Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Faces of the Bench

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use primary source documents to gather information on justices in the Michigan Supreme Court. They write about the thoughts and experiences of the author. They identify and describe each justice briefly.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Smithson To Smithsonian, The Birth Of An Institution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students evaluate historical sources. In groups, students explore the differences between a primary and secondary source. They examine the importance of evaluating sources and using credible ones when writing reports. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coming to California

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read excerpts from Juan Bautista de Anza's diaries. They analyze the impact of primary sources. They write journal entries for characters in stories they have read during the year.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders write a 2-3 page essay explaining the problems of refugees in the world today. They explain where in the world this is happening, why the refugees are leaving their homeland, where they are going, and what happens to them...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 2: Maine's Merchant Marines

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students simulate the quarters aboard a ship. They write a letter to Joanna Colcord or Alice Drinkwater that shows an understanding of the experience of being aboard ship, and asks further historical questions about the experience.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

HIT THE TRAIL

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students draw three cattle trails that passed through Indian Territory, using a written description of the trails and will create a diary of trail life. Students research a historical trail as assigned. Students share their information...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anne Frank: Everything Changed for Us

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students write about a time they were made to feel different, and when they were on the other side of the equation. They read other first hand accounts of times in history when people were made to feel like outsiders.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art or Artifact?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze and discuss illustrations of the New World by John White. They examine the images, answer questions about each one, and write an essay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ancient Civilizations: Medieval and Early Modern Times

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders gain an understanding of the history of Mongolian culture through making inferences about Mongolian artwork
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Traveling Around Nebraska

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze a current or historical photograph from their textbook and as a class complete a worksheet of the analysis. Using the Photographic Analysis Form, they locate and analyze two transportation photographs and use the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Native american Tribal Sovereignty

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the issue of tribal sovereignty for Native Americans. Following a mock trial simulation based on the case of Johnson v. McIntosh, they write opinion papers based on the results of the Supreme Court decision in 1823.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anne Frank Newspaper

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students individually research different aspects of the Holocaust. They create newspaper articles and editorials based on a specific aspect of the Holocaust. Students come together as a whole class and create a newspaper based on their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Ramadan Observance

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students discuss Ramadan and the practice of fasting. Working in groups, they visit Websites and complete worksheets about the Muslim holiday. Students write letters role-playing as someone unfamiliar with a celebration and then write...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: Islands and Alcatraz

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students, in groups, create maps of islands including map keys and compass roses. They compare and contrast their island communities with that of the island prison, Alcatraz. Students select from a series of projects, including writing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Opening Doors to Social Studies with Children's Literature

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders read a story about immigration, listen to songs about America and explore the history of their ancestors. They discuss how immigration creates a multicultural country. Pupils create a collage of the people in America. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ane Frank: Writer

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders investigates a website to gather information on the Holocaust and Anne Frank. They compare Anne Frank's characteristics to other peers. Students explore specific examples and draw conclusions about human behavior.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mills of New Hampshire

For Teachers K - 12th
Students locate mill sites on a New Hampshire map. They describe who worked in the mills and their working conditions. They examine the environmental impact of the mills and work together to find out more information about mills.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

BIRTH OF AN EXCEPTIONAL NATION

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compare the 2 paintings "Washington Crossing the Delaware" and "Prayer at Valley Forge". Look for similarities, differences and information on the painters. Create a political game board using the events from 1776.
Lesson Plan
Briscoe Center for American History

Applying the SOAPS Method of Analyzing Historical Documents

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Young historians use the SOAPS (Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) method of questioning to determine the historical value of primary source documents. The third in a series of five lessons that model for learners how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

China and India

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study life in China prior to the Republican Revolution under the control of the Manchu Dynasty. They discuss what was read and how it applied to the Republican Revolution in China,
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fort Life in the Green Bay Area, 1816-1841

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders examine from the perspectives of military personnel, Native Americans, families of soldiers, and civilians who lived and worked in the region during the era. They create a 2-page scrapbook layout from at least two of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Primary Sources

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students explore the usage of primary sources, what they are and how they originate. Artifacts are compared and contrasted as part of this historical inquiry as questions are formulated and conclusions drawn.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children of War

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Take a closer look at the impact of war in this language arts and social studies activity. Middle schoolers use primary sources to conduct research as they relate to the effects of war on children. They compare and contrast the effects...
Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: The Challenges of The Plains

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...