Curated OER
What's Your Brand?
Students explore the history of branding livestock and discover it began as early as 2000 BC. They discuss reasons for branding and then design their own brand from pipe cleaners. Students dip their brand into paint and print it on...
Curated OER
ARTIFACT to ART to GLYPHS
Young scholars study the development of early Latin American civilizations in unit one. The second part of the unit is based on early image-making attempts from the Cro-Magnon to the Peruvian Incas. Students create their own weavings...
Curated OER
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Young scholars study westward expansion. In this US history instructional activity, students describe the adventures and hardships faced by the explorers known as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Young scholars write a report to the...
Curated OER
California Here We Come!
Students, in groups, explore the impac the Gold Rush immigration had on the culture of California. They write a newspaper article from the 1850s identifying immigrant groups to California during the Gold Rush era.
Curated OER
Savvy in Sacramento
Pupils take a field trip to the state capital, Sacramento. Using the Internet, they explain the physical and human geographic features of the area and discuss interactions between the people of California between the time of explorers...
Curated OER
The Power of Storytelling
Students are creating their own stories to understand life. The use of history is used to help one to create one's own story. The skill of writing is emphasized as a tool to learn history.
Curated OER
Conjunto Music from South Texas
Students listen to conjunto music and identify the instrumentation. After discussing the the history of South Texas, they examine lyrics of several songs and interpret them. As extensions, students can learn to partner dance to the...
Curated OER
Crossroads: Chicano Identity and Border Culture
Learners identify and explore complex ways that the theme of "frontiers" or socio-political borders affect Chicano identity in the US and examine notions of "resistance" and "affirmation" as a fundamental ideology in Chicano life,...
Curated OER
Days of '49: "I've Been Toiling Hard for the Last Two And a Half Years"
Students trace the stages of gold mining in California. They discuss the life of a gold miner and how the discovery of gold influenced towns and cities in California during the 1949 Gold Rush.
Curated OER
GET THE POINT!
The student will measure the width of the horns on drawings of longhorn cattle and then convert the measurements from inches to centimeters and from inches to feet.1. Review with learners the steps required to measure an item and to...
Curated OER
What Was It Like?
Students use the Internet to gather historical facts about the county in which they live. Using the information, they discover how to check it for accuracy and present their findings to the class. They write an essay about the history of...
Curated OER
Daruma
Students study the significance of the daruma through history since the sixth century. Students discuss good luck symbols used by other cultures. Students make a paper mache daruma, filling one eye and setting a goal.
Curated OER
John Brown, Then and Now
Eleventh graders study one of the selected images of John Brown and read an excerpt online that describes his role in the Civil War. They identify significant information about John Brown. They think about how this applies to current...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Yankee Doodle: How Has It Changed over Time?
Grab your feathers and your hat! And perhaps some macaroni! It's time to investigate the evolution of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Groups do a close reading of sheet music covers, lyrics, and even YouTube videos to see how this political song...
State Bar of Texas
Mendez v. Westminster and Delgado v. Bastrop ISD
You arrive at school only to be told you have no place there. Scholars research the Supreme Court cases Mendez v. Westminster and Delgado v. Bastrop ISD, both dealing with school segregation. Two short video clips as well as small group...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
What is Migration
Students conduct individual research and participate in discussion be able to identify difference between forced and voluntary migration. They identify if push and pull factors are caused by political, social, economic, or environmental...
Curated OER
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
Students use information from the U.S. Bureau of the Census to create a bar graph, a picture graph, or a circle graph showing the country of origin of U.S. Hispanics.
Curated OER
Stealing Home: Chavez Ravine
Students research the Chavez Ravine community of Los Angeles and the displacement of residents for the construction of Dodger Stadium. They discuss Chavez Ravine in terms of property rights versus eminent domain.
Curated OER
Island of the Blue Dolphins Jigsaw
Fourth graders research three topics from the book, either Village Life, Sea Life, or San Nicholas Island. They research independently and meet in a jigsaw format to share what they learned. As group they create a poster for class...
Curated OER
Comparing Cultural Holidays
Third graders explore art that reflects their cultural background. In this writing and research lesson plan students compare and contrast the Halloween with El Dia de los Muertos. Students study the visual art of these holidays. Then...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Guest-Worker Program
The U.S. Guest-Worker Program and the H-2A visa are the focus of a social studies activity. First, class members assume the role of advisors who must present the president with four proposals that would amend the visas given to...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Island of the Blue Dolphins
Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question to be...
Curated OER
Colored Pencil Repoussé
Artists employ a basic metalworking technique by embossing lines and textures into a soft metal. They look for examples of embossed metals in historical and contemporary examples. This fascinating process has been used by many cultures...