Curated OER
Big Dipper Story Wheel
Students research a Canadian Indian Tale. In this constellation lesson, students hear the story "Never-Ending Bear Hunt" which describes the constellations from the Native American perspective. They create their own constellation wheel...
Curated OER
New Jersey
In this reading comprehension activity, learners read a passage about the early history of the state of New Jersey and answer true and false questions. Students write 10 answers.
Utah State University
Thanksgiving: A Celebration of Gratitude
Learn about the first Thanksgiving with a unit centered around the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians. First graders read and discuss books, create a mural, complete a worksheet about five blessings in their life, prepare recipes from...
Curated OER
Pottery-making Methods
Students become experimental archaeologists using three methods of pottery making before the invention of the pottery wheel.
Curated OER
The History of Thanksgiving Day
Third graders study the history of Thanksgiving. For this holiday lesson plan, 3rd graders read about the history of Thanksgiving, complete vocabulary activities, and write a journal entry from the point of view of someone who lived...
Curated OER
What Was Columbus Thinking?
Why is Christopher Columbus one of the most studied figures in history? Upper graders will investigate why Christopher Columbus traveled to the New World and what happened to the native people he encountered. They read and discuss...
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast
Following an online activity, scholars listen to a read-aloud of If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma. Pupils discuss their family traditions and complete a T-chart comparing the holiday then and now. Collages are made to...
Curated OER
What Can We Learn From Bones?
Students discuss what type of information they can gather from bones. In groups, they travel between stations in which they can view photos and listen to actual accounts of finding bones. They focus on the tools available to Native...
Curated OER
The Cherokee: The Principal People (Ani-Yunwiya), 1700 - 1838
Students read passages and research the Cherokee Tribe and write an account of a typical day as a Cherokee Native American. In this Cherokee lesson plan, students listen to Cherokee music, read Cherokee passages, fill out worksheets, and...
Curated OER
Richmond Nature Park Field Trip
Students identify different plants and their uses by attending a field trip. For this Canadian plant lesson, students explore the great outdoors of Vancouver, B.C. and discuss the uses of plants by the Native Americans that once resided...
Curated OER
Transforming Anansi Folktales Into Storyboards
Students work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They then...
Curated OER
Myths of the Wild West
Pupils examine the Wild West as it was depicted in films and books. In groups, they compare this information to what it was really like as they find out in books. They also discover the role of the Native Americans in the Wild West to...
Curated OER
Pioneer Homes
Students compare and contrast Native American dwellings with pioneer homes. They identify the progression of these homes and locate examples on a frontier map.
Curated OER
The First Thanksgiving
Students research the first Thanksgiving. In this first Thanksgiving lesson plan, students research the Internet about how the first Thanksgiving came about between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims. They complete a KWL chart, and...
Curated OER
Rice Around the World
Third graders draw pictures to show the life of early colonists and how they set the standard for rice farming. In this rice farming lesson plan, 3rd graders read about how and when Americans set the standards for growing and producing...
Curated OER
Indian Basket Weaving
Students explore Indian Basket designs, experiment with weaving materials and create their own baskets in this 5-day Arrt lesson plan for the early-elementary classroom. The lesson plan includes scoring guides and illustrated directions...
HISTORY Channel
Westward Expansion of the United States
How did early American pioneers decide what to take with them on their journeys, and what was their traveling experience like? Here you'll find a collection of activities to help you explore Westward Expansion with your young learners.
Curated OER
Hoosier Artists
Pupils examine the paintings of various Indiana artists. Using the internet, they relate the landscapes shown to the history of the state and how it affected Native Americans. Using the information they gathered, they write story...
Curated OER
Make a Bison
Learners discover how bison were hunted by the Native Americans and compare it to the buffalo. Using construction paper, they trace a bison outline given to them and use coffee grounds to fill in the space where the fur would be. They...
Curated OER
Pilgrim Immigration Lesson Plans: Then and Now
Pilgrim immigration lesson plans offer more than a study of these early settlers. It gives students an insight into modern immigration.
National First Ladies' Library
Will the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up?
Learners explore the life of Pocahontas and Powhatan Indians. After studying information on a given website, students compare and contrast what they read about Pocahontas and what they previously thought of her. They explore life in a...
Curated OER
Life on Plymouth Plantation
Third graders research life of Plymouth Plantation and write letters about life there home. In this Plymouth life lesson, 3rd graders complete a webquest as they gather information about the journey to America on the Mayflower and the...
Curated OER
What is Suffrage? Understanding the Right to Vote
Students discover one of the restrictions forced on women of the early 1900s. In this civil rights lesson, students investigate suffrage and why women were not allowed to vote in the early twentieth century. Students create a mock...
Curated OER
Lift and Drag: Principles of Flight and the Soaring Imagination
Students construct models of early gas balloons and gliders. In this balloon and glider lesson plan, students create models of early gas balloons and gliders, discover how the forces of lift and drag effect aircraft in flight, and put...