Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Expansion and the War with Mexico

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners evaluate primary sources to develop their own opinions about Westward Expansion. For this Manifest Destiny lesson, students examine and respond to questions about Gast's painting titled American Progress Learners research how...
Lesson Plan
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European Expansion in America

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore human settlement in America - from the 1500s to about the turn of the 20th Century. They follow the relationships and changes beginning in the east, then head west to witness the final battles of this era.
Interactive
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The Gilded Age & the Progressive Era (1877–1917)

For Students 7th - 12th
In this online interactive philosophy worksheet, students respond to 7 short answer and essay questions about the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in the United States. Students may check some of their answers...
Lesson Plan
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Lesson III: Crisis, Pearl Harbor, Internment

For Teachers 9th - 11th
The third in a series of lessons introduced by “A Fence Away From Freedom,” uses the Smithsonian website, “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” and focuses on the section of the presentation devoted to the...
Lesson Plan
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Lewis and Clark and Native Americans, Part III

For Teachers All
Student will identify and describe the values and practices of Native American tribes with which the Corps of Discovery interacted, Highlight the contributions these tribes made to the Corps of Discovery's efforts, and examine the...
Lesson Plan
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The People of Kansas: Where did they come from and why did they come?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students review census data to correlate to emigration in Kansas. For this Westward Expansion lesson, students analyze a painting and create definitions for emigration and discuss why people emigrate. Students read and analyze 1855...
Lesson Plan
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Sioux Treaty of 1868

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore and research the history of Native Americans in North America.
Lesson Plan
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Words and Pictures Connect Nature and People: The American Conservation Movement

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research some of the men and women who help to raise the environmental consciousness of the American people through their writings and drawings. They write a persuasive piece about an outdoor place which will connect their...
Lesson Plan
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Trekking to Timbuktu: The Geography of Mali -Teacher Version

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers investigate the geography of Mali. They locate Mali on a satellite map, explore various websites, describe the landscape and climate, label a map, and write an essay about the Niger Riger.
Lesson Plan
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Cowboy Tourism

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars disucss the role the tourist industry played in popular perceptions of cowboys and Indians. They discuss the image of cowboys, as it is presented in fashion and contemporary advertisements. Students read about a town in...
Worksheet
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Cattle Industry and Cowboys- Overview

For Students 5th - 6th
In this cattle industry worksheet, students answer 11 essay questions pertaining to cowboys, ranching, and the history of the cattle industry in America. Prior knowledge or research will be needed.
Lesson Plan
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The Battle of the Little Bighorn

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students assess how point of view can change a story. In this content area reading lesson, students read about the Battle of the Little Bighorn from three different sources. Students answer questions based upon their reading and draw...
Lesson Plan
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Indian Removal

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discuss how the various acts used to force Native Americans from their home. Using the Internet, they compare and contrast the policies toward the Native Americans by presidents through Jackson. They evaluate the impact of...
Lesson Plan
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Parallel Timelines

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders research the history of how a particular environmental issue moves through the Conservation Movement. They create timelines that show the progression of public sentiment and the legislation about the issue.
Lesson Plan
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Food

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars examine the types of foods eaten after the Civil War. They create their own cowboy style menu.
Lesson Plan
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Westward Movement

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the concept of philanthropy in historical context. In this Westward Movement lesson, students read Our Journey West and explain examples of settlers working together for the common good.
Lesson Plan
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In Search of California Indians

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research information about some of California indigenous tribes to find out as much as possible about the first people found in the west. They research about the history of a selected tribe and their contributions to...
Lesson Plan
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Native Lands: Indians in Georgia

For Teachers K - 12th
Students research what Native Americans looked like in order to dispel common stereotypes.  In this Native American history lesson, students begin by drawing their mental picture of an Indian, then they research North American...
Lesson Plan
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Salmon Vs. Dams: the Dam Removal Debate on the Elwha River

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars role-play a meeting of the Elwha River council in which they present opposing views to council members on hydroelectric power and salmon fisheries resources. They brainstorm possible conflicts between various people in...
Lesson Plan
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Social Studies: The Black West

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students assess the influence of African Americans in the western United States from the sixteenth century to the present. They examine the Black-Spanish heritage, slavery and freedom on the frontier, along with African American...
Lesson Plan
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Lesson One: The Three Perspectives on Native American Removal

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the impact of the Indian Removal Act.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze primary resources. 
Lesson Plan
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Major Regional Dialects

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
What does your dialect sound like? Examine variation in English as it relates to geographic regions with your class. They recognize some of the major differences between regional dialects and determine that everyone speaks a dialect....
Lesson Plan
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American Growth and Expansion in the late 1800s

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine a picture of John Gast's, American Progress to determine what they know about American growth between 1877- 1900. By working through thirteen center or folder activities, they study the economics,...
Worksheet
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Cattledrives & Barbed Wire

For Students 6th - 8th
In this United States history worksheet, students utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the blank questions about the development of the West. A short answer question is included as well.