Curated OER
The Museum Idea
Students evaluate and record the various types of museum careers. In this The Museum Idea lesson, students create a bicentennial time capsule, design a Museum of me, and make a classroom mini museum. In addition students visit a local...
Curated OER
How Did the Other Half Live?
Young scholars study the conditions under which immigrants lived. They determine what it means to make it in America. They observe the connection between immigration and unionization and how immigration changed the City of New York. They...
Curated OER
Fur Trading
Students take on a role such as a farming community, hunting community or a trading post. They decide which products they focus on and then trade with the other groups.
Denver Art Museum
My Animal Symbol
Here is an art lesson plan that combines visual arts and language arts into one very nice package. In it, youngsters study a fascinating painting called Painting of Bear and Sun Dances. They begin to understand the importance of...
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Journey to America
Fifth graders carefully analyze the artwork, Les Emigrants, and explore the reasons that people emigrated to the United States, and what life was like for new arrivals. They discuss what things immigrants were able to bring with them and...
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Who is Fit to Enter? The Immigrant Experience at Ellis Island
Students examine the purpose of Ellis Island. In this immigration activity, students explore the operation of Ellis Island as they participate in a simulation that requires them to organize and handle immigrants coming into the United...
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Women: Struggle and Triumph
Students perform research using primary resources in order to create a knowledge base for the place of women in society. The sources are synthesized by students to reveal the true story of the extraordinary women of America.
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Learning Landscapes
Fifth graders analyze a landscape depicting Yosemite during the time of the Wild West. They compare their perceptions of the West from film and television to this representation. They observe the use of scale and color to depict size and...
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Natural Beauty: Looking Sharp
Students create covers for their "nature journals" using watercolor techniques and the artistic ideas of color, depth, and focal point. This instructional activity can be used in the Science or Art classroom and meets national standards...
NYC Department of Records
Citizenship and Elections: The Importance of a Ballot
Approximately 58 prcent of those eligible voted in the 2016 US Presidential election. In an attempt to impress upon learners the importance of voting and voting rights, class members examine primary source documents related to the...
Curated OER
Stand Up And Sing
Students examine pieces of sheet music and identify context, purpose, and perspective with regard to the political, social, and economic conditions existing at that time. They create a cover illustrating a topic of the Progressive Era.
Curated OER
Pioneer Perspectives-Diverse Opinions on Westward Migration
Students examine the Westward Migration and expansion of the United States from the perspective of a family migrating westward. They analyze pictures, and in small groups write and present a script based on a photograph, expressing the...
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The Hatfield and McCoy Feud
Fourth graders research the Hatfield-McCoy feud. In this research instructional activity, 4th graders study the families, photographs, and timelines. Students create their own trivia game about the feud.
Curated OER
Immigration in America
Students use primary sources to study immigration. In this immigration lesson, students analyze photographs, posters, letters, and documents from Ellis Island. Students complete analysis worksheets as they evaluate the primary sources.
Curated OER
Sing Out Loud: The Slave Spirituals Historical and Cultural Implications during Reconstruction
Students identify, summarize and present facts about cultural, educational and political inequalities of Reconstruction, explain hidden codes of slave spirituals and their importance in slaves' communication, and create poetry based on...
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Life as a Pioneer
Students examine historical documents and research why early pioneers settled on the Iowa prairie. They review maps, describe the impact of railroading, describe life in pioneer times, and identify the effects of drought, prairie fire,...
Curated OER
Harvest the Wind
Wind is a natural resource available around the world. Help your pupils appreciate the power and importance of wind by researching wind farms, making pinwheels, and designing windmills.
Curated OER
Acid Stomach
Students develop an understanding of how aspirin works and how understanding it's interaction with other chemicals in the body aided doctors in medical research. They complete a lab that compares the reaction of regular aspirin and...
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Dolores Huerta
Students examine the life of Dolores Huerta and her contributions to the development of labor unions. They read the book "Cesar Chavez: Triumph of Spirit," and in groups create a quiz, complete a Venn diagram, listen to a guest...
Curated OER
Urban Growth in America
Students examine urban growth in America. In this urbanization lesson, students watch segments of the Discovery video "Urban Growth in America." Students conduct further research pertaining to the industrial revolution, New York City's...
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Pioneer America: Journey West
Fourth graders experience pioneer life on the Oregon trail. For this pioneer lesson, 4th graders research the reasons for moving west and what life was like on the trail. They create a map, complete an oral presentation, and write about...
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Writing the Wind
Students make a windmill. In this wind lesson, students learn background information about the windmill, complete an activity where they create a windmill, discuss using wind as a natural resource and brainstorm other inventions that...
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Susan B. Anthony: Rebel for the Cause
Students explore the suffragist, Susan B. Anthony, documents her life and era with photographs, illustrations, and interviews. It demonstates how this feminist leader simultaneously influenced events and was shaped by external forces.
Curated OER
Japanese Folktales for Children
Students study Japanese folkart traditions and culture through storytelling, class discussions, and a creative project. The project involves students creating drawings of a pre-selected folktale and putting them together in a class book.