Curated OER
Mapping in Words
Students create maps to describe the Wabanaki's relationship with their environment. They discuss the names the Wabanaki people gave to areas of land and water. They review a map of their community to discuss the names of towns and their...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon A Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 1
As part of a study of the history of the Chumash on California's Channel Island chain, class members view the documentary Once Upon a Time, respond to discussion questions, and create a timeline for the different waves of migration.
Curated OER
Land Use Change Over Time
Students use historical aerial photographs and current aerial photographs to compare the change over time to the land. For this land changing lesson plan, students analyze, compare, contrast, and list the land change in their own community.
Curated OER
The American Trail System
Students research a trail system. They create a display board of the trail system, generate a map of the trail system, and develop a commercial advertising of the trail system. They design a display board featuring facts about the...
Curated OER
Expanding the Mission: Historical Parks
Students explore U.S. geography by viewing a documentary in class. For this national parks lesson, students view video clips of individual national parks and locate them using Google Earth software. Students create a persuasive...
Curated OER
Colonial Vacation Planner
Looking for a good lesson on the Colonial Period for your upper-elementary class? Then, this lesson is for you! They use website designs, U.S. travel publications, and maps to plan a family vacation to states which were part of the...
Curated OER
California's Golden History: 1848-1880
Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...
Curated OER
Explorers in Kansas
Fourth graders read cards about the explorers: Coronado, Lewis, and Clark, Pike, and Long. In this influential expeditions instructional activity, 4th graders describe and observe explorers who came to Kansas. Students locate main...
Curated OER
Where is the Trail? The Journey of Lewis and Clark
Students explore the trail followed by Lewis and Clark on their journey across the United States. For this United States History lesson, students complete several activities to establish the Lewis and Clark Expedition, including a class...
Curated OER
Learning About Location: Charting the Path of the George W. Elder
Students acquire a working knowledge of the geographical concepts: absolute location, relative location, longitude and latitude. They analyze primary sources that shows the physical and human characteristics of the places along the 1899...
Curated OER
Book: Germany
Learners, after reading Chapter One in the book, "Germany," analyze and recreate the political boundaries as well as the physical features of the nation of Germany with the assistance of play-doh or salt dough. In groups, they create...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
I Hear the Locomotives: The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad
Students examine the effects the Transcontinental Railroad had on the regions through which it passed. They analyze and discuss maps, view and describe online images, and use photos and documents to develop a cause-and-effect ladder.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Recent Weather Patterns
Decide whether weather is changing! A two-part activity first challenges classes to review the differences between weather and climate. Once finished, individuals then analyze historical data to determine if climate change is happening...
Curated OER
Making a Report to President Washington
Students gain an understanding of some of the challenges the U.S. faced at its birth. They are asked to compose a report on the state of the nation in 1790 (addressed to President George Washington), which includes a narrative, maps and...
Civil War Trust
Transcribing Civil War History
Primary sources are valuable for understanding the context of historical events, but the diction and dialect in these documents can be difficult to understand. Middle and high schoolers participation in a transcription process in which...
Curated OER
Salt of the Earth: A Caddo Industry in Arkansas
Middle schoolers explore the history of the Caddo Salt Industry found in Arkansas. Along with learning about how salt deposits formed in Arkansas, learners study the process of salt production and how valuable salt is as a natural...
Curated OER
Learning to Ask Questions
First graders analyze historical materials and create questions about Dwight D. Eisenhower. In this question writing lesson, 1st graders ask and answer questions about the life of Eisenhower. Students write about photographs they view.
National History Day
Challenging the Status Quo: Women in the World War I Military
Why are some so resistant to change? The status quo is often to blame for a lack of forward movement in society. Following the events of World War I, women in America suddenly had a voice—and were going to use it. Scholars use the second...
Curated OER
The Aztecs - Mighty Warriors of Mexico
Upper elementary learners identify the Aztecs as the builders of a great city and rich civilization in what is now Mexico. They locate the Aztec Empire and its capital on a map and place the Aztecs in the chronology of American history....
Civil War
Civil War Medicine: Fact or Fiction
Young historians compare the presentation of medical care during the Civil War in passages from fictional and nonfictional texts. They examine passages from Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell and Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen, and...
Curated OER
Living in the Desert
Conduct an investigation on the plants used by the Hohokam tribe. To survive in the harsh desert environment the Hohokam used many natural resources. Learners read, research, map, and graph multiple aspects of Hohokam plant use as a...
School Rack
Westward Expansion Project Choices
What a great list of brief research projects for reviewing the era of westward expansion in the United States! Learners are directed to choose and complete three of the projects on the given list, which includes opportunities to design...
British Council
Letters Home
When you're writing historical fiction, the past really can become the present — especially if you're writing in the present continuous tense! Cover World War I, verb tenses, censorship, and letter writing with one informative lesson and...