Berkshire Museum
The Three Life-Giving Sisters: Plant Cultivation and Mohican Innovation
Children gain first-hand experience with Native American agriculture while investigating the life cycle of plants with this engaging experiment. Focusing on what the natives called the Three Sisters - corn, beans, and squash - young...
Curated OER
Two Views of the Slave Ship Brookes
Actual ship diagrams and a table of voyage data gives young historians an authentic glimpse of on-board experiences during the Atlantic Slave Trade. The class examines a projected diagram of the slave ship Brooks, recording thoughts....
American Evolution
Virginia Runaway Slave Ads
What does an ad reveal about a culture, or about the values of its intended audience? Class members examine a series of runaway slave ads—one of which was written by Thomas Jefferson—and consider what these primary source documents...
Curated OER
Introducing Topographic Maps: Guiding Students from Concrete Models to Graphic Representations
Students interpret topographic maps and infer human activity as it is influenced by the landscape.
Curated OER
Personalities, Perspectives and Agendas
Learners debate the causes of the American Revolution. In this American history lesson, students conduct research to determine how bias and perspective have made their way into historical documents. Learners compose essays...
Curated OER
Lesson 11: Printed Materials (Ads and Broadsides) 1780-1820
Students use primary resources (gazettes, broadsides, advertisements) to consider life at the turn of the 18th century in Deerfield, Massachusetts. They infer observations about life in the nascent United States.
Skyscraper Museum
Changes in a City Over Time
Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final instructional activity in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings...
Curated OER
Analyzing Primary and Secondary Sources to Assess the Decisions and Policies of Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, and the U.S. Government
Learners examine U.S. policies regarding Native Americans. For this Native American history lesson, students analyze provided primary and secondary sources concerning Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and the Dawes Act. Learners use the provided...
Curated OER
Europe Before and after WWI
Eighth graders compare and contrast maps of Europe before and after World War I. In this World War I lesson plan, 8th graders color and label maps of Europe prior to the war and after it. The historical maps can be accessed online.
Curated OER
I Spy Worksheet - Webpage and Newspaper Writing Practice
In this job identification worksheet, students examine several pictures from varying webpages to infer the job detailed in the scene. Then students pretend they are a reporter and write a news article about the job making sure to include...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising - Anticipation Guide
Learn about Mexican culture while simultaneously strengthening reading, writing and computer skills. In order to get the most out of Esperanza Rising, pupils should have prior knowledge of Mexican culture. Therefore, there are links to a...
Curated OER
Quarters: Arkansas and Vermont
Students compare and contrast the natural resources of Arkansas and Vermont and the design of the quarter. Students infer from their Venn diagrams and maps how regions differ across the United States.
Curated OER
Human Impacts on Major Rivers of the World
Students explore motivations behind human intervention in the stream flow of selected rivers, infer kinds of interventions and their results, and evaluate level of success of such interventions of stream flow as well as environmental...
Curated OER
Tree Cookies
Students identify heartwood, sapwood, and a tree's annual rings, infer from a tree's rings what damage or stress might have occurred in its life, and make a time-line of human history that coincides with a tree's rings.
Curated OER
Painting Analysis Worksheet
In this visual arts worksheet, students select paintings to analyze. Students then respond to 3 short answer questions and complete a graphic organizer based on their evaluation of the art.
Curated OER
What Can Be Done to Improve Ha'iku Town Shopping Areas?
Second graders examine different areas to determine how they can be improved. They observe and collect data concerning different problems and use a map to record their information. After analyzing the data, they develop possible...
Curated OER
A Siouan Village
Fourth graders examine the artifacts obtained from an excavated Siouan village site. They make inferences about the people who once lived there based on the artifacts and complete a Research Team Report.
Curated OER
Inference By Analogy
Students infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustration.
Curated OER
The Stories They Tell -- Graveyard Data Collection Worksheet
In this folk culture research worksheet, students use the form to record data about a graveyard that they visit to show that graveyards reflect how cultures change and differ from each other.
Curated OER
Clues to the Past
Students analyze how arhaeologists study the past. They define basic archaeological terms, make general inferences from observations, and explain the importance of context.
Curated OER
DEVELOPING A MONOLOGUE OR JOURNAL ENTRY BASED ON PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DUST BOWL
Students infer the emotions of various individuals portrayed in the photographs and depict these feelings in a monologue or journal entry. Students explore the verisimilitude of art to reality, sharing ideas and observations in class...
Curated OER
Interpreting History With Artifacts: Mid to Late 1800s
Fourth graders study history though the exploration of artifacts. In this Civil War activity, 4th graders examine artifacts such as sweet grass basket, spinning top, photos on tin, cast iron kettle, china"bone plate," bonnet, wooden...
Curated OER
Ocean Planet: Sea Secrets
Students identify ocean features and draw a profile using data points on a map. Through discussion and research, they discover the importance of oceanography and plot a profile of the ocean floor in search for a vessel full of precious...
Curated OER
The Other Americans
Students explain the concept of culture and identify the components of a culture. They describe the characteristics of selected immigrant groups and the conditions they faced upon arrival in the United States. Students analyze the...