Curated OER
Primary Sources and Protagonists: A Native American Literature Unit
Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...
Curated OER
The Crittenden Conway Duel
Young scholars explore primary and secondary sources. For this primary and secondary source lesson, students investigate a crime scene. Young scholars search for evidence around the classroom and evaluate their findings. Students write a...
Curated OER
Towards Separation of Church and State in Gloucester
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 They will identify historical documents as primary or secondary sources, then read and discuss the significance of these documents as they relate to the "freedom of religion"...
University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Curated OER
African American Experiences: Window to the Past
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.
Curated OER
African Americans in Aviation: The 1940s- A Decade of Change
Students investigate African Americans in aviation. In this primary resources lesson, students examine primary resources to research the history of African American in aviation. Students answer two research questions and write an essay...
Curated OER
Magic Eye
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...
Curated OER
Primary and Secondary Documents for Colonial Times
Students investigate the Colonial Era by completing a template on their computers. For this U.S. History lesson, students discuss the differences between primary and secondary sources and identify several different sources as one or the...
Curated OER
Student Newspaper Project
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.
Smithsonian Institution
Solomon G. Brown: Letter Writing
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...
Curated OER
African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders become familiar with the role of African Americans during WWII. In this WWII lesson, 5th graders watch a newsreel and discuss its use as a primary source. Students answer questions about the newsreel.
National Park Service
A Tale of Two Men
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...
Curated OER
A Journey Through Time!
Students use primary and secondary sources to conduct genealogical research on the challenges faced by those who immigrated to Canada.
Curated OER
Using Oral History to Understand Immigrant History
Students 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...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
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...
Curated OER
Cherokee Leaf Printing
Young scholars investigate their local creeks and forests and practice identifying trees. For this ecology identification lesson plan, students utilize a pad and pencil while on a field trip near their school and describe their trip...
Curated OER
The Grandparent/Elder Project
Students interview a grandparent/elder to as part of a history and writing project. In this grandparent/elder project lesson, students record an interview of an older person who is willing to share their past. They look at pictures and...
Curated OER
Kids Making News
Fifth graders correspond with one another regarding interesting global topics. They swap interview questions and collaborate in the publishing of an online newspaper. This should be a highly motivating lesson which get kids writing!
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Sentence Structure
Statements can be taken out of context and interpreted or used to support a very different view than the one originally intended. Young journalists start thinking about leading questions, sentence structure, context, and how they all...
Tech Know Teaching
5th Grade Constructed Response Question
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.
Curated OER
Pioneering Children on the Move
Students inquire about life for pioneer children. For this pioneer period lesson, students analyze photographs of children, make information foldables, and create a covered wagon that was typical of the ones of the past. Students will...
Curated OER
Diversity of Colors
Young scholars 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....
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience In America
Students study immigration, Ellis Island, and tenement life from 1890 to 1924. Each student create an identity of an immigrant and write an essay in the first person. Essays describe what they found when they arrived in New York City.
Curated OER
Child Labor in the Carolinas
Fifth graders explore child labor and how children were exploited and used in the work place. In this Industrial Revolution lesson plan, 5th graders research child labor by reading, looking at photographs and drawing conclusions then...