This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...

NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...

Promote collaboration in the classroom with a historical fiction instructional activity. Fourth graders partner up and read the other's narrative to give feedback on vocabulary choice and the accuracy of historical information. After...

Students visit Colonial America in a Time Machine to discover the process that a citizen today must follow in order to make or change a law. Students research the Colonial Era in their Time Machines. Students encounter various government...

Students use primary resources (gazettes, broadsides, advertisements) to consider life at the turn of the 18th century in Deerfield, Massachusetts. They infer observations about life in the nascent United States.

Students explore events and causes that led to American Revolution and examine popular pro-Patriot renderings and texts of these issues created both at that time and in later years. Students then prepare and deliver oral presentations...

The reading passage here uses the example of the American colonies to introduce imports and exports. After reading the text, class members respond to five questions, which require pupils to find facts in the text and form opinions...

Students examine the facts and myths that surround the "First Thanksgiving" (the harvest celebration of 1621) at Plimoth Colony. They study the role that historians play in the collection and dissemination of history and use their...

Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...

Help your learners work with difficult or archaic words. A continuation of instructional activity two of this module, the plan here focuses on deciphering the Inventory of John Allen, in particular the unfamiliar words that make up much...

Scholars examine the first Thanksgiving through books and interviews while they complete a KWL chart. Pretending they are part of the feast, learners craft a scrapbook page that features images related to their experience. Pupils reflect...

Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...

What can maps tell us about the past? Find out with a Spanish lesson that incorporates geography. After examining maps individually, comparing two old maps of Spanish Florida and writing notes in the provided Venn diagram, pupils pair up...

Thirteen steps make up a lesson that challenges pupils to compare and contrast the daily lives of Pilgrims and the Wampanoag tribe. Learners revisit the Graffiti Wall then break into small groups for an investigative reading assignment...

Finally! Here are some new and fresh ideas, across the curicullum, that can be used around the Thanksgiving holiday. The lesson is divided up into two sections: Beyond Turkey - Activities for Younger Students and, Beyond Turkey -...

Elementary and middle schoolers examine and evaluate different perspectives concerning events leading to the American Revolution. In this case, they hone in on the Stamp Act. They research controversial bills, laws, or events of the time...

Invite your young historians to demonstrate how the American Revolution truly was one crazy ride after another as they design a theme park! This unique and engaging project prompts learners to consider major events leading up to and...

Students view a world map and identify the locations of England and Virginia and discuss what kinds of things they would take with them on this kind of trip. They read the words in the news box on the student page and fill in the blanks...

Welcome to Jamestown! Third and fourth graders read and analyze primary source documents about Jamestown or Fort James. They read and analyze descriptions of Fort James from primary sources. They access a website to explore more...

Students explore colonial cooking.  In this cross curriculum George Washington and colonial America history lesson, students follow a recipe for cranberry pudding, a possible favorite of George and Martha Washington. Students...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...

The journey aboard the Mayflower in 1620 was long and arduous for the Pilgrims set for the New World. Learn about the difficulties of the expedition, including the extended timeframe and cramped quarters, with an informative reading...

Scholars work in pairs to decide whether leaders wrote the Declaration of Independence for the rich and powerful or for every man. To draw their conclusion, pairs read excerpts from two historians and complete a graphic organizer...