Curated OER
The Mayan Empire
Students study vocabulary associated with the Mayan Empire; its art, daily life, inventions, and religious beliefs. They examine why the Mayan culture is considered to be one of the most advanced of the ancient civilizations by...
Curated OER
Savvy in Sacramento
Young scholars take a field trip to the state capital, Sacramento. Using the Internet, they explain the physical and human geographic features of the area and discuss interactions between the people of California between the time of...
Curated OER
Learning Landscapes
Fifth graders analyze a landscape depicting Yosemite during the time of the Wild West. They compare their perceptions of the West from film and television to this representation. They observe the use of scale and color to depict size and...
Curated OER
Is the Media Part of the Story?
Young scholars discuss the role of the media in public opinion. They use the internet to research when the media has had an impact on war. They write an essay about their research and any conclusions they have made.
Curated OER
Lorenzo de Zavala Online: Empresario, Statesman and Texas Revolutionary
Seventh graders study Lorenzo de Zavala's role in the Texas Revolution as politician and statesman. They determine his contributions to the establishment of a government as Texas fought for its independence. While completing research,...
Curated OER
Coming to California
Fourth graders read excerpts from Juan Bautista de Anza's diaries. They analyze the impact of primary sources. They write journal entries for characters in stories they have read during the year.
Curated OER
African Masks
Fourth graders create three-dimensional paper African masks. They analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of Africa. they discover that masks were worn for various ceremonies.
Curated OER
Lone Stars and Gun Smoke
Seventh graders assess the significance of the Texas Ranger Frontier Battalion Company 'D' in maintaining law and order along the Texas-Mexico border. They study the importance of Ranger actions and utilize primary sources and maps to...
Curated OER
Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!
Students use information from the U.S. Bureau of the Census to create a bar graph, a picture graph, or a circle graph showing the country of origin of U.S. Hispanics.
Curated OER
A Child's Journey through Medicine
Students experience a variety of activities that relate to human physiology and their functions. They create graphs and charts after testing their heart rates and blood pressure They conduct a survey of the student body and create ...
Curated OER
A Child's Journey Through Medicine
Fifth graders identify the symptoms of asthma. In this biology lesson, 5th graders draw and label models of heart and lungs. They conduct a survey on asthma and construct graphs based on result.
Curated OER
From Corn To Tortillas
Students investigate the food known as the tortilla. They research the growth cycle of the corn plant and how tortillas are made from it. The importance of the tortilla according to the Hispanic culture is explained to the students. The...
Curated OER
The Chicano Movement in California - Culture, Causes, and Community
Young scholars explore the culture and community of the Chicano movement in California using prints that emerged from the Chicano movement. The historical, binational, and bicultural components are examined in this three lessons unit.
Curated OER
Westward Ho
Students examine primary sources regarding Western migration. In this Manifest Destiny lesson, students determine why the pioneers moved west and what the trip was like as they examine sources and write journals based on their findings.
Curated OER
Planning a Railroad
Students use a topographical map to plan a route from Doknner Summit to Truckee, then compare it to the route selected by Theodore Judah.
Curated OER
American Political Thought: Minority Influence
Sixth graders brainstorm the reasons why people would want to leave their homeland to live in the United States. In groups, they research the political representation of the Board in New Haven, Connecticut. They also write a paper on...
Stanford University
Stanford History Education Group: Mexican Labor in the 1920s [Pdf]
[Free Registration/Login Required] Review historical documents of Mexican-Americans in the 1920's. Students will address what it was like to be a Mexican in America during this time considering working conditions, home life, etc.
Countries and Their Cultures
Countries and Their Cultures: Multicultural America: Mexican Americans
Provides an overview of the traditional culture and lifestyle of Mexican Americans. (Note: Content is not the most current.)
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Jovita Idar
Read about the life and times of Mexican-American journalist, activist, and suffragist, Jovita Idar.
Other
City College of San Francisco: The Diego Rivera Mural Project
This resource features the Pan American Unity Mural located at the City College of San Francisco. Also known as Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and the South, the mural was created to promote diversity and show human...
Digital History
Digital History: American Ethnic Literature
Educated white men weren't the only ones contributing to a truly American literature. Read about the literature written by Native Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, and Irish Americans. All added to the melting pot of...
Library of Congress
Loc: The Huetzotzinco Codex
Through the ancient natives of Puebla, Mexico, teachers can use this lesson plan to help students relate math and reasoning skills to primary sources discussed in social studies. Primary sources are available to figure out more about the...
PBS
Pbs: Eleuterio Escobar
From the PBS series "The Border," find a short biography of Escobar (1894-1970 CE) and his struggle for Mexican American education reform.