You have just hit the lesson plan jackpot! This isn't just a lesson, it's a ten-day unit covering westward expansion, pioneer life, and the Oregon Trail. Activities include baking, model building, role-play, newspaper writing, science...

Fifth graders explore U.S. geography by reading assigned text about American Indians. In this migration instructional activity, 5th graders identify the differences between Native Americans and European settlers who traveled through...

Learners explore westward movement through eyes of doll belonging to Patty Reed, member of Donner Party. They write journal entries from points of view of characters in book, Patty Reed's Doll, participate in Pack the Wagon game, and...

Students study the impact of westward expansion on Native American populations. They create a diorama of a Native American scene, write imaginary letters as a pioneer child reflecting on his/her experiences, and create story sticks that...

Students research in small groups to locate information on the outcomes and observations made during the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this westerns expansion instructional activity, students role play their findings as though they were...

Fourth graders describe how the French and Indian War resulted in expansion of United States Territory and analyze information from two or more sources for agreements, contradictions, facts, and opinions.

Fifth graders explore the westward movement between 1800 and 1861 in the United States. They write narratives from the standpoint of those cultures that were repressed during this period, such as Native Americans, slaves, or Mexicans. ...

Students consider the role of Sacagawea as part of the Corps of Discovery. In this Lewis and Clark expedition lesson, students discover details about Sacagawea's wampum belt and then create their own wampum belts using their computer and...

Students consider their perceptions of the world through their 5 senses while visiting the West Virginia State Museum. In this West Virginia history lesson plan, students discover how knowing about the past helps with their understanding...

Fourth graders research pioneer life. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders read the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and discuss what life was like for early pioneers. They research pioneers and show what they...

Fifth and sixth graders follow Lewis and Clark from St. Louis to the Pacific and back again. They read online journal entries made by Lewis and Clark to gather information. The official Lewis and Clark website is used by learners to...

Students explore the the legends and myths of the Orient, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas in this six lessons unit. Different cultures and belief systems of the inhabitants of these areas are examined through storytelling techniques.

Students distinguish between primary and secondary sources when researching on the Internet and evaluating historical records. They recognize important features of a primary source such as the type of document, who created it, what is...

Students read the Trail of Tears about the Cherokee Nation removal and write a letter pretending they are the grandparent of a Cherokee child. In this Trail of Tears lesson plan, students understand the changing of boundaries.

Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...

Fifth graders identify common Native American writing symbols. They create paper bag "buffalo skins" and on the back, they write stories about Indian life.