Curated OER
Boom and Bust in the Ozark Forests
Here is a hard-hitting, cross-curricular lesson on the effects that the deforestation of the Ozark forests in the 19th century had on the people, animals, and ecosystems of the area. The Dr. Seuss book The Lorax is used as a way of...
Curated OER
The Role of Fire in Healthy Prairie, Brush and Forest Lands
Sixth graders read and discuss background information and brainstorm reasons for wildfires. They use a Venn Diagram to list the similarities and differences between wildfires and prescribed fires and then track the weather forecast for...
Curated OER
The Web of Life
Students construct a food web to learn how living things in an ecosystem are interconnected. In this food web simulation lesson, students will be assigned an animal and the teacher will represent the sun. Students and teacher discuss...
Curated OER
The Web of Life
Students explore the interconnectedness of living things in an ecosystem. They use pictures and arrows to develop a food web, and participate in constructing a class food web with students representing various parts of the web.
Curated OER
My Antonia: Story Grammar
Pupils can write down all of the major plot elements of My Antonia by Willa Cather on this straightforward worksheet. Learners note down themes, characters, the chain of events, and more.
Curated OER
Prairie Field Trip
Students study prairie conservation and the plant and animal life within. In this prairie life lesson students divide into groups and complete a lab activity.
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Prairie Settlement
Students make a decision for site selection for a farm during the 1840s in the Midwest. They build research and writing skills by recording the information used for analysis in a chart and as diary entries.
Curated OER
Where the Buffalo Roam
Second graders explore what life in the Chicago area was like hundreds of years ago. They discuss how settlers impacted the environment, and why there are no longer herds of buffalo in the Chicago area today. They read an article and...
DePaul University
Settlement
Early settlers in the American Midwest experienced constant struggle. This reading passage describes for young learners the hardships of homesteaders as they journeyed west and sought to start a new life. When finished, students identify...
Curated OER
Please Help!
Sixth graders examine the prairie food chain while designing a rescue strategy for an endangered species. They compare their strategy to that of a professional conservation expert.
Curated OER
Urbanization As Seen Through Late 19c - Early 20c Architecture
Incorporating the cultures, architecture, and ethnic populations of several American cities (namely Chicago and New York), this presentation displays vivid photographs of buildings and people in 19th - 20th century urban America. The...
Curated OER
The 1927 Flood
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine the Great Flood of 1927 in the state of Arkansas. They each prepare an oral report about this flood and the huge impact it had on the economics of that time. Additionally, learners research...
Curated OER
Moving West
Students research the Westward Movement and struggles encountered by the pioneers as they moved from Nebraska, Westward along the Oregon Trail. In this Westward Expansion lesson plan, students read an Oregon Trail poem and visit 5...
Curated OER
Biomes Internet Lesson
In this biomes worksheet, young scholars use an on line source to complete a table of the Earth's biomes. Students include the types of plants in each biome, the types of animals, the climate and any details about the biomes. Young...
Curated OER
Pioneers On and Off the Prairie- Willa Cather and Mary Cassatt
Students examine the written work of Willa Cather and the impressionist art of Mary Cassatt. They describe parallels in the lives and work of both women and creat a Powerpoint presentation.
Curated OER
Prairie Voices
Fifth graders compare and contrast a one room school house in Iowa in the past with how they go to school today. In this school lesson plan, 5th graders read about rural families and the controversies that they endured in the time of one...
Curated OER
Prairie Voices: Abbie Gardner Sharp Cabin
Students study the events of the Spirit Lake Massacre. In this Iowa history lesson, students consider the role of Abbie Gardner in the Spirit Lake Massacre as their instructor presents a lecture.
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Sociology: What is life like for Gulf Coast rice farmers
Students read 1 page about Gulf Coast rice farmers and then describe what rice farming in the U.S. is like in the United States. In this rice farming lesson plan, students tell why they would or would not want to be a rice farmer.
Curated OER
Prairie Voices: Community Development, Investigating Local History
Students investigate local history. In this research skills instructional activity, students examine historic landmarks, tax records, fire maps, town plans, historic photographs, newspapers, and other primary sources to learn about local...
Curated OER
Mystery Photo!
Students examine a photo of the compass plant, and research how the pioneers used the plant as a way of orienting themselves while travelling through the prairies. They analyze the photograph, and complete a Photo Analysis Guide Worksheet.
Curated OER
Fires and Fire Suppression
Young scholars examine their assumptions about forest fires. They explore the conflicts involved with the forest service's new strategy. in addition, they will study one case where a prescribed natural burn had a significant impact on a...
Curated OER
Speedy Succession
Fifth graders investigate how a pond ecosystem can change into a prairie or grassland ecosystem. They observe a small pond ecosystem in a two liter soda bottle, and examine and record changes over a two-week period of time on a worksheet.
Curated OER
Naming New Species
Students explore science of taxonomy and the Five Kingdoms of life,
categorize organisms into Kingdoms, and create multi-media presentations illustrating knowledge of a Kingdom. They collect data and related pictures on the Internet,...
Curated OER
Drawing Plants with Plant Studio Freeware
Students identify parts of plants by name and the relationship among these parts as they use Plant Studio Freeware Wizard and tools on the computer to draw a particular plant from life or from a picture.