Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mapping the Border

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Students create maps of the borderland region. They decorate their maps with colors, pictures, icons, scenes, words that reflect their understanding of the character and history of the borderland.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Do You Know Your 50 States?

For Students 3rd - 5th
Learners use the names and abbreviations of the 50 states to label a blank map of the United States.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Estimation, Sampling, and Beyond

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students examine an ISS EarthKAM image of farm land in Texas and New Mexico. They select sample region of image and count the number of fields in that region. They estimate how many fields are in the entire region.
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Dear Librarian: Writing a Persuasive Letter

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Everyone deserves to read a great book! Here, pupils write a persuasive letter to the school's librarian detailing their favorite story and why it should be found on the shelves. Class members' persuasive reading passages are shared with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Song Mapping

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore locations on the United States map. In this map skills lesson, students recite the song This Land Is Your Land and locate various places listed in the song on the map.
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Where in the Latitude Are You? A Longitude Here.

For Teachers 5th
Students distinguish between latitude and longitude on the map. In this mapping lesson, students participate in mapping skills to recognize spatial relationships, and where to find natural resources on the map. Students create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hidalgo's Fight for the Independence of Mexico

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders study and examine the life of Miguel Hidalgo while working to identify major themes. Small groups create sequence of event chains, analyze and label maps of Hidalgo's travels, and work together to create giant chalk maps...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Geography of the United States

For Teachers 9th
Students examine the population growth of the United States.  In this Geography lesson, students construct a map of the fifty states.  Students create a graph of the population of the USA. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where in the World Is ...

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Young scholars locate and place countries and continents on a large map using tag board and yarn. They locate a new geographic location on the map each morning.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mexican and American Views of Texas

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study the territorial status of Texas in 1830, 1840, and 1846 and interpret an historical timeline. They develop a general statement of Mexican and American views of Texas.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Founding of Los Angeles, California

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine the social and cultural impact of settler groups in California and the origins of the founding of Los Angeles, California. They read and discuss an informational handout, and discuss what it is and was like to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Revolt of Juan "Cheno" Cortina

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders examine the social and cultural impact of immigrant groups and the oppression of ethnic minorities with a focus on the role of Juan Cortina in Mexico. In small groups they discuss what a revolutionary is, read and discuss...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Formation and Value of Temperate Grasslands

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students study the Temperate Grasslands biome of North America. They explain that it is an endangered ecosystem because the rich soils have been converted to farming in most areas. They view videos imbedded in this plan, then complete...
Lesson Plan
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National Museum of the American Indian

The A:Shiwi (Zuni) People: A Study in Environment, Adaptation, and Agricultural Practices

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Discover the connection of native peoples to their natural world, including cultural and agricultural practices, by studying the Zuni people of the American Southwest. This lesson includes examining a poster's photographs, reading...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Instruments From Around the World

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
How much does the environment affect how and what man creates? Children explore the effect of the environment on primitive man as they research raw materials from a specific location. They use their findings to write a short essay about...
Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

Farmland: GMOs and Organic Agriculture

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Learn more about genetic modification, organic farming, and the role of biotechnology in agriculture by watching a documentary that shows how newly gained knowledge can be applied to specific situations involving farmers and the choices...
Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

Design 'Y'er Genes

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do changes in DNA affect an organism? Scholars explore chromosomes, genes, DNA, and mutations by modeling the DNA of a strawberry. They build a DNA model, then manipulate it to show how changing the genes transforms the strawberry...
Lesson Plan
Read Write Think

Book Report Alternative: Rewind the Plot!

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Have you ever looked for a new way to teach an old concept? Scholars thinking about the rising action of a story in a whole new perspective. However, Book Report Alternative: Rewind the Plot! challenges readers and allows for much...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Establishing Borders: The Expansion of the United States 1846-48

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students investigate how the United States acquired land after the Revolutionary War ended. In this establishing borders lesson, students use maps to identify territories acquired by the US and the states that later developed. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

LESSON PLANS

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders encounter how the native and Spanish cultures influenced art on Colonial New Mexico. They experience some of the games, art and tools of colonial New Mexico. Students strive to increase new vocabulary. They also access how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Traveling Through Literature

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Integrate geography with literature in this interdisciplinary lesson. Begin by reading a poem such as The Time We Climbed Snake Mountain by Leslie Marmon Silko. On a large map, place push pins in the cities or states mentioned. An...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aztec History

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students explore facets of Aztec history. In this ancient civilizations lesson, students map landmarks in Mexico, read excerpts from The Sad Night: The Story of an Aztec Victory and a Spanish Loss, by Sally Mathews and design concept...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where in the world is...

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students identify locations around the world.  In this mapping lesson, students place tag board pieces with names of locations on a wall map of the world.  Initially, students identify states, then cities, then continents,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Predicting the Route of the Monarch's Spring Migration

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Pupils consider the habits of the monarch butterfly and predict the path it take as it migrates in the spring.