Lesson Plan
1
1
Museum of Tolerance

Family Tree Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Discover the family histories that make the classroom with a family tree activity. Scholars locate information about their family, construct a family tree, and work together to tally where family members are born.  
Lesson Plan
1
1
Museum of Tolerance

Quilt Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
After completing the first five lessons from the series, scholars assemble their quilt pieces to create a family history quilt. They then rate their experience of learning about their families by conducting interviews, creating family...
Unit Plan
Federal Reserve Bank

Piggy Bank Primer: 25 Cents Worth of History

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
It's all about money. Here's a resource that introduces kids to the Federal Reserve System, different coins produced by the mints, and fun facts about state coins.
Lesson Plan
1
1
School Improvement in Maryland

Executive Order

For Teachers 9th - 12th
After reading information about Executive Order #9066, class members assume the voice of an 18 year-old Japanese-American born in California and placed in an internment camp. Individuals then craft a letter to President Roosevelt...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Baker's Gold

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine art of the California Gold Rush. In this visual arts lesson, students analyze the photography and art of Isaac Wallace Baker. Students also conduct further research about the miners of the era in order to create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching with Objects The Gold Nugget

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders complete activities related to the California gold rush. In this gold rush lesson, 4th graders go to an Internet website video that discusses the gold rush. They complete discuss miner's experiences, sing a gold rush song,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History of the American West

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders research early mining in California. They study the "placer method" for mining gold, which is surface mining that does not involve tunneling. They examine what it was like for the early miners to pan for gold with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ancient Tablets, Ancient Graves: Accessing Women's Lives in Mesopotamia

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the role of women in ancient Mesopotamia. Several excerpts from the Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets and artifacts are analyzed to determine the treatment, rights, and powers of women in this era.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies/Chapter 10, Lesson 1: Growth of Industry (pp. 226-230)

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders discuss the four big events that helped California's southern coast grow in the early 1900's. The events of the digging of San Pedro Harbor and the Panama Canal are included. The effects upon California is looked upon from...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Problems Facing Agriculture

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the conflicts over land ownership and water in the second half of the 1800s in California. They write a criticism about the problems that farmers faced, and work in pairs to define key vocabulary terms.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Conflicts Between Cultures

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the issue of discrimination against new immigrants to California. They develop a class word web, read and discuss text, create a poster, and write a picture poem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies/Chapter 11, Lesson 3: New Ways of Living (pp. 260-263)

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders write one fact that pertains to the growth in California suburbs after World War II and another fact that pertains to the changes in the cities. Invite students to share their facts. The class can guess whether the fact...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Pony Express

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders reasearch the history of the Pony Express on the internet or they can use books from the school or public library. They write a one-page story which incorporates their research. They share their stories with the class by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making A New Nation

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders read standard road maps and topographical maps, and examine the lives of pathfinders who opened the trails to the West. They develop Living History presentations, role-playing a character from the past.
Lesson Plan
1
1
Smithsonian Institution

Conflicting Voices of the Mexican War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Americans wanted to fulfill Manifest Destiny, and this pattern continued with the Mexican War. The resource specifically teaches about the Mexican War through a variety of exercises including a research project, group work, brainstorming...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How the Vietnam War Transformed California?

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the effect of the Vietnam War on California. They work together to research social movements that occured during this period and its outcomes. They also interview veterans to better understand the impact of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Frankish Building: A Reflection Of The Success of Ontario, California

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students evaluate the impact of the Chaffey brothers and Charles Frankish on Ontario, California, and compare their efforts with those of similarly important figures in their own community's history.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Sail Through History: American West and History of Medicine

For Students 5th - 6th
In these reading strategies worksheets, learners learn reading hints, tips and the S.A.I.L. reading strategy. Students use the methods to learn about American history and the history of medicine.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore the impact of the Klondike Gold Rush on the development of Skagway, Alaska. Lesson can be used in units on western expansion, late 19th and early 20th-century commerce, and urban history.
Lesson Plan
1
1
Museum of Tolerance

The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
Lesson Plan
Channel Islands Film

Who Owns the Bones

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
A study of the history of the Channel Islands, located off the coast of southern California, continues as class members conduct a mock trial to determine which group of stakeholders should have the right to claim the remains of Juan...
Activity
Curated OER

A Multi-Media Approach to Teaching The Grapes of Wrath

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Out of the Shadows | Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Two powerful video clips launch a study of race relations in the United States after the Selma, Alabama riots, the passage of the Votings Rights Act, and the riots in Watts, California. 
Lesson Plan
1
1
Channel Islands Film

Human Impact on the Food Web of Santa Cruz Island

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What happens when a non-native species is introduced onto an island? Santa Cruz Island, part of the Channel Island chain located off the coast of southern California, provides the perfect laboratory for young environmental scientists to...

Other popular searches