Lesson Plan
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National Road to Indiana

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore the National Road to Indiana. In this U.S. highway history and primary source research lesson, students read an original journal written by Jane Voorhees Lewis in 1806 describing her trip west on the first federally...
Worksheet
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Iowa: Crossword Puzzle

For Students 5th - 8th
In this United States history worksheet, students use the 14 clues in order to fill in the crossword puzzle with the appropriate answers pertaining to Iowa.
Lesson Plan
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Co-evolution of Plants and Pollinators

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore biological evolution and natural selection and its evolutionary consequences. They also explore how organisms are interdependent on one another.
Lesson Plan
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Mapping the Prairie

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study maps of the Chicago area looking at defining characteristics and place names. They investigate settlement patterns by looking at the maps.
Lesson Plan
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Reading, Writing and 'Rithmetic in the One-Room Schoolhouse

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students, through historic photographs and stories, discover the world of the one-room schoolhouse and compare it to their school experience.
Lesson Plan
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To Come to Illinois - Or Not?

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students analyze primary documents to determine whether the author is pro- or anti-emigration. They outline reasons for or against immigration to Illinois during the early 19th century.
Lesson Plan
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Ancient Recipes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore how foods and their preparation differ over time and from culture to culture. An ancient recipe for the preparation of goat, found by archaeologists, is examined and discussed by the students.
Lesson Plan
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Slavery and the Legal Status of Free Blacks: Rhetorical Analysis of Debates During the 1847 Illinois Constitutional Convention

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders read actual arguments regarding the status of free blacks in Illinois and slavery in the United States more generally.
Lesson Plan
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The Odyssey of a CoinC

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars create a fictitious newspaper article to document the travels of an ancient Greek coin. They evaluate the economic conditions that existed in ancient Greece and analyze the impact Alexander the Great had on the ancient world.
Lesson Plan
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The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858: Interactive Map Activity

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders utilize an interactive map to explore the 1858 Senate campaign in Illinois and how factors such as population, transportation, and party strongholds can affect campaign strategies.
Lesson Plan
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Biological Control of Purple Loosestrife

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the role of Purple Loosestrife in Illinois and Indiana rivers. In groups, they collect a wide variety of plants in a wetland and raise beetles in a controlled environment. They introduce the loosestrife into the...
Lesson Plan
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The Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858: Interactive Map Activity

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students utilize an interactive map to explore the 1858 Senate campaign in Illinois. They examine how factors such as population, transportation, and party strongholds can affect campaign strategies. Students write an essay discussing...
Lesson Plan
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Electricity 4

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders create a timeline of the most important dates and events involved in the history of electricity. Each student researches one scientist and designs and illustrates a piece of a poster board for the timeline.
Lesson Plan
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Fungal History

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars identify different types of fungi. They discuss how mushrooms are used in American culture and research an issue about a type of fungi. They share their information with the class.
Lesson Plan
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QUILT SHARING

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students share in the family histories of their peers as told through the quilt stories, and apply math skills by using invented strategies to determine the (approximate) age of the quilt from the information given about the date it was...
Lesson Plan
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Geography of Southeast Asia

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders study the geography and culture in ten Southeast Asian countries. They examine the development of the culture of these countries and how it is affected by their geographic locations.
Lesson Plan
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Changing Roles of Children

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine how the lives of children have changed over time. Using the internet, they examine photographs to compare and contrast the roles of children in the past and present. They write a paper showing the similarities and...
Lesson Plan
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Rendezvous

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research the Rendezvous. They then set up bartering stations for students from other classes to visit.
Lesson Plan
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ABRAHAM LINCOLN

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the influence of Abraham Lincoln on events of the 1800's and crate a group life-size poster.
Lesson Plan
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Working on the Railroad

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students plan a trip on the railroad.  In this railroad creation and implementation lesson plan, students listen to the song "Working on the Railroad", make a map of where the track was laid and discuss the geographical...
Lesson Plan
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Treasure Chest

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore Chicago in the fur-trading era. In this Chicago lesson, students discover what life what like during this time. Students read an historical fiction story about life in the fur-trade era. Students view replicas of...
Lesson Plan
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South Asian Architecture

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders review and discuss architecture from South Asia. They then study images of various buildings from North Africa/Southwest Asia, and make comparisons
Lesson Plan
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A Picture: Worth One Thousand Words?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Pupils examine photographs from the Civil War. Using a primary source document, they discover the conditions of a private during the Battle of Chickamauga. In groups, they use the sources to determine the authnecity of the documents.
Lesson Plan
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Math: Where Do I Put the Elephant?

For Teachers K
Students listen to the story, "Harriet Goes to the Circus," to launch into a lesson plan on positional words, such as over, under, and behind. After clipping out and coloring pictures of circus animals, students place them into a parade...