Students examine Native American dolls. They discover the connections between the dolls and the Native American culture and customs. They also use maps to locate the position of different tribes.

Students use primary documents to explore the past. They consider the source of the documents and identify and biases that the author may have held. They identify any questions about the historical event that may remain after reading the...

Students identify a community environmental problem and possible solutions. They analyze the connection between the problem and the solutions and the importance of it to the local community. Students then draw a picture of an...

Students brainstorm what kinds considerations might have to be made when building a trading post. They create an artistic representation of what their trading post would look like (two- or three- dimensional).

Middle schoolers read and examine the novel On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer. They choose to complete a variety of intriguing assignments on this novel. Critical thinking skills are intertwined throughout this lesson plan.

Students read and predict the outcome of a story set during the Civil War, then map the story. To prepare for the activity, students determine why it is important to look at historical events from all angles by using primary and...

Fifth graders examine how environmental factors affect decomposition. In this decomposition lesson, 5th graders experiment with the decomposition of grapes in five different environmental settings. They look at images of items that have...

Students investigate the Iditarod. In this last great race instructional activity, students explore and research the Iditarod race which takes place in Alaska.  Students explore a variety of websites and images to gather background...

Learners examine the nature journals of Lewis and Clark. In this primary source analysis lesson plan, students research the journals that the members of the Corps of Discovery kept during the expedition and then conduct further research...

Students consider the role of Sacagawea as part of the Corps of Discovery. For this Lewis and Clark expedition lesson, students discover details about Sacagawea's wampum belt and then create their own wampum belts using their computer...

Young scholars explore how migration to Harlem created a new life for African Americans. In this cross curricular lesson, students illustrate maps showing the migration, paint murals representing African American life in the South...

Students compare and contrast school life today with that of Pennsylvania in the 1900's. In this school life lesson students create a description of a typical one-room schoolhouse. They think critically about attending school in a...

Students use maps, the Internet, graphic organizers and discussion to explore the history of the Middle American Colonies. They consider how the colonies were founded and the ideas of religious freedom and self-government they embodied.

Students learn why the census makes a difference. In this U.S. Census lesson plan, students demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the census and its importance.

Students explore conservation of the Great Lakes. In this geography and ecology lesson, students identify the Great Lakes on a map and view a video depicting the history and importance of these lakes. Students work in groups to research...

Students learn about Mexican Independence Day.  In this Hispanic Heritage lesson, students learn about holidays in Hispanic countries specifically looking at their days of independence.  Students read information about fiestas...

Fourth graders become familiar with the culture and history of Indiana.  In this James Whitcomb Riley instructional activity, 4th graders read poetry which includes the dialect of Indiana.  Students analyze the poem. ...

Students recognize a Ceili as an Irish dance of celebration and investigate Ireland while studying the dance.  In this Irish dance lesson, students search the geography of Ireland, read poetry, identify costumes, draw and perform a...

Fourth graders explore how humans adapt to variations in physical environment, compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment and identify and compare the human characteristics of selected regions.

Learners explore the benefits and drawbacks of free trade from the perspective of the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Chile and Mexico. For homework, they each write a letter to the editor expressing their personal...

Fifth graders connect reasons for coming to the New World with identity. The create identities and place them in one of three settled regions. They refer to prior study notes in their Colonial Notebooks to establish their identities.

Wind is a natural resource available around the world. Help your pupils appreciate the power and importance of wind by researching wind farms, making pinwheels, and designing windmills. 

For this online interactive geography quiz worksheet, students examine the chart that includes 20 world cities. Students identify the names of the countries where the cities are located in 4 minutes.

In this online interactive geography quiz worksheet, students examine the chart that includes the names of 50 U.S. states. Students identify the names of the two largest cities in each state in 8...