Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native Americans

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students determine how Native Americans were stripped of their cultures. In this Native American history instructional activity, students analyze several photographs of Native Americans and respond to questions about the photographs....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plate, punch card, and instructions for Herman Hollerith's Electric Sorting and Tabulating Machine

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read an article and participate in a class discussion.  In this technology and engineering instructional activity students conduct an online search for images and terms.
Lesson Plan
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What Would You Do?

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders determine whether or not they would have dopped the atomic bomb. In this Truman presidency lesson, 11th graders research primary and secondary sources about the Manahattan Project and World War II. Students...
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Essay/WebQuest Ideas

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars use the ECO Exploration, the Fur Trade and Hudson's Bay Company, the ECO database, as well as other sources identified to complete a report or essay on some aspect of Hudson's Bay Company and life in what would one day...
Lesson Plan
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Why Does Delaware Have Such A StrangeShape?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the events and history surrounding the boundaries of Delaware. They participate in a class discussion and analyze a map, then create a floor map using masking tape. Students also participate in a play about the...
Lesson Plan
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Heritage and Citizenship: Traditions, Celebrations and Cultural Diversity

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore the concept of cultural diversity. In this traditions lesson, 2nd graders investigate the cultures of Canada as they discuss traditions within the country. An extension mathematics activity is included.
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Pictures of the Past

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Young scholars explore how women's roles in society have changed over time. They create a personal timeline using photographs and pertinent dates and complete a reflection paper sharing their views on the roles of women in society past...
Lesson Plan
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Comparing the 1945 Vietnam Declaration of Independence and Constitution of 1992 with the United States Declaration of Independence and Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers compare and contrast the Vietnamese and American plans for government. For this government systems lesson, students analyze and compare excerpts of the 1945 Vietnam Declaration of Independence, the Vietnam Constitution of...
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Second World War - Conscription Events

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students explore the iam Lyon Mackenzie King Diaries which describe the involvement of Canada in WWII.
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Fact, Fiction, or Bad Memory

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students identify bias in how the events of the Boston Massacre were reported. They attempt to determine who is to blame for the Boston Massacre by determining the reliability the of sources.
Lesson Plan
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What is Suffrage? Understanding the Right to Vote

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Learners discover one of the restrictions forced on women of the early 1900s. In this civil rights instructional activity, students investigate suffrage and why women were not allowed to vote in the early twentieth century. Learners...
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Adjunct Materials

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students describe and evaluate adjunct educational materials for their usefulness in social studies classrooms. They identify means of randomly pairing students using social studies content and develop social studies-themed unit plans...
Lesson Plan
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Exploration and Encounters

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research explorers of the New World.  In this American history lesson, 4th graders conduct internet & textbook research about various New World explorers.  Students compare and contrast the sources used for...
Lesson Plan
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Incorporating Literature into Social Studies Teaching and Learning

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students engage in a study of incorporating literature into the Social Studies classroom. They review a variety of literature sources and then create a bulletin board with the information. Then students practice using the Reader's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Media Literacy: Discovering and Understanding Propaganda

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders study different types of propaganda and select an issue that is significant to them.  In this exploratory lesson plan students design and create posters on the topic of their choice and write a narrative describing...
Lesson Plan
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Women's Votes, Women's Voices

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate Women's Suffrage by analyzing images from the past.  For this equal rights lesson, students read biographical work about Emma Smith DeVoe, an activist who fought for women's rights.  Students view a comic...
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Cultural Comparisons Interview

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students interview a family member and give an oral report. In this oral history lesson, students create interview questions relevant to an American historical period. Students interview a family member and present an oral report to the...
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Transportation Through Time

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students write a short story illustrating the past and imaging the future in transportation. In this transportation lesson plan, students explore artifacts that have to do with transportation in the past in Chicago.
Lesson Plan
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Why Study History?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this world history lesson, students research several historical events and their impact. Students compose essays that address the question, "Why...
Lesson Plan
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The Warmth of the Sun

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students compare and discuss the warmth of the classroom in a variety of places. They chart the warmth of places inside, outside and a pan of water.
Lesson Plan
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The Immigrant Experience

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students utilize oral histories to discover, analyze, and interpret immigration and migration in the history of the United States. A goal of the unit is fostering a discussion and encouraging students to make meaning of the bigger...
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A Journey Through Time!

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students discover more about conducting genealogical research on the challenges that their ancestors and others experienced during their immigration to Canada and their migration within Canada. They engage in a variety of creative...
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Spaghetti Bridge

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students work together to build their own spaghetti bridge. They test the bridge to see how much weight it can hold before breaking. They discover how engineers use this type of information to design bridges.
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The Seasonal Round and The Cycle of Life

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders are introduced to the concept of the seasonal round and how folklife traditions vary from season to season. They begin charting dates of personal interest on seasonal round calendars by starting with birthdays. Students...