Curated OER
Family Portraits
Students view and discuss realistic family portraits and respond to them by creating abstract art work, form and draw imaginative still life, prepare story about their family history or history of family in community, and write...
Curated OER
Immigration and Oral History
Students examine immigration. In this oral and social histories instructional activity, students analyze primary sources to research immigration history in their community. In this year-long research project, students participate in...
Curated OER
Primary History Extension Activity - Invasion and Settlement
In this primary history worksheet, students sharpen their research skills as they study Anglo-Saxon invasion and settlement of England. Students select 1, 2, 3, or 4 extension projects to complete.
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...
Curated OER
How Did Humans Evolve?
Students complete an online activity in which they examine fossils to find possible hominid family trees.
Curated OER
Lee & Low Books: Giving Thanks Teacher's Guide
Fourth graders participate in reading comprehension activities associated from a teacher's guide. In this reading comprehension lesson, 4th graders read Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Chief Jake Swamp and...
Curated OER
History in the Making: The Tortilla
Fourth graders examine the history of the tortilla and extend the study across the curriculum. In this history of the tortilla lesson, 4th graders research the background of the tortilla, determine the ingredients, and work with the...
Curated OER
Travel Through Time with a Family Member
Students interview a family member. In this interviewing lesson, students choose a family member to interview and write about. Students create a PowerPoint about the person including a timeline, photographs, and a narrative about their...
Curated OER
Discovering Your Community
Students focus on the origins of the families that make up their community by exploring their family's origins through themselves, parents, and grandparents. Students create a map marked with family origins for the class.
Curated OER
Designing Families
Students design a tee shirt that depicts some aspect of their family history.
Anti-Defamation League
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas became a quick hit in the young adult literature genre before its adaptation in the 2018 film of the same name. Use a thorough lesson, discussion guide, and series of activities to discuss the social...
The Alamo
A Teacher’s Guide to Sam Houston
Need a teacher's guide all about Sam Houston and how he relates to the Texas Revolution? Look no further! The guide includes a timeline detailing Houston's life, important milestones, and relevant maps that include his movement around...
Story Corps
The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorp provides a resource that captures and preserves the remembrances of family or community elders. Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, class members select a person they want to interview, record the conversation, and then upload...
American Museum of Natural History
Up Close With a Zapotec Urn
If a Zapotec urn, buried for over a thousand years in a temple in the lost city of Xoxocotlan in the Valley of Oaxaca in the mountains of southern Mexico could talk image the stories it could tell. That's the set up in a clever resource...
Smithsonian Institution
Black Diamond
Score a home run with this packet of information on the very first player of the Negro League to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame — cultural groundbreaker and sports legend Satchel Paige. These worksheets include a...
Curated OER
Family Pedigrees
Students work as a class to first construct a pedigree of a popular singer, showcasing the singing gene being passed down through the generations. Students then make their own family pedigree and follow two traits through their family...
Curated OER
Preserving the Past with Oral History
Students research history by interviewing people in their community. They create a list of questions and record their responses. They end the project with some type of final product which might include a memory book.
Curated OER
The Family Tree
In this patterns practice worksheet, students read a 3-paragraph excerpt regarding a family tree and respond to 1 graphic organizer question and 1 short answer question.
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of a Veteran: Oral History
Seventh graders conduct an interview with a veteran of a recent war to provide an account of military conflicts. In this oral history instructional activity, 7th graders research a recent war and write interview questions for their...
Curated OER
"Children of Loneliness": Understanding the Immigrant Experience
Students research and enhance the Jewish immigrant experience to that of contemporary immigrants to sustain a connection to their personal family stories. A story is shared with the class and then a discussion follows on the possible...
Curated OER
Culture Collage
Students investigate their cultural heritage and make observations on how much influence their past has on their current values and lifestyle. They brainstorm a list of things that represent a certain country or cultural heritage and...
Curated OER
The Importance of the Past
Students, in groups, study why the past is important by sharing personal past experiences. They discuss why all human pasts are important, as well as the importance of their local or family history.
Poetry Foundation
Dream in Color — Middle School
Celebrate diversity with a toolkit designed to inspire young poets to develop their own voices. After examining poems by African American poets, individuals craft their own poetic stories. The packet features poems by Gwendolyn Brooks,...
Curated OER
British Royalty Tours the U.S.
Students share their knowledge of England, then read a news article about Prince Charles's anticipated visit to the U.S. In this current events lesson (written prior to Prince Charles's visit), the teacher introduces the article with a...