Curated OER
Field Trip to Living History Farms
Students tour "Living History Farms" in Iowa. In this field trip preparation lesson, students observe ways Native Americans began growing crops in the 1700's as well as how the farm changed in the 1800's. Upon their return from the trip,...
PBS
Myth of the West: Lonely But Free I’ll Be Found
Tumbling tumbleweeds! Scholars work with video clips, primary and secondary documents, and song lyrics to uncover life in the Old West. They examine song's lyrics to uncover myths told in the 1930s about life in the Wild West.
Curated OER
Mapping the New World Lesson Plan
Students compare two maps of the same area from different time periods. In this American History lesson, students look at two maps of the English colonies from 1636 and 1651. They discuss why the maps changed and predict maps from the...
Curated OER
Matthew Henson
Discuss the work of Matthew Henson, an African American who traveled to the North Pole with Robert Peary. After reading the story "Matthew Henson" by Maryann N. Weidt, learners answer questions by drawing inferences and conclusions,...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion and the Frontier
Students explore U.S. history by researching a historic map. In this westward expansion lesson, students discuss the mystery of the western U.S. in the early 1800's and the impact expansion had on Native Americans and agriculture....
Center for History Education
Transforming the West: Did the Reality Match the Expectations for Kansas Homesteaders?
They expected good soil and hearty crops ... but they found buffalo chips and grasshopper plagues. Using an advertisement encouraging famers to go west, budding historians examine primary sources including letters, photographs, and...
Curated OER
The Kanaka Village at Fort Vancouver: Crossroads of the Columbia River
Students study the interaction between Native American and European cultures in the Pacific Northwest in the 1800s. They focus their study on the Hudson's Bay Company and Fort Vancouver.
Curated OER
The Changing Union
Fourth graders analyze a document and make assessment and historical prediction based on the text. In this establishment of American government lesson, 4th graders analyze a poem and discuss the climate of the Union in the early 1800's....
Curated OER
Introduction to Reform Movements of the 1800s
Eleventh graders consider the impact of reform movements of the 19th century. In this Progressive Reform lesson, 11th graders examine documents and images associated with women's suffrage, prohibition, and labor reform. Students respond...
Curated OER
Women in Science
Students study the roles that women have played in science throughout history. They work in small groups while visiting the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Curated OER
Turnpikes and Canals Worksheet
For this United States history worksheet, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or names in order to answer 10 fill in the blank questions about the nation's early history. A short answer question about turnpikes and canals is also...
Curated OER
Overland Trails To The West
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...
Curated OER
Ballots, Bloomers and Boycotts
Students compare a controversial issue or policy in need of reform in their classroom to the suffrage movement of the 1800's. They research important figures in the suffrage movement, produce written pieces and complete worksheets.
Curated OER
The Railroads and Settlement of the Great Plains
Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...
Curated OER
Bring Out the Parasols: Skin Cancer Awareness in the Classroom
Incorporate history, science, and practical sense into teaching kids about the effects of the sun.
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
Curated OER
Discovering Walt Whitman’s Timeless Poetry
Explore the work of the great American poet Walt Whitman in your classroom.
Curated OER
Majestic Murals
Albert Bierstadt is a highly celebrated artist who was able to capture the beauty of the American landscape. The class will first learn how Bierstadt explored America during the 1800s and painted the majestic countryside. Then, they will...
Curated OER
Coal Camps and Mining Towns
Young scholars should gain a better understanding of the processes involved in extracting coal from the Earth as a result of this lesson. They reearch the history of coal mining, look into coal mining towns, and create a short story...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion - Fur Trade
Students complete a unit of lessons to learn how products reach the market and study the history of the fur trade. In this history and trade lesson, students first learn about the technology that allowed products to reach market faster....
Curated OER
Chapter 25 – The Vietnam War
In this U.S. history worksheet, students read assigned textbook pages regarding the Vietnam War and respond to 56 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Social Studies Review for Grade 4 (4.1)
In this social studies review for grade 4 (4.1) activity, 4th graders answer 25 multiple choice questions in standardized test format about U.S. history.
Curated OER
Events Leading to the War of 1812
In this US History learning exercise, students read a selection of the War of 1812 and fill in the blanks for 10 sentences using a word bank.
Curated OER
Football
For this history of football worksheet, students read a passage about the history of football and then answer six reading comprehension questions over the passage and three discussion questions.