Annenberg Foundation
America's History in the Making: Classroom Applications One
Someone finds a time capsule 100 years from now, and it includes your family photo album. What would the photos tell that person about you and your place in history? Scholars investigate how artifacts tell stories. Using photos, maps,...
Curated OER
Overland Trails To The West
After observing a map of trails that settlers took in the 1800s, your class will write a journal with the perspective of a settler. In their journals, they must describe the trail they traveled, geographical features they saw, states and...
Museum of Tolerance
Can It Happen in America?: Taking Social Action
Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...
Library of Congress
Child Labor in America
Learners investigate child labor during the Great Depression. In this US policy instructional activity, students evaluate multiple layers of the social, economic, and political affects of policy during the Great Depression. Learners will...
Curated OER
The Colonization of the United States
Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
Annenberg Foundation
Mapping Initial Encounters
Picture someone's excitement of seeing a horse for the first time. How about a cow? The Columbian Exchange changed life for not only Native Americans, but also for Europeans and the entire world. The second lesson of a 22-part series...
Curated OER
The Latino Religious Experience: People of Faith and Vision
Students explain why Columbus said the native peoples he encountered when he reached the New World were "a people who lived in God." They explain if Latinos can still be said to be "a people who live in God." Students explain the role of...
Curated OER
The Rainforest: South America
What can one expect to see in the South American rainforest? Find out where humans sleep, what animals they encounter, what kind of plants they'll see, and what dangers lurk in the tall grasses and dense forests. This is a simple and...
Curated OER
Book: First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet
Young scholars, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet," design and create a map of the Aztec Empire at the time of the first contract with the Spanish. They create the map...
Curated OER
Lesson 1: English-Indian Encounters
What did the English settlers think of the Native Americans inhabiting the Chesapeake region of the United States? Learners analyze a series of documents and images to determine the English perception of the local inhabitants. A great...
Curated OER
The Cay
Designed for teachers who use Theodore Taylor's The Cay, this 11-page packet includes a synopsis of the story, chapter-based quizzes, and an answer key.
Curated OER
The Martian Chronicles: Concept Analysis
If you're planning on including Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in your science fiction unit, use a concept analysis guide to frame your instruction. It covers literary elements such as setting, narrative voice, and theme, as...
Curated OER
The Children of Eric the Red Explore the West: The Norsemen Encounter Indigenous People of North America
Students read about Viking exploration and complete activities based on the Indigenous people they encountered. In this Viking exploration lesson plan, students compare and contrast stories, write a character sketch, and more.
Annenberg Foundation
Exploring Borderlands
What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...
Curated OER
With Detective Fiction in the Urban Classroom
This abstract for an instructional unit using three-minute mysteries, stories by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe includes a short history of detective fiction, sample plans, and suggestions for exercises and activities...
Curated OER
The Gettysburg Address
Who was Abraham Lincoln, and what is the Gettysburg Address? Sixth graders participate in a seminar where they read and analyze the Gettysburg Address and its importance. The role of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War is also...
Curated OER
Writing Exercise: The Encounter and Columbian Exchange
Examine the effects and interrelationships that came about because of the Columbian Exchange. Learners answer three short essay questions to improve their expository writing skills and understanding of early globalization.
Curated OER
People Behind the Parks
Explore U.S. geography with your class by viewing a documentary. Show a portion of the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks," and identify the individuals responsible for keeping the parks in order. Elementary and middle schoolers...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Percussive Pods
Combine the study of art, music, and history with an activity that asks kids to craft rattles out of slabs of clay.
Curated OER
Worksheet #13 Questions - Columbus in the New World
In this Columbus in the New World worksheet, students test their knowledge on various terms relating to the aforementioned topic in ten fill in the blank questions.
Sea World
Ocean Discovery
Immerse your young marine biologists in the world of marine animals. The lesson includes several activities that are age-appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners, including coloring pages, gluing feathers and sand onto paper...
Curated OER
The Ancient World
Students explore the concept of migration. In this ancient civilizations lesson, students watch "The Ancient World" and research life in the Fertile Crescent. Students then write letters from the perspective of people migrating from...
Curated OER
English-Indian Encounters in Early 17th Century Virginia
Learners participate in a three part lesson in which they examine the initial encounters between the English and the Indians, the different ways in which the colonist and Indians interacted and why English settlers and Native Americans...