North American History Teacher Resources
Find North American History lesson plans and worksheets
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Curated OER
Early Exploration of North America
Third graders "travel" from Europe to North America as Columbus did. They organize the information into chronoglogical order.
Power Show
Colonial North America
This 54-slide PowerPoint outlines the significant events in the history of Colonial North America, beginning in 1603 with the ascendance of James I to the throne of England. Designed to accompany a lecture on this time period, the...
Curated OER
Role Playing in North America: Mid 1600s-Mid 1700s
Eighth graders apply their knowledge of North American history from the mid 1600's through the mid 1700's to a role-playing scenario. In small groups they plan, write, and perform a dramatic skit of a group that was affected by events in...
Independence Hall Association
American History: From Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium
Need an online resource to supplement the paper textbook in your classroom? An all-encompassing website covers historical events throughout the last half of the second millenium, leading right up to the third. From the pre-Columbian...
Crash Course
North America Gets a Theater...Riot: Crash Course Theater #29
Welcome to America! A very entertaining video teaches pupils the history of drama and how it made its way to America. It discusses those that were not pleased with the appearance of theater in the New World and even tells the tale of a...
PBS
When Camels Roamed North America
Camels thrive where other animals can't survive! Interestingly enough, the camel didn't originate in the desert, but rather the rain forest. Part of an extensive PBS Eons playlist, a video presentation follows the migration and...
Curated OER
The Exploration and Settlement of North America
Young scholars locate place in Canada and explore highlights of early of early American exploration and settlement. In this North American history lesson, students locate provinces, major cities, and physical features of...
Crash Course
The Columbian Exchange: Crash Course History of Science #16
Back in 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, he discovered more than a new world! Part 16 in an ongoing History of Science series explores the Columbian Exchange and other major events in the Spanish colonial period. Viewers learn...
Curated OER
The Mystery of Exploration
Students comprehend the history of European exploration of North America. They are introduced to basic reasearch techniques. Students focus on four explorers who visited New York State: Verrazano, Cartier, Champlian, and Hudson. They...
Carolina K-12
Early American Settlements
What brought settlers from Europe to North America? By exploring primary sources, such as posters seeking recruits for the new lands, class members take a deeper look at these motivations. To finish, they present their findings to...
Curated OER
What Do You Know About the Earliest History of North America?
For this History of North America worksheet, students use what they know about the early history of North America to complete a crossword puzzle. Fourteen clues are provided.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Early English Settlements History Detectives
Young historians play the role of history detectives as they investigate some primary source texts and images related to the early colonization of America, The Jamestown Settlement, and the Mayflower Compact.
Curated OER
World History of Colonial America 1497 - 1763
A fast-paced history of the colonization of North America takes viewers through almost 300 years of world history in just over six minutes! The major explorations, first settlements, and claims of land made by a variety of countries are...
PBS
History's Most Powerful Plants
At one point, scale trees accounted for nearly half of the biomass in North America and Europe. An installment of a longer video series introduces these strange plants and describes their features, adaptations, and eventual demise. It...
Curated OER
Writing Exercise: The Spanish in North America
Bring writing into your history course with this exercise on Spanish development and conquest in North America. Five short-answer prompts get students writing about various aspects of Spanish influence. They consider the origin of the...
Curated OER
The Ancient World
Students explore the concept of migration. In this ancient civilizations lesson, students watch "The Ancient World" and research life in the Fertile Crescent. Students then write letters from the perspective of people migrating from...
Curated OER
History Review: Colonial America
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.
Curated OER
Arts of the Americas
From deep in the jungles of Mesoamerica to the mound builders of North America, this presentation showcases the art of the Americas. It covers ancient American art, depicting architecture, ceremonial objects, art, and sculpture that span...
Curated OER
North America Puzzle
In this geography learning exercise, students complete a crossword puzzle in reference to North America. They identify capitals of some countries, the specific landforms of different areas, and languages spoken. There are 21 clues to...
Curated OER
North America Puzzle Answer Sheet
In this geography worksheet, learners name the capitals of various countries found in North America. They also identify the various weather patterns across the continent and specific bodies of water. There are 21 descriptions and 21...
Curated OER
Geographic Regions and Backyard Geology with the USGS Tapestry Map
A beautiful tapestry map of North America is examined by geology masters. The map incorporates the topography and geology of different regions. You can purchase printed copies or a large poster of the map, or if you have a computer lab...
Curated OER
The Old North Trail
Students engage in a lesson to find information about the old trails of North America that were used by Native Americans. Specifically, they conduct research to find the history of The Old North Trail. The teacher shares several theories...
Curated OER
Early European Explorers Map
Fifth graders create an explorer's map. In this explorers lesson students use a map of the world as reference to draw their own map of Europe, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. The students use their maps to show...
Curated OER
Clothesline Sleuth
Fifth graders investigate the effect of North American colonization on human history. In this colonization lesson, 5th graders explore the global impact of colonization of North America. Students investigate the impact of geography on...