Lesson Plan
Curated OER

New York on the Pacific Coast

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the interaction and consequences of contact among different ethnic groups. Students examine a timeline and the important historical events in American History. They discuss immigration and migration.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A New Profession Takes Seed

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze a quote written on the board by John Muir. They brainstorm ideas from the quote and discuss the interpretation of the quote and answer questions regarding the Forest Service as a Profession.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Forest to Farm and Back Again

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students review and discuss a given set of questions regarding ecosystems. They analyze essays, maps and historical documents on timber harvesting and regeneration and then complete worksheets.
Worksheet
Curated OER

The American West-Knowledge Test

For Students 4th - 5th
In this American West worksheet, students complete a 24 questions test about the American West. Answers are included beneath questions on worksheet.
Website
Other

Alaska History and Cultural Studies: America's Territory

For Students 9th - 10th
The discovery of gold in Alaska set the stage for its later settlement by people from many places who came to seek their fortunes. Subsequent transportation of people and goods by water and overland are described, as well as the...
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Contested Territories

For Students 9th - 10th
This site highlights the westward expansion of settlers in North America and the effects this expansion had on Native Americans between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
Unit Plan
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: Territorial Behaviors

For Students 11th
In this tutorial, students learn about the history of American acquisition of new territories including those that became states and those in other parts of the world. America's involvement with the Panama Canal is also covered. A PDF...
Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: Staking Claims: The Gold Rush in Nineteenth Century America

For Students 9th - 10th
This exhibition explores the Gold Rush, a group of related gold rushes to Western territories in the second half of the nineteenth century, and its impact on American history and culture.
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Spain's Territorial Conquest in the Americas

For Students 9th - 10th
The history of Spanish territorial conquest in the New World is the history of the succession of conquistadors who often overwhelmed native empires, but were sometimes overwhelmed themselves. Read about the conquistadors who came to the...
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Introduction to the Spanish Viceroyalties in the Americas

For Students 9th - 10th
When the Spanish Crown (the monarchy) learned of the promise of wealth offered by vast continents that had been previously unknown to Europeans, they sent forces to colonize the land, convert the indigenous populations, and extract...
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Arizona Became a New Territory

For Students 9th - 10th
This 2-page article provides information about how Arizona became a new territory on February 24, 1863, and the corresponding silver and gold rush that encompassed the area.
Graphic
Other

Confederate War Department: Secession of the Southern States and Territories

For Students 9th - 10th
A table listing the fifteen states and territories that became part of the Confederacy, along with their dates of secession ordinance passage and admission into the Confederate States of America. Each state name links to a transcription...
Activity
Library of Congress

Loc: Merica's Story: Oregon Territory

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read about the settling of Oregon country and how westward expansion prompted Congress to make it a territory.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: North America Dear Pen Pal

For Teachers 5th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] A letter from Sara Makpah who lives in Canada to her pen pal living in New York City. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
eBook
University of Michigan

Making of America: Kanzas and Nebraska

For Students 9th - 10th
This University of Michigan site provides the full text of "Kanzas and Nebraska," written by Edward Everett Hale. The book gives the history, geographical, and physical characteristics of these territories, as well as an account of the...
Handout
BBC

Bbc: News: Regions and Territories: French Guiana

For Students 9th - 10th
The BBC presents an overview of facts on the South American region of French Guiana. Discusses its leaders, the media, and has a link to the weather there.
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Wisconsin

For Students 3rd - 5th
Why does Wisconsin have the nickname, "America's Dairyland"? Come and check out the traditions of this great state.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: New Frontier, the Gilded and the Gritty: America, 1870 1912

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A speech and an essay that alternately praise the acquisition of foreign territory by the U.S. and that raise questions about the costs and value of these imperialistic adventures.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: America, 1789 1820: The Northwest Ordinance, 1787

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards historical documents, literary texts, and works of art thematically organized with notes and discussion questions....
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Minnesota

For Students 3rd - 5th
America's Story features fun facts about Minnesota, such as how Minnesota's nickname and interesting places such as Anoka, the Halloween Capital of the world and important cultural happenings like the Spam Festival.
Activity
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Charles Sellers: Triumph of Nationalism: America, 1815 1850

For Students 9th - 10th
A secondary account from a contemporary historian that examines early nineteenth century forces and the interplay of markets and territorial expansion.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Lewis Cass: Triumph of Nationalism: America, 1815 1850

For Students 9th - 10th
An argument by the Michigan Territorial governor, Lewis Cass, that claimed state laws superseded the rights claimed by Native American tribes like the Cherokee.
Website
Legends of America

Legends of America: The Goodnight Loving Trail

For Students 9th - 10th
Named after Charles Goodnight, the Goodnight-Loving Trail spanned more than 2000 miles. Trace the history of the trail and the cattle drives that made their way across the dangerous territory in the 1800s.
Graphic
University of Georgia

University of Georgia: A Map of United States of America (1827)

For Students 9th - 10th
A large and surprisingly accurate map from 1827 of the U.S. States and Territories at the time. Clearly shows borders of states and territories as known at the time.