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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Primary Sources in the Classroom

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Scholars study a historical photograph to make predictions of what happened right after the picture was taken. They research a variety of different topics and use primary sources to answer questions about common food, fashion trends, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Primary Source Picture Book

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Travel through Europe with ten-year-old Teddy Roosevelt in this writing activity, which uses the picture book My Tour of Europe: by Teddy Roosevelt, by Ellen Jackson. After reading the book, readers compare it to passages from The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forced Potawatomi Migration

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. In this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mr. Lincoln's Whiskers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Towards Separation of Church and State in Gloucester

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Explore New England government in the 1700's with your class. They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African American Experiences: Window to the Past

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine African life during slavery on the Internet. In this slavery lesson, students use the Internet to research slavery and create a scrapbook. Students review pictures of slavery and label them as primary or secondary sources.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Visit to Aunt Louisa's

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders write a diary entry. In this journaling lesson students examine a 1880's primary source document. Students read about a young girl visiting her Aunt in rural Indiana. Students write about what they did in the last day.
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Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Magic Eye

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students discuss the history of tobacco bag stringing. In this primary documents history lesson, students closely examine photographs of families who worked stringing tobacco bags. This lesson includes discussion questions and a...
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Lesson Plan
National Park Service

A Tale of Two Men

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores were both born in 1858, and both came to the Dakota territory in 1883, but they influenced the developing country of America in different ways. Elementary and middle schoolers apply written and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Synthesizing Information: Writing an Apprentice Wanted Ad

For Teachers 4th Standards
Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...
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Activity
Curated OER

Student Newspaper Project

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Writing teaches us so much. One can identify the many characteristics of a newspaper, use the Internet to gather information, and communicate with others. Primary students create a class newspaper for publishing and dispersal.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gathering and Evaluating Sources for the "Greatest American" Speech

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students brainstorm a list of criteria for determining credible sources for their research. They research information to include in their "Greatest American" speech. Students will evaluate all sources by applying the criteria they agreed...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Patriotic Arts: Influencing Canadians At War

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Students study how war has shaped Canadian life, patriotism, propaganda, and music. They research primary source documents, novels, videos, and songs before celebrating Remembrance Day.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Should I Purchase?

For Teachers K - 5th
Discuss commercials, advertisements and junk mail and how each can influence their audience. Through these materials, kids examine persuasive writing. Which key words indicate that it's an advertisement? Young learners include these...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Get Physical

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research a physical exercise using primary source information. They analyze the information and write a report that validates, rejects, or qualifies the information.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Oral History to Understand Immigrant History

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Pupils use oral history to comprehend how life chaned for men, women, and childern when they immigrated to the United States. Students conduct interviews with immigrants in an attempt to interpret hardships, lifestyles, careers, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Diversity of Colors

For Teachers K - 5th
Students investigate color diversity by experimenting with jelly beans.  In this color spectrum lesson, students observe colored jelly beans through different filters and light sources to change the existing look of the bean.  Students...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hernando De Soto's Trip Through South Carolina

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders become familiar with the explorations of Hernando DeSoto. In this DeSoto lesson, 4th graders recognize the routes and territories of DeSoto's explorations. Students use primary and secondary sources and research to answer...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Voices of Slavery

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders recognize and can describe the settlers of Early America. In this American colonies lesson plan, 4th graders research using primary and secondary sources, Native Americans, Europeans, and African Americans role in the...
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Worksheet
Tech Know Teaching

5th Grade Constructed Response Question

For Students 4th - 6th
New to constructed response question worksheets? Here's a model that demonstrates how to construct questions that require readers to interpret graphics found in informational text.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seed Swapping

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Here is a fabulous, cross-curicular lesson on seeds. Elements of science, writing, math, agricultural practices, and art are all brought into this incredibly thorough plan. Additionally, a fun whole-class game is presented, and there is...
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Lesson Plan
Odyssey of the Mind

Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts

For Teachers 4th - 6th
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Solomon G. Brown: Letter Writing

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Personal correspondence in the form of letters is not as common as it once was. This resource presents an opportunity for you to introduce your class to letter writing and cover topics in social studies. Learners read a letter written in...

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