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Patent Analysis: J.W. Davis and Levi Strauss's Fastening Pocket Openings

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Commonplace today, the zipper and button construction of blue jeans was a major innovation. Using the patent for the J.W. Davis and Levi Strauss innovation, individuals comb an image of the fly for clues. Afterward, they discuss its...
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Patent Analysis: Joseph Glidden's Barbed Wire

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Barbed wire may have made cattle farming easier, but it brought to an end the free-roaming days of the plains. No longer could Native American groups continue their nomadic lifestyle, and the days of cowboys herding large groups of...
Lesson Plan
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2
Smithsonian Institution

Borders with the World: Mexican-American War and U.S. Southern Borderlands

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
The Mexican-American War created social borders—not just physical ones. Scholars learn about the effects of the Mexican-American War on the people living in the borderlands using text excerpts, maps, and partnered activities. Academics...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heading West

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students describe...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stereotypes and Tonto

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students identify stereotypes, especially those applied to American Indians.  In this teaching tolerance lesson, students read an essay entitled " I Hated Tonto (Still Do)" and discuss the negative impact that stereotypes may have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adventure Writing: Oregon's Landscape as a Setting

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Students write a narrative...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rivers to the West

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers discuss the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the reasons they may have chosen to follow certain rivers. They list the rivers that start from St. Louis and follow the route of Lewis and Clark. Students trace and label the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny, Louisiana Purchase, and Lewis and Clark

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discuss famous explorers. They discuss manifest destiny and watch a PowerPoint presentation. Students relate the explorers trips to a trip to Mars. They create a graphic organizer showing what they would bring on a trip to Mars....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I & M Canal: Technological, Economic

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read about and discuss the reasons European countries were interested in the Ohio Valley. They complete a puzzle to review vocabulary and watch a video on the Illinois Prairie and the I & M Canal. They rewrite the historical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Are The Main Characters?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are introduced to the main characters in the Lewis and Clark expedition. As a class, they discover background information related to the Corps of Discovery and the people who were involved. They review the material to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson One: The Three Perspectives on Native American Removal

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the impact of the Indian Removal Act.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze primary resources. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Diverse History of the Washington

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students analyze a different portion of a photograph trying to figure out what is taking place in the picture. They share their written suggestions. Students discuss similarities and differences in the hypotheses made. They explore...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Factors Contributing To the U.S. Dominance of the Pacific Northwest

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students examine the painting Columbia by John Gast. They discuss the concept of Manifest Destiny and the role of different groups (miners, missionaries, fur trappers, farmers, etc.) in the Americanization of the West. In groups, they...
PPT
Curated OER

The Election of 1844

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Briefly detailing the goals and issues within the Polk election and presidency, this presentation can help your students to bridge their knowledge of American politics and issues prior to the Civil War. It includes photographs of Polk,...
PPT
Curated OER

The Brief American Pageant: Manifest Destiny and its Legacy

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Frame your lecture about Manifest Destiny around these maps, which portray the extended boundaries of various American territories in the 19th century. Campaigns of the Mexican War, and a map of the Spanish Missions on the West Coast are...
Worksheet
Learning Links

The Josefina Story Quilt Study Guide

For Teachers K - 3rd
Considering using The Josefina Story Quilt in your classroom? Check out this sample teaching guide for a list of pre-reading activities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study westward expansion. In this US history lesson, students describe the adventures and hardships faced by the explorers known as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Students write a report to the President about the...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Curriculum Guide For Teaching Texas History

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Follow Texas history from Native Americans all the way to the 21st Century. Teachers analyze the creation of a year-long course on Texas history and use a wide range of teaching subjects and materials to guide them through the state's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nickel Knowledge

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students report facts found on Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of American Independence. Students find the original words on the epitaph that Thomas Jefferson wrote for placement on his grave upon the time of his death. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Battle of Glorieta Pass: A Shattered Dream

For Teachers 7th - 12th
This lesson can be used in American history, social studies, and geography courses in units on westward expansion and the Civil War.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Remember the Alamo

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders comprehend how the siege of the Alamo and the Texas revolution laid the groundwork for the United States-Mexican War. They discuss how westward expansion led to Texas Independence. Students complete the "Remeber the...
Worksheet
Curated OER

The West: US History

For Students 8th - 12th
In this U.S. history instructional activity, students read assigned textbook pages that tell the story of Westward Expansion and respond to 35 short answer questions.  
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America Grows - Trailblazers Pave the Way

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students study the time period after the Revolutionary War when people were striving to move away from the coastal areas and look for pathways to the west. Westerward expansion is a central theme and students use a variety of resources...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nevada Trilogy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students, after watching Gone West, discuss and make some of the decisions people faced in travelling westward.

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