Curated OER
COMING TO AMERICA: THE NEW IMMIGRANTS
Learners become involved in the process of interpreting history by looking at primary source documents. This promotes critical thinking skills and comprehension of concepts and their relationships to different time periods through...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Volume 1 - A History of the United States: Precolonial to the 1800s
Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.
Curated OER
From Riches to Rice
Tenth graders identify and locate Africa, the United States, the Original 13 colonies, and the region of West Africa on a map. They list examples of culture and African American culture. Students link the culture of West Africa with the...
Curated OER
The Treaty Trail: U.S. Indian Treaty Councils in the Northwest
Students create a timeline with the major events of the 19th and 20th century dealing with Native Americans. They examine artifacts and discuss how they reflect culture. They also identify trade routes the Native Americans used.
Curated OER
Comparison of Political Life
Students research and compare and contrast the political leadership of three cultures.
Curated OER
Virginia Colony and England
Students identify how cultural landscapes reflect beliefs, customs, and architecture of people living in those areas. Then they identify that Virginia developed a unique culture different from that of England. Students also research...
Curated OER
Maps and Legends by Micheal Chabon
Students read an essay to improve language skills and understanding of American culture for ESL teachers. In this American culture lesson, students read the essay 'Maps and Legends' by Michael Chabon and complete various activities to...
Curated OER
Folk Traditions in the Blues
Click here to download a PDF of this instructional activity. (2.8 MB) Overview This instructional activity will enable teachers to use the blues to explore selected topics in African American folklore. Students will learn about some of...
Curated OER
Children of Clay
Fourth graders identify and interpret the Pueblo Native American culture and history and comprehend their folklore and songs. They also create their own piece of pottery with clay and write a myth about the piece of pottery they made....
Curated OER
Langston Hughes and the Blues
Students explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture lesson, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
Curated OER
Interchangeable Parts Revolutionize Clock-making
Students consider assembly line production. In this instructional activity on Industrialization, students explore rifle manufacturing then create a workshop in the classroom to assemble clocks. They determine the pros and cons of...
Curated OER
Art of Cynicism
Learners analyze selected pieces of art and infer how they reflect a sense of disillusionment, and/or cynicism in American society in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. Then they identify and place cultural attitudes...
Curated OER
Mission Accomplished
Second graders describe the impact of certain figures in United States history, including Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They describe experiences of early American explorers and compose narratives from the perspectives of others.
Curated OER
A Journey To Japan Through Poetry
Third graders gain an appreciation for writing, analyzing, reading and listening to poetry, viewing poems as a motivation for studying Japanese culture and tradition. They study and create their own haiku and tanka poems with illustrations.
Curated OER
Introduction to Modernist Poetry
Students analyze modernist poetry in depth and detail. The several historical, social, and cultural forces that prompted the modernist movement and its effects are examined in this instructional activity.
Curated OER
German Immigrants:Their Contributions to the Upper Midwest
Learners study how contemporary lifestyles/cultures/traditions are influenced by the contributions of the settlers of that region; and use their prior knowledge of German to discuss photographs of people.
Curated OER
Power to the People: Social Movements of the 1960s
Students engage in a professional development workshop for teachers in the delivery of curriculum about the era of the 1960's. The emphasis of the workshop is using popular culture of the time in order to launch investigations that are...
Curated OER
Native Lands: Indians in Georgia, How Do We Know What We Know?
Students examine Native American oral traditions. In this Georgia history lesson, students discuss Native American oral traditions and research stories of migration. Students create their own oral history projects that feature their...
Curated OER
Recreation Yesterday and Today
Students research entertainment and recreation in the early 20th century. In this lesson on the 1920's, students use the American Memory collections to compare the rural experience for this time period to the national experience and to...
Curated OER
The Fall and Rise of the White-tailed Deer Population: Conservation Success Story?
Students analyze the problems that have come along with the conservation movement and the fall and rise of the white tailed deer population. In this conservation lesson plan, students see how important the deer were to the Native...
Curated OER
Bartering Through the Seasons
Fifth graders explore bartering. In this bartering lesson, 5th graders investigate bartering between the American colonies. Students study the climate and geography of neighboring colonies and investigate crops native to each area.
Curated OER
Yerbas y Remdios: A New Look
Students explore human health by participating in a medicine class activity. In this herbs lesson, students identify plants which Native Americans used throughout history to cure illnesses. Students research specific herbs in groups and...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Manifest Destiny or Bust
Fifth graders explore the westward movement between 1800 and 1861 in the United States. They write narratives from the standpoint of those cultures that were repressed during this period, such as Native Americans, slaves, or Mexicans. ...
Curated OER
Bye-Bye Bison
Fourth graders investigate the bison's struggle for survival. They discuss the importance of bison while participating in an role playing activity showing how important the food supply and surroundings are to their survival.