Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Exploration of North America

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders "travel" from Europe to North America as Columbus did. They organize the information into chronoglogical order.
Activity
Smithsonian Institution

Stamp Stories of Westward Expansion

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
What a fantastic project idea for discussing not only the history of America's expansion into the West, but for reviewing any major unit of history in your class. Pupils build stamp collections to visually represent themes of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bartering, an Early Form of Interdependence

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the the benefits and problems associated with a barter system in the Colonies and trace its relationship to the development of interdependence that this system creates. An experience of bartering is created in this lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Roots of Prohibition: Examining the Effort to Prohibit Alcohol in America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Age of Exploration

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners apply computer skills to gain further insight into early exploration. They analyze the role of each explorer and evaluate their importance. Students comprehend the Chronology of Discovery and Trade of early explorers. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Settlement Exploration: Then and Now

For Teachers 6th - 8th
NASA has crafted an imaginative and memorable series of lessons, "NASA and Jamestown Education Module." This lesson plan is one of the five components. In it, middle schoolers connect history and science by comparing the settlement of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America: The Land We Live In: Landmarks

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore the concept of landmarks.  In this landmark lesson, students brainstorm different landmarks around their community and nationally.  Students then identify the patterns in Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings or...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

European Explorer IMovie

For Teachers 5th
Film is a wonderful way to communicate any concept or idea. Fifth graders will use IMovie and GarageBand software to create a IMovie about one of eight European explorers. They will chose an explorer, research his travels and life, then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Skin Fruit: Propaganda of the Deed

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Art can express acts of injustice and move society to action. Upper graders analyze contemporary art relating to specific moments in history. They discuss propaganda, anarchy, sociology, and violence as activism. After researching and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Conflict in the Frontier town of Deerfield

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students use primary sources to investigate, explore and represent varying perspectives on the 1704 Deerfield Raid. They consider the reasons Deerfield was at the center of English, French and Native American conflicts in the early 18th...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

European Exploration, Trade and Colonization

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students complete many activities including mapping, reading books, and Internet research to learn about European exploration. In this European lesson plan, students study geographical mapping, trade, and colonization.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Volunteering Requires Freedom of Choice

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore ways to volunteer. In this volunteerism and philanthropy lesson, students brainstorm how the early Americans benefited from philanthropy, then discuss how others benefit from our philanthropy and how we choose ways to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coming to America: A Look at Colonization in the 1600s

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze the European colonization of America. In this colonial America lesson, students use provided Internet resources to research colonization and representative government. Students use their finding...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Living Museum: George Washington, the Slave Owner

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders bring early America to life. In this George Washington instructional activity, 8th graders listen to a lecture about the first president, explore the relationships he had with his slaves, and research the backgrounds of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America Moves Out!

For Teachers 1st
First graders analyze the events of early American exploration. This is a unit resource for teachers in which there are six lessons about the American Western exploration and expansion. Within each lesson there are objectives, materials,...
Lesson Plan
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its learners,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz in America Lesson Plan 7

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The student will explore free jazz, fusion, and contemporary jazz. They will listen to avant garde, fusion, and pop recordings. In addition, they participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of...
Lesson Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Music and Early Man

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating a Cartoon of the Philippine-American War

For Teachers 9th - 12th
During the Industrial and commercial expansion of the United States, war broke out between America and the Philippines. Explore conflict, American Imperialism, and political cartoons with this creative project. Learners view the film,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Explorers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders give a presentation about one of the explorers. In this explorers lesson, 5th graders research an explorer and give a presentation to the class. While students are presenting the others are taking notes on a graphic organizer.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Settlements

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students embark on a journey through colonial times.  In this early settlement lesson, students come to understand what life was like for the settlers in the early colonies. Students research and create projects illustrating their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Explorers of the New World

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research explorers and explore how exploration affected the Western Hemisphere; students demonstrate competency in using multimedia encyclopedia and information software, and present PowerPoint presentation to class with two...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Criminal or Hero

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Young scholars investigate slavery in America circa the American Revolution. They will examine point- of view and perspective as they research a variety of informational resources. While this is designed to be used with the PBS video...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It’s a Big, Big World

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Young scholars examine the role of the explorers. In this explorers and conquistadors, students create word puzzles (Wordles) regarding the time period in history. Young scholars conduct research regarding a particular explorer and...