Early People of North America Teacher Resources

How did workers pick a trade in colonial America? Using a WebQuest approach, scholars explore life in the colonial era by looking at professions available to men like Benjamin Franklin. Individuals then apply their knowledge to create...

Does Christopher Columbus deserve credit for "discovering" America? What was the impact of the Age of Exploration on native peoples? 

Explore the world through music with two lessons that bring focus to four composers—Gabriela Lena Frank, Ludwig Van Beethoven, Bedrř˘ich Smetana, and Mason Bates. After listening to musical pieces and viewing informative videos, scholars...

This is a really neat worksheet! Kids click on each of the provided links to answer each of 11 questions. They'll discover geographical, demographic, environmental, and cultural facts about Latin America. They'll even learn to write...

Explore key moments in American history with the click of a mouse! Learners read 50 questions from different eras in early America, and watch the rest of the presentation to find more questions to answer.

Provide your class with an opportunity to examine race through a variety of literary works. They read and analyze a chosen poem, interview, speech, or story describing race in America. They then use key words from the original work to...

What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...

Witness the birth of the Americas in this presentation, which details the European Explorers who contributed to adding vital details on our modern-day maps. Viewers' worlds will literally expand after seeing the results of Cortes and the...

The entire continent of North America changed physical shape multiple times throughout the course of history. The in-depth interactive offers three complementary ways to learn about these changes. Scholars watch three video episodes,...

Redlining—or the practice of racial discrimination in housing loans—directly led to today's segregated living patterns in America. Using data from the federal Home Owners' Loan Corporation, classmates visualize the impact of policy on...

Small groups learn about a present-day nomadic culture in Mongolia and the threats to its existence by exploring a photo essay. The resource includes thoughtful discussion and writing prompts about cultural sustainability, the...

A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...

Third graders "travel" from Europe to North America as Columbus did. They organize the information into chronoglogical order.

Use the text Exploration of North America for this four-day lesson plan. Young readers are guided through this book with various activities designed for learners to focus on making connections, questions, inferences, summaries, etc. Each...

Students participate in a series of activities to explore the lives of slaves in 19th century America. They examine the design of slave ships, the hardships endured, and the ways that owners depended on slaves for their economic survival.

Sixth graders view pictures to discuss then and now.  In this exploration age lesson, 6th graders view pictures as primary sources and discuss the differences between then and now. Students recognize the reasons people explored. Students...

Third graders demonstrate knowledge of exploration by naming and describing accomplishments of explorers. They use the internet to find corresponding information on the explorer and fill in a chart that is provided. Students also...

Students analyze the significance of Jamestown in the broader picture of colonization and analyze a historical document to determine the effects of previous explorations on the expectations of the Jamestown colonizers

The fabulous book, Molly's Pilgrim is the centerpiece of this sociology lesson plan. Third graders will explore how pilgrims from the past are alike and different from pilgrims of today. After hearing the book read to them, small groups...

We all know about Christopher Columbus, but who else explored the Americas, and specifically, the future United States of America? Learners find out these answers and more in a resource that includes four different reading sections,...

Change, growth, and a sense of belonging are the focus of a unit that uses poetry to explore these themes and the distinguishing features of poetry as well.