Curated OER
New York City Delights: The Taxi Cab
You set the rate! Step into the shoes of a taxi driver in New York City, and also pretend to be a person who uses taxis to get around town. The class will conduct collaborative research to learn about the history of taxis. Then, they...
Skyscraper Museum
Changes in a City Over Time
Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final instructional activity in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings...
Curated OER
Our community and New York City
Fourth graders research websites to gather information about New York City and the Ridgewood community. In this New York City and Community lesson, 4th graders make a semantic map. Students write short postcards to send to students...
Curated OER
Let There Be Peace: Nobel Prize Winners
What is the Nobel Peace Prize? After they establish criteria for great leadership, secondary learners read a New York Times article about President Jimmy Carter's acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Individuals research the...
Curated OER
Underground Rails: The New York City Subway System
Students explore the New York Subway system. They investigate its usefulness as mode of transportation for the people in the city and study its history compared to other city subway systems. They examine how the subway connects the...
Curated OER
Destination New York City
High schoolers identify the physical characteristics of New York City and it's attraction to tourists from around the world. They recognize how the physical environment can affect the development of a city. They identify the major...
Curated OER
Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I
Discover the challenges in educating immigrant children at the turn of the 20th century. Reforms that New York City schools used are described here and data is included for your class to analyze, in its evaluation of the effectiveness of...
Curated OER
Memorializing September 11, 2001
Pupils use the Internet to research monuments. They design models of appropriate memorials which would honor the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. They complete oral presentations that...
Curated OER
Downing's Oyster House: Building New York
Fourth graders explore African American contributions to New York City. In this antebellum New York lesson plan, 4th graders research the accomplishments of Thomas Downing. Students explore primary and secondary sources about Downing's...
Global Oneness Project
A Collapsing City Skyline
Have your high schoolers learn about the modern history of Myanmar by close-reading an article about the city and people of the city Yangon. As they'll learn, the country is going through some dramatic transitions. After reading the...
Curated OER
Active Reading with American History
Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...
Curated OER
Understanding the 1855 Census Database
Use data from the 1855 New York census to better understand the Irish immigrant experience during the late 19th century. Young historians analyze information from the census and build three hypotheses regarding the residents of the Five...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I
As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...
Curated OER
Situation of America, 1848
Students explore 19th century American artwork. In this cross curriculum New York history and art appreciation instructional activity, students view a reproduction of the painting "Situation of America, 1848," and identify visual...
Curated OER
Urban Growth in America
Students examine urban growth in America. For this urbanization lesson, students watch segments of the Discovery video "Urban Growth in America." Students conduct further research pertaining to the industrial revolution, New York City's...
Curated OER
Country's Music
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
Curated OER
Welcome to Leonard Bernstein's New York
Students study the life and musical work of Leonard Bernstein. They examine the history of New York City using three Broadway musicals in a web based lesson. They create a portrayal of their own town in this multi-lesson activity.
Curated OER
Putting History in its Place
Examine ways in which historic places and landmarks represent significant themes and events in American history. Then create theme-based travel guides for related historic locations. This lesson requires informational reference materials...
Curated OER
A Lens into the Past
Explore the history of immigration through photographs. Scholars will view and discuss photographs depicting the culture and lifestyle of late 19th and early 20th century immigrants. They take pictures of current examples of culture in...
New York Public Library
What's for Lunch?: New York City Restaurant Menus
Do you remember the days when a cup of coffee cost five cents? At A.W. Dennett restaurant in 1894, you could buy a five-cent cup of coffee and as well as a five-cent slice of pie to accompany it. The menu from that year is a primary...
Curated OER
The Slave Market: Slavery, Not Just a Southern Institution
Eleventh graders examine how slavery was related to the economic development of New York. In this American History instructional activity, 11th graders analyze the primary and secondary sources on the New York Slave Market. Students...
Curated OER
Document Based Question: Erie Canal
Fourth graders read the provided documents about the Erie Canal to discover the impact that this transportation systems had on the New York community. In this history lesson, 4th graders first analyze the documents and answer the...
Curated OER
Building New York
Eleventh graders examine the role African Americans played in the expansion of New York. In this American History lesson, 11th graders compare and contrast the images of a wealthy, free black against a black who was poor and enslaved. ...
Curated OER
Where the Wild Things Are
Students explore the role of gargoyles in New York City architecture as a starting point to considering architectural structures in their city. They create designs that illustrate ways in which those local structures may be enhanced by...