Curated OER
Smiley Face Circle Stories
Students examine different artifacts from the 1970's. In this history lesson, students discover what each artifact is by seeing the artifact and reading a card defining what the artifact represents. On the second day, students create...
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Stampin' Around Chicago
Students discuss the United States Postal Service and choose an artifact from one decade. In this art lesson plan, students research how the artifact chosen relates to Chicago and the United States. Students create their own postage...
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What's That Relic?
Fifth graders listen to a read aloud of David Mc Cauley's book Motel of the Mysteries. They discuss an unknown artifact and decide what it might be used for. They research other artifacts and play "What's that Relic?"
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Quilting Our Communities
Students share personal artifacts and use them to make a classroom community quilt.
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Transmission of Family Histories
Students examine how different artifacts represent family history, stories, and experiences. They act as reporters for their own family artifacts sharing them with the class.
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What's in the Soil?
Second graders create stratified soil levels using pictures. For this earth science lesson, 2nd graders identify "artifacts" from 3 historic eras and divide them into 3 soil levels. Then they draw their own multi-level soil profile and...
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Titanic: Looking for Clues
Students make inferences about a shipwreck based on the location of artifacts. They role play as marine archaeologists and list three processes that contribute to the deterioration of the Titanic.
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Photo Analysis of American Inventions
Young scholars interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this inventions lesson, students analyze photographs of American inventions and and discuss the needs the inventions met...
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The Huexotzinco Codex
Students examine primary sources and perform historical analysis. In this Huexotzinco Codex lesson plan, students investigate the codex as they make inferences and draw conclusions
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Methods of Mystery
Students utilize the scientific method to discover the age of an item. For this historical dating lesson, students compare and contrast a 400 year old cabinet to one made within a few years by using carbon dating. Students...
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Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot!
Students, in small groups, simulate an ancient civilization and the art they created, another group represents vandals, and the final group represents archaeologists who try to figure out what life was like for the "ancient peoples". ...
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TechnoKnight
Students examine world history by creating arts and crafts. In this middle ages instructional activity, students discuss the relevence of items such as a helmet, shield and family crest. Students complete middle ages worksheets, create...
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"Archeology Dig"
Students simulate archaeologists as they dig through a bag with found items in order to arrive at conclusions about the people they are studying.
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Roots: The Ancestry of Modern People
High schoolers investigate the models for the origin of modern humans and the conditions that facilitate speciation and evolution. The classification and nomenclature of hominid species is also examined.
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Photograph Copying for Primary Source Historical Information (When Skiing Came to America)
Seventh graders explore the history of their town using old photos and interviews to compile data. They used pictures of a historical town event and interview residents who had participated in that event.
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Artifacts: Bringing the Past Back to Life -- the Mexican Case
Students examine and discuss the meanings of the various symbols in Tenochtitlan. In groups, they complete a part of the model of the city and discuss the importance of finding artifacts. Individually, they choose an a two-dimensional...
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Playing Historical Detective: Great Grandmother's Dress and Other Clues to the Life and Times of Annie Steel
Students draw conclusions about an mystery person based on documents and artifacts provided. In this drawing conclusions lesson, students become detectives by reading and analyzing evidence provided. This lesson includes information on...
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Historical Maryland Women
Learners identify objects, activities, and people in pictures of women in Maryland's history. In groups of four, they analyze photo packets of historical women. Students complete an acrostic using phrases reflecting specific...
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Using Historical Photographs to Help Students "Live History"
Third graders grasp a deeper understanding of historical time periods when vicariously experienceing the situations and circumstances of real-life individuals and responding to them.
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Artifact Exploration
Students develop an understanding of the ways in which different people can use, relate to, and understand an object. Students look at each artifact collected in this lesson plan. For each artifact, the students describe how members of a po
PBS
Interviewing a Parent
Students complete a personal interview in order to discover important information about family history and interesting family artifacts.They analyze statements from the interview in order to prove the accuracy of these statements, as...
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Analyzing the Lewis and Clark Journals
Students examine and interpret Corps of Discovery journal entries as primary documents/sources providing insight into the Lewis and Clark expedition's journey. They present information they have documented on included activity sheet in...
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Jamestown: A Brief History
Eighth graders investigate the history of the United States by researching Jamestown. In this archaeological lesson, 8th graders attend a field trip to historical Jamestown in Virgina to discover key figures that formed our country....
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Exploring Historic Cemeteries
High schoolers explore how artifacts vary at different times and in different places. They examine gravestones, observe both the individual markers and the larger context or setting of the graves.