Whitewater Valley Railroad
Teaching and Learning with The Polar Express
Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...
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Colorado Greats Trading Cards
Students research to find information about famous people from Colorado. They copy and save pictures from the Internet, then make a trading card containing important biographical data.
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Getting Down and Dirty: An Exploration of the 1930's
Students complete an exploration of the 1930s. Using artwork and primary source documents, they compare, contrast and identify cause and effect relationships in the events of the decade. They discover how the events then affect people...
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U.S. History: What Happened Here?
Students apply the global positioning system to create maps of local historical sites. By collaborating with local historical groups, they research events and relate them to broader, national history. In addition to writing essays...
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The Chinese Massacre of 1871
Students investigate the historical Chinese Massacre of 1871. They conduct Internet research, analyze period maps of Los Angeles, read an article, design a timeline, and write a research paper.
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Voices from the Holocaust: A Message of Hope
Students develop a sense of historical empathy as they discuss The Holocaust and roll play activities designed to highlight prejudice in today's society. In this Holocaust history and The Diary of Anne Frank lesson, students...
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Revolutionary Tea Parties and the Reasons for Revolution
Eleventh graders list some tea party protests other than the Boston Tea Party, then state some possible reasons behind the tea protests. They explain the connection between the Boston Tea Party, other tea parties, and events that...
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A Country Is Born-The American Revolutionary War
Seventh graders construct a historical timeline of events leading up to and during the Revolutionary War. They give a speech pleading the cause of independence and compare and contrast today's news media with the ideals of the...
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Number The Stars
Learners read a book about prejudices that occur in our daily lives. They describe characters in the book. Students discuss real life events of World War II and the Holocaust. Learners simulate hiding Jews from the German soldiers. ...
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World War II: Japanese-American Internment
Fifth graders read "The Bracelet" by Yoshiko Uchida and use it as a catalyst to discuss the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. They debate the morality of the internment, create Venn diagrams and chart important events...
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History Biographies
Students explore the life and the contributions of five people from U.S. history in the five lessons of this unit. james Madison, Dolly Madison, Sequoyah, Harriet Tubman, and Clara Barton are presented to students for exploration and...
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Nonviolent Resistance: Gandhi and King
Learners use the internet to research the major events and dates of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In groups, they use this information to create a poster to present to the class. They reflect on how these two men were...
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Quality of Information: Point of View and Bias
Fifth graders identify stereotypes of Indian people based on perceived characteristics. They discuss the misconceptions. Students define quality of information and give an example from the story "Seaman's Journal: On The Trail With Lewis...
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Get to Know Your City
Third graders research the history of their home city and how it's development was influenced by different groups of people. They present their research information to the class.
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Civil War
Fifth graders discuss the causes of the Civil War and write a paragraph summarizing each identified event. In the computer lab, 5th graders create a PowerPoint presentation explaining events leading up to the Civil War. They use the...
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Designing The Character Of Louisiana Purchase Louisianians
Students investigate the history of the Louisiana Purchase. They gather information using a digital library and internet resources. The information is used to construct a detailed summary of how the people of time lived. They also use...
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Old Photographs: Windows to the Past
Students examine several types of old photographs and compare them to photography today. Students search for historical photographs and draw conclusions about the time period from the subject matter. Students explain how a camera...
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The "State" of ABC's
Fifth graders apply the ABC format to write books about various states. They identify important people, places, and events and include title. copyright, and dedication pages. They have items for all letters and createcovers and "about...
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Ship of Gold
Students explore American values. In this American history lesson, students read passages from Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. Students collaborate to conduct research in order to build a timeline of the events surrounding the sinking...
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AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT IN WORLD WAR II: THE PACIFIC THEATER 1941-1945
Tenth graders describe roles of key figures in the Pacific Theater of war during World War II. In this American History lesson plan, 10th graders research key events of the Pacific Theater of War during World War II. Students...
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The Gulf War 1990-1991
High schoolers examine facets of the Gulf War. In this Gulf War lesson, students review vocabulary and people related to the war. High schoolers then research various Gulf War Topics in heterogeneous groups. Students share their findings...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Our World is Like a Rainbow
Students create a Venn diagram of people's similarities and differences. They investigate why people relocate to different geographic regions after investigating the positives and negatives of different states.
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The Civil War Through a Child's Eye
Students use primary and secondary sources to observe a child's view of the Civil war. In this Civil War lesson, students understand that different people had different perspectives on the war. Students recognize the...
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300 Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae: Herodotus? Real History
Students are introduced to the importance of the Battle of Thermopylae. In groups, they compare and contrast letters from the leaders of both sides and also read a synopsis from a historian. They research how the people worked with the...