Civil War Trust
The Common Civil War Soldier
Imagine you are a soldier in the Civil War. What are you wearing? What do you need to carry with you? Examine the life of a person during the Civil War, from drummer boys to powder monkeys to musket-toting soldiers. Elementary learners...
BBC
The Role of a Monarch (key stage 2 and 3)
What makes a good monarch? Elementary and middle schoolers examine popular symbols of the British monarchy before designing a television advertisement about the qualities needed in a monarch. Next, they write poems using metaphors and...
Scholastic
The Flight of Amelia Earhart Teaching Guide
Amelia Earhart's accomplishments and strength of character extend beyond her status as one of the first female aviators in America. Elementary and middle schoolers learn about Earhart's early life and the historical context surrounding...
Curated OER
Government is News: Studying the Constitution
Sixth graders explore the United States Constitution. In this social studies lesson, learners discover how a bill is made into law, study the election process, and identify specific elements of the Bill of Rights.
Curated OER
Independent Studies Movies
History comes alive as groups work cooperatively to create short iMovies about a specific historical period of their choice. Ideal for late elementary grades, the lesson includes a video demonstration and a short materials list.
Judicial Branch of California
Defining Civic Duty and Participation
A lesson, geared toward older elementary scholars, combines art with social studies to explain the purpose of civic duty and how to encourage others in the community to participate. Academics create advertising campaigns to promote civic...
Curated OER
Native Americans and Natural Resources
North American Indian civilizations had already been in place for over 10,000 years before the arrival of European settlers. Introduce your young historians to Indian tribes that lived in the Chesapeake region in the early seventeenth...
Curated OER
Layer Cake Archaeology
Excavating cake? Why not! Kids spoon into some layers and artifacts during this tasty hands-on activity. The cake, a simulated archaeological dig, is the object of observation and discussion.
Teaching Tolerance
Artistic Expression Showcase
No one is too young to create a masterpiece. Elementary artists delve into the topic of social justice with original artwork. Scholars keep journals to reflect on their experiences before putting paintbrush to paper. Final artwork is...
Curated OER
Transparent Shoebox Dig
Take this simulated archaeological dig one layer at a time with your young pupils to encourage observation, critical thinking, and careful attention. Using a transparent box full of layers of sand and artifacts, pupils examine the...
Curated OER
Social Studies - State Riddle Lesson Plan
Students make distinctions between the states, their cities, and capitals, and create riddles for classmates to solve.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Vocabulary
Build vocabulary and have a class discussion. Use this PowerPoint to illustrate concepts of Early American History, including, Bill of Rights, Supreme Court, elections, and the Constitution. Note: Each slide has only a single vocabulary...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Famous History
While a rudimentary overview of facts relating to U.S. History, this resource could be used as a starting point for a discussion of this topic. However, there is very little information included on each slide, and one of the terms used...
Curated OER
I Am Freedom Bound!
Upper elementary and middle school learners engage in this awesome lesson plan on the Civil War. In it, they watch streamed video, perform Internet research, engage in hands-on activities, and use their geography skills to locate...
Curated OER
Orville and Wilbur Wong and the Fantastic Flying Machines
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the role of Chinese immigrants in America. They investigate literature, history and cultures of Chinese-Americans. This ambitious plan takes two weeks to complete, and it brings in elements...
Curated OER
Trailers Become Schools After Hurricane Katrina
Students share their thoughts about natural disasters, then read a news article about how life at an elementary school was changed after Hurricane Katrina. In this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a...
Curated OER
"Old Glory"
Youngsters study and discuss the history and importance of the American Flag. They explain the meaning of the Stars and Stripes, the name "Old Glory," and discover when and how the flag is displayed. This well-designed plan has many...
Curated OER
Who's The Boss?
Upper elementary and middle schoolers research and analyze some different types of governments. Democracies, Monarchies, and Dictatorships are some of the types that are looked at. Learners use the Internet to gather information that...
Curated OER
Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students
What is a KWL chart? Here is a well thought-out activity that has learners use KWL charts to gain historical perspective. Your class examines primary sources about historical events and identifies what they know, want to know, and,...
Library of Congress
Investigating the Building Blocks of Our Community’s Past, Present, and Future
As Ken Jennings said, "There's just something hypnotic about maps." Certainly, the longer you look at them the more you can learn. In this project-based learning lesson, individuals study both historic and present-day maps of their area...
Huntington Library
Everyday Life - Exploring the California Missions
Young scholars relive history as they examine primary sources that document everyday life in the California missions. During a class viewing of the included slideshow presentation, children analyze documents, paintings, and drawings in...
Huntington Library
Religion & Spirituality - Exploring the California Missions
The California missions were built with the hope of converting the local Native Americans to Catholicism, but exactly how different were their beliefs to begin with? Through analysis of a series of primary source documents, young...
The Alamo
The Alamo - Remembering Through Education
Help young historians truly remember the Alamo with a comprehensive set of informational text about the Texas Revolution. Complete with important vocabulary, biographies of prominent historical figures, thorough timelines of events, and...
Therapist Aid
What is Bullying?
What is the definition of bullying, and how can you deal with it? Elementary and middle schoolers discuss verbal, physical, social, and cyberbullying before talking about strategies to avoid and stop bullying in their school.