Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Webquest - Westward Ho!

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students investigate life on the trail West. In this Oregon Trail lesson, students collaborate to research the pioneer life and then role play a family's life on the trail. Students author an essay regarding their research finding and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The People of Kansas: Who Are They and Why Are They Here?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the settlement patterns of the Kansas Territory. In this Kansas history lesson, students analyze primary documents from the pioneers in the territory. Students write letters or perform skits that feature their findings.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wagon's West

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students travel to the American West. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students discuss the Oregon Trail and then play the computer game of the same title. Students take on the roles of those who travelled the trail.
Handout
Ballet Austin

The History of Modern Dance

For Students 4th - 12th
The evolution of modern dance, and the dance history of many of the key figures in the development of this uniquely American form, are the focus of a 13-page packet that includes photos of revolutionaries.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Expansion

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the components of the Westward Movement in the United States. Understanding the past and the linkages it has to the present is the intended goal of this seventeen day unit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Uncle Sam is Rich Enough to Give Us All a Farm:

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars examine websites and video clips to become familiar with tenets of the Homestead Act, challenges faced by settlers and misconceptions about settlers. They role-play colonists on the Planet XR-38 and make choices similar to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is Seeing Believing?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Pupils study different photographers who started the concept of battlefield photography.  In this media activity students explore how to "read" a photograph and relate the use of photography during the Civil War to current use...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ute Indians: Past and Present

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study the history of the Ute Indians. In this Ute Indians lesson, 4th graders complete a KWL chart about Ute Indians and read the online Ute Indian Fact Sheet. Students study examples of Ute culture, where the Ute Indians...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who are the Women of the Pacific North West: 1830-1870?

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Learners view a picture from the Vancouver National Historic Reserve and discuss the people in the picture. They locate Cromwell's Map and discuss the villages located close to Fort Vancouver. Students read information regarding the role...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research the Jamestown settlement and examine life in the colonies from 1607-1610. They explore websites, develop a timeline, select two settlers to research, and write three letters written from the point of view of their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wagon Train

For Teachers 3rd - Higher Ed
Students use educational software to examine the hardships and problem solving skills needed by the pioneers as they endured frontier life. They work as teams while using the game simulation. They work a number of project while not on...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering American Identity through Writings and Paintings, 1800-1845

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders view paintings to determine the identity of the United States in a specific time period. As a class, they listen to their teacher give the title of the painting and they write a prediction about what the painting might be....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Myth and the Reality: Pioneering in the Midwest

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students examine the myth and reality of settlement in the Upper Midwest during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Lesson Plan
PBS

Myth of the West: Lonely But Free I’ll Be Found

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Tumbling tumbleweeds! Scholars work with video clips, primary and secondary documents, and song lyrics to uncover life in the Old West. They examine song's lyrics to uncover myths told in the 1930s about life in the Wild West. 
Lesson Plan
Stanford University

Ruby Bridges

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
A two-part lesson features Civil Rights hero, Ruby Bridges. Part one focuses on the heroic actions of Ruby Bridges then challenges scholars to complete a Venn diagram in order to compare themselves to her. Part two begins with a...
Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

One Land, Many Trails: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 5)

For Teachers 5th Standards
English is not the only subject that requires its own set of vocabulary words—geography does too! A series of language development lessons designed to be used with Theme 5: One Land, Many Trails helps introduce readers to key vocabulary...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bill Pickett, Bulldoggin' Cowboy

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Who was Bill Picket? Interested readers work through an informational passage to find out about a famous "bulldogger" from the old West. They answer several reading comprehension questions and use a seven step process to decode new...
Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

One Land, Many Trails: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 5)

For Teachers 5th Standards
Grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies are all part of the journey toward understanding a text. The last in a series of three extra support lessons designed to accompany Theme 5: One Land, Many Trails provides a wealth of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Families and Schools of the Past"

For Teachers 1st
First graders listen to and discuss historical fiction and bigraphies from the early American time period. They role-play, draw, write stories and dress up to re-create events from these historical characters.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration into an Urban Industralized Northeast: 1879-1914

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars study how three ethnic groups were introduced to urban, industrialize, northern cities. They examine how these groups were greeted and accepted be the 'native born' Americans and how successful they were in assimilating...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Striking It Rich!

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore the California Gold Rush. They explore the lure of gold and the Wild West, how pioneers traveled to the West, and the hardships and people they encountered along the way. Activities be authentic, hands-on, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trailblazers- Now and Then

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine and study the routes of trailblazers. In this American history lesson, students find a route on a map and compare that to the route of trailblazers. Students will then compare that map with a topographical map to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The People of Kansas

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate primary sources to experience first- hand accounts of Kansas pioneers. They write an historical fiction letter or skit based on territorial documents.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Family Life

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners investigate the lives of families in two different centuries. They compare the 1600's to the 1800's. Students write an essay about the differences and how they developed in history. Special attention is paid to the external...

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