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Turn of the Century
Middle schoolers explore the transformation of America's economy in response to the Industrial Revolution in terms of patterns of agricultural and industrial development relating to climate, natural resource use, markets and trade.
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History and Geography: Making a New Nation
Fifth graders examine the contributions of the different groups that built the American Nation. They identify the successive waves of new immigration, explain their attraction to America, and study the importance of Ellis Island.
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Compare and Contrast Culture
Fifth graders compare and contrast the cultures of American culture with that of the other cultures of North America. Using traditional and Internet research, 5th graders gather data on one element of culture for comparison. Data...
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Thanksgiving
Students discuss Thanksgiving and create a chart for things that we and the Pilgrims are thankful for. In this Thanksgiving lesson plan, students realize Thanksgiving is a way of remembering and honoring people and events in America.
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Doctor Mae C. Jemison - First African American Woman in Space
Seventh graders trace and analyze the life of Doctor Mae C. Jemison and the circumstances that enabled Dr. Jemison to achieve her goal of becoming an astronaut. They explore the role of NASA in the development of America's Space Shuttle...
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Major Events Leading to the American Revolution
Students explore the causes of the American Revolution. For this taxation without representation lesson, students analyze political cartoons in order to gain an understanding of the efforts of the colonists to resolve conflict with...
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Asylum Talk Show
High schoolers investigate the case of a German ship containing Jewish refugees seeking asylum from Nazi persecution in the late 1930s. They conduct Internet research, watch a video, and role-play passengers from the St. Louis on a...
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Plimoth Plantation Field Trip
Take a virtual field trip to the Plymouth plantation. Using the site linked in the lesson plan, discover how people lived during the 17th century in this part of the country. Discuss the role of the pilgrims and native Americans in the...
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The Fear of Exploration Because of... Sea Monsters
Eighth graders examine the underestimated cause as to why exploration into the western hemisphere was not common before the 1400's. They reconstruct the causes/effects of exploration to North America.
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Government law
Fifth graders explain how a bill becomes a law. They watch a video and take notes on the video titled: America Rock "I'm Just a Bill." Students work in groups to create a bill to present to congress that relates to safety. They read...
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Abraham Lincoln
First graders explore famous people in America. They read and discuss a story about Abraham Lincoln. After the class discussion, 1st graders create a web of important events in the life of Abraham Lincoln. Finally, students write...
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Global Connections
An entertaining, and educationally valuable game of "tic-tac-toe" awaits your learners. They earn their "x's" and "o's" by correctly-answering questions on world geography. I've never seen this type of game before, and I believe that...
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Baseball Challenge: 5th Grade Social Studies
Quickly review facts relating to U.S. History in a Baseball Challenge presentation. The information relates to branches of government, the Vietnam War, WWII, and other key events.
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The Allies Win the War
This PowerPoint clearly outlines many elements that contributed to the Allied Forces winning WWII. Topics covered are wartime technology, D-Day, The Holocaust, Perl Harbor, the Atomic Bomb and how winning the war changed the face of the...
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Revisiting Pocahontas
Students discuss the characteristics that make a historical resource reliable. As a class, they brainstorm a list of examples of possible historical resources and why they are important. In groups, they discover the consequences of...
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The Merits of Pocahontas Examined
Learners continue their examination of the life of Pocahontas. In research teams, they create brief reports of their findings and share them with their classmates. They take notes which could be used in their presentations. As each...
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Chapter 9: The Cold War Years
Students take a quiz on The Cold War Years of the 1950's and 1960's. This 20-slide presentation covers a variety of world-wide and domestic topics, and includes slides which give hints as to what the correct answers are.
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Sunken Millions: The Way West
Recover sunken treasure with this interactive PowerPoint! Break your class into two teams: the divers and the surfers. They'll work together to answer 20 multiple choice questions, reviewing major events that occurred during the 1800s....
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Transportation in Indiana
Fourth graders investigate Indiana transportation. In this transportation lesson plan students discover early forms of transportation such as railroads, rivers, boats, and roads. Students compare and contrast the different forms of...
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Across The Centuries
Students analyze the American Bill of Rights, compare it to the English Bill of Rights and note the differences in an essay. They access websites imbedded in this plan to do their research, then present their findings to the class.
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Four Enlightenment Thinkers
Students examine lives, philosophies, and political beliefs of four Enlightenment Thinkers: Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. Students then work with partner to write short speech from...
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Mayan History
Students examine Mayan contributions to the world. For this Mesoamerican culture lesson, students view a slideshow about the Maya and then peruse books about the accomplishments of the culture. Students create charts that highlight Mayan...
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Assessing the Character of the Colonies: Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior
Learners read a primary source document about the rules of civility and behavior in the presence of company. Using the text, they make assumptions about how life was like in the colonies. They compare and contrast the culture of the...
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Traveling to the Gold Rush
Fourth graders research the experiences the people who traveled to California during the Gold Rush by land and sea. They create a map showing the various routes that individuals took to get to California. Students explain the...