Virginia Department of Education
World History and Geography: 1500 A.D. (C.E.) to the Present
Intended to help Virginia teachers align their curriculum to the state's history and social science standards, this packet provides a wealth of materials for any social studies or science instructor. Loaded with plans,...
Space Awareness
The Sun Compass of the Vikings
Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...
Curated OER
Winter Olympics History Year by Year
Investigate the history of the Winter Olympic Games. After researching this event and compiling necessary statistics, pupils use a graphic organizer to chart their findings. A template for a chart is included in this resource. Have your...
Curated OER
Historic Cemeteries: "History Written in Stone"
Students explore the history of their community through researching grave markers. They visit a local cemetary, partcipate in a cemetary scavenger hunt, conduct a survey for various graves, and write an essay describing their cemetary...
Curated OER
Role Models
First graders identify heroes by researching their family history. In this personal heritage lesson, 1st graders define the term "hero" and the characteristics that represent it. Students research family resources and family trees in...
Missouri University of science & Technology
General Overview History of the Panama Canal
Called the Eight Wonder of the World by some and the Big Ditch by others, the Panama Canal is indeed an engineering marvel. The long, complicated, and sometimes controversial history of the canal is captured in a presentation loaded with...
Curated OER
History in the Making: The Tortilla
Fourth graders examine the history of the tortilla and extend the study across the curriculum. In this history of the tortilla lesson plan, 4th graders research the background of the tortilla, determine the ingredients, and work with the...
Curated OER
Ancient Hebrews
Sixth graders analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of the Ancient Hebrews, and write an essay.
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, history and the American Eugenics Movement
A poignant 20-slide show introduces high schoolers to the amazing accomplishments of genomics and raises the question of eugenics. This lesson is only for mature audiences, as it deals with rape and other sensitive topics, but it is...
Curated OER
Science and Natural Philosophy Before the Seventeenth Century
Students complete a worksheet about some of the natural philosophers in history. They use graph paper and create a timeline with the dates of birth and names of a list of natural philosophers. They list four questions concerning life and...
Curated OER
Disease & Epidemics: Architects of History
Students explore disease and its relationship to history and literature. They investigate issues that range from early biological warfare and historical disease treatments, to observing today's race for the cure against current emerging...
Curated OER
Driving Through History
Students create and perform a skit. For this automobile history lesson, students work in groups to research the development of the automobile during different periods of history. Students create a timeline and perform a skit...
Curated OER
Civilizations of the Ancient Near East
Sixth graders investigate ancient civilizations by creating a research project. For this world history lesson, 6th graders investigate historic civilizations developed close to important rivers of the near East. Students...
Curated OER
Stonehenge: Solving Ancient Mysteries
Students investigate the mystery of Stonehenge. In this Stonehenge lesson, students participate in a classroom activity that requires them to research information about Stonehenge as well as information regarding archeology and...
Curated OER
World War II: Modern History of Hawaii
Students examine world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this World War II lesson, students discuss the role Hawaii played in the great battle and what type conflicts happened among the island chain. Students view a...
Curated OER
The Wilderness Concept: Our National Parks, History and Issues
Students examine the history of the National parks. In groups, they discuss the concepts of conservation and preservation. They discuss the use of natural resources and how some are renewable and non-renewable. To end the lesson, they...
Curated OER
Family History
Students create photographic family histories. In this technology skills lesson, students create family trees with digital photographs that they take of the family members.
Curated OER
Phat Shredders and Phony Phorces: Snowboarding, Winter Sports, Olympics, Sport Safety, Science, Physics
Pupils study about the history, physical science, and safety issues involved in snowboarding.
American Psychological Association
Activities from the Society for the History of Psychology Website
The Society for the History of Psychology provides a list of teaching activities designed to acquaint learners with the various fields of psychology and introduce them to prominent psychologists. Details for several of the activities are...
National Park Service
The Young Naturalist
Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects....
Channel Islands Film
Dark Water: Lesson Plan 1 - Grades 3-4
As part of their study of the history of the Channel Islands, class members craft an informational article to post on a bulletin board that features the Chumash ancestral tradition of tomol paddling.
Curriculum Corner
African American Inventors
Celebrate Black History Month with a packet of materials on African American inventors. Readers discover several inventors' character traits, their inventions, and their lives. They even have the opportunity to conduct further research...
Curated OER
Lesson plan: History Underfoot
Students study Native Americans of Virginia. In this Virginia history lesson, students take on the role of archaeologists as they analyze a site and its artifacts. Students use the information to draw conclusions about the natives who...
Curated OER
Preserving the Past with Oral History
Students research history by interviewing people in their community. They create a list of questions and record their responses. They end the project with some type of final product which might include a memory book.