Students explore the connections between tradition and language. They examine the environment, history and culture of the Tlingit, Lakota and Cherokee tribes and identify the importance of maintaining languages for oral traditions.

Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...

Everyone living in the United States today is a descendant from an immigrant—even Native Americans. Learn about the tumultuous history of American immigration with a reading passage that discusses the ancient migration over the Bering...

A study of the history of the Channel Islands, located off the coast of southern California, continues as class members conduct a mock trial to determine which group of stakeholders should have the right to claim the remains of Juan...

Students identify and interpret issues of Nativism and Protectionism in early 20th Century America. They analyze the roots of anti-immigrant movements in the Post-World War One United States. Finally, students identify and explore the...

Video games may not be so bad after all. As scholars read the text "The Many Benefits, for Kids, of Playing Video Games," they summarize the gist in their researchers' notebooks. Next, pupils draft supporting research questions based on...

Young scholars explore Cherokee legends. They read The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac, and then do several activities to help comprehension. They discuss the book and answer comprehension questions. In addition, they retell the...

How do you rebuild a language that has been banned for years? A short video introduces high schoolers to Marie Wilcox, A Wukchumni Native American from Central California who, for over 20 years, worked on comprising a dictionary of the...

Young scientist use reference materials to research various local aquatic plants and or animals to find out whether they are natives or exotics. They investigate their impacts on people, other animals and the environment. Students...

Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...

"Native American history leaps boldly off the colorful quilts and patchwork designs." Learners discuss Native American identity and symbolism by reading about a variety of Native quilters and their unique art process, and participate in...

Your shoes get a lot of mileage in familiar places. Represent the places you have traveled the most with an art project based on a print of Indian People Wear Shoes and Socks by Juane Quick-to-See Smith. Kids trace their shoes and...

High schoolers examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students participate in a classroom simulation and then write paper about how the Native Americans and settlers could...

After a quick study of Native American art, symbolism, and pattern design children make a ceramic vase. They read about the use, production, and design of Native American vases or pots, then use clay to create one of their own. Tip:...

A discussion of bioluminescence launches an investigation of animal adaptations. After re-watching the opening minutes of Dark Water, class members listen to a reading of What Do You Do with a Tail Like This, and then create a new...

What do you know about American Indians? Upper graders compose an informational essay based on the research they conduct. They choose a Native American group to study and, using the provided list of web links, gather information and...

Fourth graders make a detailed observations about non-native and native grasses. They define reasonable policies that they expect to follow while working in the CRWA. Students list, in small groups, two treatments that have been used in...

Encourage learners to think critically about common myths regarding the Wampanoag Indians in Colonial America. They discover that behind every myth are many possible explanations—and that learning more about American history helps them...

If you’re going to get a tattoo, make sure your artist writes it right because it’s hard to correct their inkings. That’s the big idea in this short lesson on commonly misspelled words like their/there/they’re and it’s/its.  Images...

After watching the documentary Dark Water about a traditional Chumash ceremony and reading a Chumash origin story, viewers are asked to create a coat of arms and to craft an essay that details a family tradition or their own origin story.

After watching and discussing a video on the Voyage of Cabrillo, individuals craft their own origin story and design and build an artifact they feel best represents their history.

Students learn about Native American culture. In this history and diversity lesson, students use a website to create a timeline of significant events, contributions, growth and developments of Native American culture...

Students demonstrate how Native Americans were philanthropic. In this philanthropy lesson, students read Squanto's Journey and brainstorm ways that the Native Americans were helpful towards the Pilgrims. Students reflect on the long-term...

The Pilgrims first arrived in America in order to gain religious freedom. Here is a lesson that takes the class on this journey with the Pilgrims, stopping to look at how they got here, who they met when they arrived, and a peek into...