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Oral History: Park City Museum
Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this lesson. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...
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A History of Journal Writing
High schoolers articulate their prior knowledge concerning the purposes of journal writing. They explore what function journal writing has fulfilled for various cultures and peoples. Students read and analyze various journal entries by...
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Putting History in its Place
Examine ways in which historic places and landmarks represent significant themes and events in American history. Then create theme-based travel guides for related historic locations. This lesson requires informational reference materials...
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Ancient Ones
Students read the story Ancient Ones about a forest that is connected to all the life around it. For this reading lesson plan, students also create a tall folding book about the forest.
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War Poetry, Journals and Letters: Viet Nam
Examine letters written during war-time. In this cross curricular history and English lesson plan, middle and high school scholars read letters and poems written by soldiers in the Vietnam war. They will examine the perspective and...
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Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
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A Walk Through History
Students examine the relationship between relics found in history museum exhibits and the meaningful ways in which those relics are presented. They, in groups, select objects for a history exhibit about the event or time period of their...
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Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...
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King Arthur and his Knights
Fourth graders examine the myths of King Arthur. They compare/contrast versions of the story, The Sword in the Stone, write a letter, identify and analyze characters, sequence events, and write observations and answer questions in a...
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A Discourse on the History of Language
Analyze and make inferences from the information used by linguists to construct the evolution of languages. They research different dating techniques to explain how scientists infer age with evidence.
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The History of Scrabble
Students discover the history and rules to the classic board game, Scrabble. In this spelling lesson, students complete a KWL chart on Scrabble and present their findings in an oral report. Students work in pairs to reenact one of the...
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My Name is America
Students read My Name is America about the Donner Party journey and create a scrapbook of what they read. In this Donner Party lesson plan, students also map out the journal they read about.
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Giving Voice to History
Young scholars examine the plight of Japanese Americans during World War II. In this World War II lesson, students participate in a mock evocation simulation, research primary and secondary documents about internment camps, and share...
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Looking Back - An Art/English/History Interdisciplinary Unit
Students research historical events of the past century to recognize that society impacts the themes within art and literature. They then interview an individual to develop a biographical narrative, a collage and finally an oral...
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Lewis and clark...and Jodie, Freddi, and Samantha
Students practice descriptive language when one student describes an object to another student who cannot see it. They guess what the object is and relate the experience to that of the Lewis and Clark expeditionary journals.
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If These Objects Could Talk
Students examine American Indian artifacts through historical, cultural and artistic lenses. They explore the philosophy behind the Smithsonian Institute's new museum to honor American Indian history and traditions.
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Slavery and the Underground Railroad
Third graders discover racism in our country by investigating the Internet. In this abolitionist movement lesson, 3rd graders define the Underground Railroad and participate in an activity by logging on to an on-line History website. ...
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Flight Dreams - Flight Factors
Students investigate the physics of flight by experimenting in class. In this history of flight instructional activity, students define terms such as gravity, lift, and drag in order to better understand how a plane is able to stay in...
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A Christmas Carol Exploration
Seventh graders explore the history of Christmas by researching classic literature. In this holiday lesson, 7th graders read the story A Christmas Carol and discuss the tone of Charles Dickens' classic literary work. Students answer...
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Personal Stories of the National Parks
Middle schoolers explore historical information about U.S. national parks using the stories of Edward and Margaret Gehrke as a primary source document. In this United States geography, history, and literacy lesson, students view the...
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Give Me Liberty or Give Me Freedom
Welcome to America, the land of liberty and freedom. Examine the ways in which the terms liberty and freedom have been used in the United States. After researching and analyzing quotations from the past and present, learners create an...
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Orville and Wilbur Wong and the Fantastic Flying Machines
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the role of Chinese immigrants in America. They investigate literature, history and cultures of Chinese-Americans. This ambitious plan takes two weeks to complete, and it brings in elements...
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Playing with History
Young scholars consider the elements that make computer games compelling, then use these elements to develop game 'narratives' based on historic events.
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Where Does History Stand on the Last Stand?
Students examine the Battle of Little Bighorn and its impact on United States and Native American culture through reading current and historic New York Times articles and by creating a research-based exhibit about this historic event.