Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classrooms: Then and Now

For Teachers K - 1st
Students look at schoolhouses from the past. In this comparative analysis lesson, students visit a one room school house and look at the tools used for learning. Students then compare the schoolhouse of the past to the schoolhouse of today.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hopper Hunt: IPM Decision-making in Alfalfa

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students describe migrations and life cycle pattersn of a key alfalfa pest, the Porato Leafhopper. They define the Economic Inquiry Level and Economic Threshold. Students evaluate data in relation to profit as it applies to IPM. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration and Migration: Today and During the Great Depression

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars conduct interviews, analyze primary sources including docuements and images to gain an inderstanding of the causes and effects of he Great Depression and immigration.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Grapes of Wrath: Scrapbooks and Artifacts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary sources. In this Great Depression activity, students read John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and use ethnographic research...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration: Our Changing Voices

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students identify how immigration affects the family and or community. In this Immigration lesson, students examine traditional migration and how immigration has changed over time. Students will consider their own families and history...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X: A Common Solution?: Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the ideological and political development of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X through primary source documents. They identify the various personal, social, and political factors that influenced Martin Luther King,...
Lesson Plan
Concordia College Archives

History and Musical Aesthetics

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
What are the musical elements that characterize a school's fight song or its alma mater? Class members listen to examples of fight songs and alma maters from various schools, play a listening game, and then create a list of the...
Lesson Plan
iCivics

A Very Big Branch

For Teachers 6th - 11th Standards
Through detailed secondary source reading material and an interactive "true/false" activity, learners discover the depth and complexity of the executive branch in the United States government. Topics covered include executive...
Unit Plan
Southern Kennebec Child Development Corporation

Sun Blocks: Building a Foundation for Healthy Skin

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd Standards
Here comes the sun! Primary graders engage in activities that teach them how to protect themselves from the effects of UV rays. They learn that each season (fall, winter, spring, and summer) offers its own special challenges so they...
Unit Plan
California Polytechnic State University

Australian Geography Unit

For Teachers 7th - 9th Standards
At the heart of this resource is a beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentation (provided in PDF form) on the overall physical geography of Australia, basic facts about the country, Aboriginal history, and Australia culture and lifestyle.
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

A Worse Death: War or Flu?

For Teachers 4th - 11th Standards
In a lesson that integrates history and mathematics, class members create graphs that compare military death statistics from World War I with those that resulted from the influenza pandemic of 1918.
Lesson Plan
NPR

Same-Sex Marriage

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The battle over same-sex marriage is a prevalent issue in the United States, and a valuable topic to be discussed in your social studies classroom. Here is a basic outline of introductory questions, focus questions, vocabulary, and media...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Politics and Economics of Land Settlement in Colonial North Carolina

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders examine the political nature of land settlement in North Carolina.  In this geography lesson, 10th graders analyze primary sources.  Students discover North Carolina industries during colonial times. 
Lesson Plan
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum

Marshall Plan: Convince the American People

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
This is an excellent resource for US history classes, especially AP history. After learning some background on the Marshall Plan, the class, divided into two groups, researches opposing positions on this aid program. Groups read and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pocumtucks In Deerfield

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students read a story about the Pocumtucks' religious beliefs. Using the text, they discover their concept of land ownership and how they migrated within their territory in different seasons. They use primary and secondary sources to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing the Lewis and Clark Journals

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students examine and interpret Corps of Discovery journal entries as primary documents/sources providing insight into the Lewis and Clark expedition's journey. They present information they have documented on included activity sheet in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letter Writing and Abigail Adams

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders learn the importance of letter writing for communication. In this letter writing lesson, 3rd graders identify how letter writing was important in the life of Abigail Adams. Students understand what a primary source is and...
Lesson Plan
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Facing History and Ourselves

Analyzing Historical Evidence

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine World War I war crimes. In this world history instructional activity, learners use primary and secondary sources to research and understand the systematic nature of the Armenian Genocide. High schoolers reflect on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recruitment

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders analyze and then draw recruitment posters.  In this Revolutionary War lesson, 5th graders analyze recruitment posters and discuss the attitude towards African Americans.  Students analyze primary documents from...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westmoreland Trail

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the Westward expansion of the U.S. They play the computer game, Oregon Trail III, read primary source documents, conduct Internet research, write diary entries from the pioneer viewpoint, and...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

A Passport to WWII and the Holocaust

For Teachers 7th
Students explore the Holocaust. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students research Hitler's rise to power, the terror of concentration camps, and World War II. Students read The Diary of Anne Frank , listen to a Holocaust survivor, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Victorian Prison

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Prisons in Victorian England were miserable places, designed to deter people from committing crimes. To understand why these prisons were so tough, young historians review documents and pictures from Coldbath Fields prison. After...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From the Source to the Sea: The Nisqually River Watershed

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research the conflicts over different uses of the Nisqually River resources and role play as mediators between Chief Leschi and other interested parties. They cite and interpret relevant artifacts and primary and secondary...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martha Ballard (1785-1812): An Essential Woman in Her Community

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students search the web for information about "Martha Ballard" Students develop a master list of personal qualities exhibited by Ballard, using events in the film to substantiate their selections.