Curated OER
Cotton Production and Milling
Students examine cotton production and milling. They compete in a hand-ginning contest to realize how difficult it was to separate the seeds from the fibers of cotton. They discuss why Eli Whitney's cotton gin was an important invention.
Curated OER
WRITING THE WIND
The student will compose sentences using adjectives that describe windmills.Review adjectives. Write a noun on the board and have students name the appropriate adjectives. 2. Hand out worksheets and review directions for making windmill...
Curated OER
Pushing the Boundaries: The Pioneer Spirit
Eleventh graders recognize how social reform occurred at the turn of the century. Through a debate, 11th graders determine advantages and drawbacks of traveling west using original sources and descriptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and...
Curated OER
Archeological Pow-Wow
Students, in groups, examine the use of artifacts and fossils to study people, plants and animals from the past.
Curated OER
Grew to the West
In this westward growth activity, learners use lyrics given to follow along with the song "Grew to the West," filling in blanks to answer simple questions throughout. Students then answer 10 additional questions about the song. Song link...
Curated OER
Farming the Southern Colonies
Seventh graders investigate the basis for farming choices in the early colonies by using group research and discussion. Each group researches a topic that they write about and present to the rest of the class.
Curated OER
A Brief History of Los Angeles
Students study the diverse cultures that make up the population of Los Angeles.
Curated OER
Take a Dip: Be a Field Guide
Students create a Visitor's Field Guide for the local area in order to enhance the understanding of natural features of the area for those who may be unfamiliar with the area.
Curated OER
An International Menu
Students research etymologies using dictionaries. They explore the diverse origins of the common foods they eat after making a list of their favorite foods.
Curated OER
Understanding Treaties: Students Explore the Lives of Yakama People Before and After Treaties
Students examine the impact of treaties on the Yakama nation. They discover the importance of land and how they felt when their land was taken away. They role-play the positions of both the Yakama and citizens of the United States.
Read Works
Read Works: The First Americans
[Free Registration/Login Required] Intended to support early elementary students' reading comprehension, the importance of Native Americans is discussed in this informational text. Visual cues are provided to support the passage and...
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: Introduction to American Colonial History
Introductory article on American Colonial History in which the author takes a look at the first European settlers who made the voyage to America and addresses the essential question of who they were as people and hence, why they made...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Native American Cultures
The America that greeted the first Europeans was, thus, far from an empty wilderness. It is now thought that as many people lived in the Western Hemisphere as in Western Europe at that time -- about 40 million. Estimates of the number of...
New York Public Library
In Motion: African American Migration Experience: Western Migration: To Kansas
From the extensive site about African-American migrations, this part of the site focuses on Exodusters and African-Americans who moved to Kansas after the Civil War. Read first-person accounts and see photographs of these hardy...
Library of Congress
Loc: Encountering the American West: Ohio River Valley 1750 1820
This is a PDF of the information from LOC of the exhibition of America's move to its first West, that of the Ohio River Valley. Discussion includes these topics: Contested Lands, Peoples and Migrations, Empires and Politics, Western Life...
Other
Live Science: First American Settlers Not Who We Thought
This article discusses findings that point to a pre-Clovis, New-World-humans model through artifacts dug up at various archaeological spots thoughout the Americas.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The First Dutch Settlers
Read about the Dutch colonization of the Hudson River Valley in this comprehensive essay about the Dutch in America. Pages 3-7 deal with the Dutch colonies.
Other
Rhode Island: First Inhabitants
At this site read a concise description of the different Native American groups that first lived in the Rhode Island area. Also learn about the earliest European settlers and a bit about their lives after settlement.
A&E Television
History.com: History on a Plate: How Native American Diets Shifted After European Colonization
For centuries, Indigenous people's diets were totally based on what could be harvested locally. Then white settlers arrived from Europe. Native people pass down information - including food traditions - from one generation to the next...
Other
Bringing History Home: Communities Long Ago
This Grade 1 unit explores U.S. communities in a historical context. By exploring their own community's buildings and services of both long ago and today, children in non-Native American communities are introduced to concepts of change,...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of the American Indian: Beyond the Thanksgiving Myth [Pdf]
This study guide gives information about the Native Americans who were living in the area where the Pilgrims landed in 1620 and information about the new settlers too. The myth of the title concerns the friendly meal shared by the...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: William Bradford; The First Thanksgiving
Plymouth Colony did not suffer the same problems as the English colony farther south, Jamestown. Read about the leadership of William Bradford, and the relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans who helped those who lived...
Other
Georgia Voyager: Story of Toonahowi
Read the exciting story from the Georgia Voyager of how Toonahowi and his uncle Tomochichi worked to become friends with the first English settlers of Georgia and to live in peace.
US Mint
U.s. Mint: Jamestown Challenge
Sail to the New World, and take the interactive, story quiz on the first permanent English settlement.