Lesson Plan
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Smithsonian Institution

Two Perspectives on the Battle of Little Bighorn/Greasy Grass

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Learners understand why historians conduct research and the importance of perception when it comes to studying history. The resource covers The Wars of Expansion and the Battle of Little Bighorn/Greasy Grass through group work, debate,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The People of Kansas

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate primary sources to experience first- hand accounts of Kansas pioneers. They write an historical fiction letter or skit based on territorial documents.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Las Vegas Mormon Fort

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars use maps, readings, letters, photos and drawings to identify why Mormons came to the Las Vegas area and what they hoped to accomplish by establishing an outpost. They consider the roles of early women pioneers and outline...
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Stamp Stories of Westward Expansion

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Conflict in Alabama in the 1830s: Native Americans, Settlers, and Government

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To better understand the Indian Removal Act of 1830, class members examine primary source documents including letters written by Alabama governors and the Cherokee chiefs. The activity is part of a unit on the expansion of the United...
Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Westward Expansion: Image and Reality

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
As your young historians study Westward Expansion, practice in-depth primary source analysis with the documents and guidelines presented in this resource. They will examine a lithograph and excerpts from two letters written by a Nebraska...
Website
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Smithsonian Institution

Spanish American War

For Students 5th - 12th Standards
Today, Cuba and America sometimes struggle with diplomatic relations, but did you know that America went to war against Spain to free Cuba? Learners examine many interesting facts related to the Spanish American War using an informative...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Surviving Assimilation: American Indian Boarding Schools

For Teachers 9th
The boarding school era is "a history that all of us need to know about," says Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. Here's a lesson that examines that history. High schoolers examine video interviews of Native Americans who detail...
Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Map of the Louisiana Purchase

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
With the stroke of a pen, Thomas Jefferson roughly doubled the size of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase not only grew the new country, but also it gave rise to the legends surrounding westward expansion and accelerated the...
Interactive
DocsTeach

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War, but it did not end tensions between the two nations. The activity provides learners with an opportunity to practical historical analysis with text experts from the Treaty of...
Interactive
DocsTeach

The Impact of Westward Expansion on Native American Communities

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Although Westward Expansion is often romanticized, its impact was devastating on Native American communities. Primary source documents, including pictures of United States troops invading indigenous lands and Native American tribes, tell...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Borders with the World: Mexican-American War and U.S. Southern Borderlands

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
The Mexican-American War created social borders—not just physical ones. Scholars learn about the effects of the Mexican-American War on the people living in the borderlands using text excerpts, maps, and partnered activities. Academics...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Native Resistance: Native Resistance Then and Now

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Native Americans lost so much—and gained so little in return. Scholars explore Native Americans' resistance to the United States government. The lesson uses primary sources to explore the different forms of protest and gives a voice to...
Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Transforming the West: Did the Reality Match the Expectations for Kansas Homesteaders?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
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...
Study Guide
Penguin Books

A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Willa Cather's My Ántonia

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Willa Cather's My Antonia might seem like a hard sell for today's teen readers. Rather than dramatic plot twists, trysts, and terrors, the novel celebrates the pioneer spirit that lead immigrants to a small Nebraska town. The Signet...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Headin' West! The Life of a Pioneer

For Teachers 5th
Students explore the life of a pioneer and the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and pioneering. Students complete activities, maps, writing and reading to experience pioneer life. Handouts and worksheets are included...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students demonstrate understanding of the ideology of Manifest Destiny, the nation's expansion to Northwest, and the Mexican-American War. Students understand national foreign policy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pioneer Scramble

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars explore the concept of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Movement lesson, students study why Americans emigrated west in the 1840s and 1850s. Young scholars create interactive timelines, write exploration reports, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Trail of Tears

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the terms of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. They research the implications of the Indian Removal Act for Native American people. Students demonstrate an understand the impact of Manifest Destiny had on Native...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

That's the Spirit

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...
Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

The Pursuit of Democracy and Diversity: The Trial of Pro-Social Injustice in Historical Documents and Accounts

For Teachers 8th Standards
Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...
Interactive
Curated OER

James K. Polk

For Students 9th - 12th
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about James K. Polk. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America's Wars, 1898-1945

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine the wars the United States was involved in between 1898 and 1945. In groups, they determine the causes and effects of each war and how each war changed the way the United States handled their foreign affairs. As a class,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Policies that Relate to American Indians

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders demonstrate an understanding of the impact of the western settlement patterns on American Indians. They analyze the growth and division of the United States from 1820 through 1877 and examine the non-Indian concept of...

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