Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
Worksheet
DePaul University

Settlement

For Students 3rd - 5th Standards
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...
Worksheet
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K12 Reader

Escaping Persecution

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Pilgrims, puritans, and Pennsylvania are all featured in a reading comprehension worksheet that asks kids to read a short passage about these early settlers and then to answer a series of questions based on the article.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Railroads and Settlement of the Great Plains

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kansas Prairie Homes

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students read about settlers in Kansas and the adaptations they made in order to build different kinds of houses. In this Kansas settlers lesson plan, students participate in choral reading and retell information they learn.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Utopian Promise

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Scholars learn all about the Puritans in the third installment of a 16-part lesson series. After watching a video, they read and discuss biographies of Puritans and Quakers from American history, write journal entries and poetry, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The First Americans

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore American history by researching Native Americans. For this American settlers lesson, 3rd graders research the Native American Woodland Indians and define the actions they took when faced with the European settlers....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Helped the English Settlers

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
In this early America worksheet, students complete the sentence "I helped the English settlers because..." that is in a dialog bubble. A picture of what appears to be Pocahontas is on the page.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Indians, European Settlers, and Colonial Arkansas

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Young scholars identify the interdependence among various ethnic groups in early Arkansas history. They illustrate timelines and visit historic sites. They make maps of the site and give class presentations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reasons for Settling the New World

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
After studying the reasons settlers entered the New World, primary learners try to persuade others to enter this new land. Class members present their arguments in a variety of ways including posters, writings, and charts. Richly...
Worksheet
ReadWriteThink

Compare and Contrast

For Students 4th - 6th Standards
Read about the ways that different cultures set up homes with a set of reading activities. Learners read short paragraphs that cover one or more different ideas, and answer four questions about what they have read, including whether or...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Agriculture Shapes Kentucky History

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars explore the lives of early American Indians and settlers in Kentucky. They describe the agricultural practices of Indians native to Kentucky and develop a supply list for a group of settlers coming to the state to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Crowley's Ridge: An Upland in the Lowlands

For Teachers 4th - 6th
This clever lesson combines elements of geography, art, literature, and storytelling. Pupils take a close look at the six geographical regions of Arkansas, and pay close attention to Crowley's Ridge - which is one of the six. In groups,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The American Wilderness? How 19th Century American Artists Viewed the Separation of Civilization and Nature

For Teachers 9th - 11th
The attitudes of European settlers toward the American wilderness, as reflected in art and literature, is the focus of this resource packet designed for teachers. Included in the unit overview you will find lists or paintings and...
Worksheet
Read Works

Plymouth Colony

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
Read about the tumultuous beginning to the United States with an informational text passage about Colonial America. As young researchers peruse an article about the arrival of the Mayflower, the settlers' relationship to the neighboring...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Caught Between Worlds: Frontier Life as Reflected in Captivity Narratives

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze captivity narratives written between the 1600's and 1800's. In this narrative lesson, students think critically about the interaction between Native peoples and the settlers to understand the cultural beliefs held by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Louisiana

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders study factual information about Louisiana including the state flag, bird, tree, and important geographical points using the Internet and maps. They explain the different groups that settled the state in this mini-unit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Treaties

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore Canadian history by investigating the First Nations. In this Aboriginal treaty lesson, 2nd graders identify the specific agreements made between European settlers and Aboriginals which caused the formation of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Treaties

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore Canadian history by participating in a role-playing activity. In this First Nation treaties lesson, 3rd graders identify the difficulties the Aboriginals faced when dealing with early European settlers. Students...
Worksheet
1
1
K12 Reader

From Nomad to Farmer

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
The gradual evolution of the earliest settlers in North America from nomads to farmers is the subject of a reading comprehension worksheet that asks kids to answer a series of questions using information provided in the reading passage.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Migrating to Texas

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders explore the migration to Texas from other parts of the United States. Through journal entries they write about the trip as if they were the settlers coming to a new and foreign country. Working in small groups, 4th graders...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Movement

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the concept of philanthropy in historical context. In this Westward Movement lesson, students read Our Journey West and explain examples of settlers working together for the common good.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Walking the Trail of Tears

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students, through the use of examining video clips and Websites, become familiar with the reasons that the settlers wanted the land, broke treaties, and initiated the Indian Removal Act leading to the Trail of Tears.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River.  In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River.  Students document...

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