounds like a fun lesson! Youngsters learn about pioneer life and the Westward Movement. First, they listen to the Copland's "Appalachian Spring," and then they discuss the elements of music found in the piece. They...
Curated OER
Pilgrims and Puritans
With graphic organizers galore, learners will follow the changes of church and state in early colonial America. They look at the differences between the pilgrims and the puritans in terms of beliefs and life ways. Myths and...
Annenberg Foundation
Masculine Heroes
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...
Curated OER
US Presidential Election Process and the Campaign Trail
Students campaign for president. In this presidential election lesson, students discuss the process of electing presidents, write their own campaign songs, research a campaign train schedule, and create campaign maps.
Curated OER
Moving West
Students research the Westward Movement and struggles encountered by the pioneers as they moved from Nebraska, Westward along the Oregon Trail. In this Westward Expansion lesson plan, students read an Oregon Trail poem and visit 5...
Curated OER
Rainforest (Elementary, Social Studies)
Explore the rainforest with your class. Learners study the meaning of the word endangered, choose an animal to study, gather data, and discuss why the animal is in danger of extinction. This is a motivating way to have your class discuss...
Curated OER
Spanish Through History - Web de Anza
Pupils examine the history, economics, and geography of the Anza era. They read primary source journals, diaries, and letters, conduct Internet research, and write a research report.
Curated OER
Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pioneer Life
Fourth graders complete a three-week unit about Laura Ingalls Wilder and pioneer life. They research the topography of Michigan in the 1870's, conduct Internet research, write journal entries, participate in polka and waltz dancing, and...
Curated OER
A Differentiated Way through Think Dots
Learners 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
Incorporating Literature into Social Studies Teaching and Learning
Students engage in a study of incorporating literature into the Social Studies classroom. They review a variety of literature sources and then create a bulletin board with the information. Then students practice using the Reader's...
Curated OER
Tree Friends
Students are introduced to tree structure and use. They identify their special tree using all senses except sight. Students identify six different internal parts within a cross section of tree trunk (bark, phloem, xylem, cambium,...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark: The Language of Discovery
Students replicate some of the trailblazing methods of Lewis and Clark on a fifteen-minute "writing journey" through the school or neighborhood.
Curated OER
Cooking Kansas City
Students investigate the history of Kansas City and then create recipes from the area, including Kansas City Barbecue Sauce, and Kansas City Corn.
Curated OER
The Civil War
Students examine the events of the Civil War. Using the internet, they research one aspect of the war of interest to them. In groups, they create a hyperstudio stack which they present to their classmates showing the information they...
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Cherokee Removal and the Trail of Tears
The sources in this primary set uses documents, images, and music to reveal the story of Cherokee removal, which is part of a larger story known as the Trail of Tears. Includes teaching guide.
Kentucky Educational Television
Ket: Lincoln Bicentennial: I, Too, Am a Kentuckian: A Lincoln Travelogue [Pdf]
Students prepare for and present a play, I, too am a Kentuckian: A Lincoln Travelogue. The play showcases stops on the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail, incorporates music and dance, and shows the strong influence of Kentucky and...