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A Reporter's Recovery of Place
Students read and write their own story about an artifact they find in their community.
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Visual Arts, Literary Arts, and Performing Arts: Their Connection and Place in America's Minority Culture
Students explore the rich, varied, and full artistic culture of each of these three minority groups, Native Americans, Chicanos, and African Americans. They explore art through dance, music, literature, and many other different mediums....
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Pieces of the Past
Seventh graders compare and contrast the way of life of Native Americans in Texas and around the country. As a class, they brainstorm about the uses of pottery today and use broken pieces of pottery to create an artifact. In groups,...
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The Kanaka Village at Fort Vancouver: Crossroads of the Columbia River
Students study the interaction between Native American and European cultures in the Pacific Northwest in the 1800s. They focus their study on the Hudson's Bay Company and Fort Vancouver.
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The Buffalo Jump
Eighth graders investigate the disappearance of buffalo. They conduct research into the uses of buffalo by the Native Americans. There are resource links included in this activity. They answer specific questions to help guide the...
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Show Me a Flowerpot
Students compare and contrast handmade and machine-made products in a study about the evolution of production processes in American history. In this production history lesson, students explore a flowerpot in depth. Students make their...
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Indians in Georgia: How Do We Know What We Know?
Students discover archaeology by investigating the history of Native Americans in Georgia. In this U.S. history lesson, students participate in a mock archaeological excavation in their classroom by recovering artifacts and...
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Virginia: Jamestown and Its People
Learners familiarize themselves with the settlement of Jamestown and practice describing objects and their use. In this Jamestown lesson, students listen to stories about Jamestown, complete an artifact activity, and explore the story...
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Businesses and Communities on the Move
In this American transportation history worksheet, students read about various forms of transportation and respond to 16 multiple choice and short answer questions regarding trains, streetcars, automobiles, and trucks.
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The Study of the Spanish-Speaking People of Texas: Overcoming Adversity
Students examine the photographs of Russell Lee and identify the obstacles faced by Mexican-Americans in Texas during the early and mid-20th century. They discuss the ways they overcame these obstacles and relate it to obstacles in...
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Trade Trials Treaties
Fourth graders explore the trade relationships that existed in the late 1700's Colonial America. In this American history lesson, 4th graders examine English and Cherokee trade treaties by reviewing primary and secondary sources....
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Like Comparing Bison and Fish
Fourth graders study the development of North American Indian cultures by looking at how geography impacted their development. They write a five paragraph essay comparing the Plains Indians and the Clatsop Indians.
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The Native American: Through the Eyes of His Mask With a Special Focus on the Indians of Connecticut
Students respond to the environment in an artistic way. They assemble a work using found materials and make a pot using the coil or pinch pot method. They develop a meaningful decoration and/or design on the inner or outer surface of...
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Native American Song and Dance
Students examine the importance of the drum and drumming in the cultural context of the Native American. Musical insturments and native dance is employed to support the focus of the lesson.
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Dressing in Early American Times
Fifth graders, by doing research and seeing actual and simulated artifacts, gain knowledge of and make comparisons about clothing in the Colonial and early Republican eras with attire of present time.
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Pieces of the Past
Students compare and contrast the lives of Native Americans from Texas and elsewhere. Using artifacts, they explain how they were used and made as well as how they benefited all peoples living in Texas. They describe economic patterns...
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Introduction to Indians and the First Thanksgiving
Students use yarn to create a timeline of the first Thanksgiving. After a class discussion, they view pictures of artifacts and Native Americans to identify the tools and items present during the first Thanksgiving. In groups, they...
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Pioneer Scramble
Young scholars explore the concept of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Movement lesson, students study why Americans emigrated west in the 1840s and 1850s. Young scholars create interactive timelines, write exploration reports, and...
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Why Celebrate Black History Month
Second graders study about the culture, heritage, family, church, and politics of the African-American and why we honor their accomplishments. Then they make class presentations. This is a very meaningful instructional activity on an...
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American Industry Growth
Eleventh graders explore the economic growth from 1878 to 1893. In this social studies lesson, 11th graders discuss how the improvements lead to an inequality in wealth and the problems that it caused.
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Primary Documents: The President and African Americans
Students examine the efforts of the federal government to address discrimination in the U.S. before and after WWII. They read and discuss two executive orders, complete a worksheet, and answer discussion questions.
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Mapping the Past
Middle schoolers study historical maps to view how the world evolved from medieval times through the Renaissance. They work in groups to examine the maps and present a report on one of the listed maps.
Smithsonian Institution
Changing Gender Roles on the Home Front
Many historians discuss how gender roles changed because of World War II, but how did this come to be? An informative resource challenges scholars to do some digging and research the information for themselves. They research how...
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Village Life in India
Young scholars use included links to research the lives of people living in a small village in India.