Curated OER
Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion
Students discover how manifest destiny and westward expansion are related. Using the Internet, they research the beginnings of the movement of manifest destiny and how it influenced people moving westward. They discuss the expectations...
Curated OER
Westward Ho
Middle schoolers examine primary sources regarding Western migration. In this Manifest Destiny lesson, students determine why the pioneers moved west and what the trip was like as they examine sources and write journals based on their...
Curated OER
Food: Early American Food Cycles Web Quest
Students complete a Web Quest on ways that Native Americans hunted for, harvested, stored, and prepared food and what types of natural foods were eaten. In this early American food cycles lesson, students discover many of the ways early...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Young scholars examine the effect of the Lewis and Clark Expedition on Native American nations. In this Native American history lesson, students research Internet sources to find out how the expedition impacted Native Americans of the West.
Curated OER
The Fastest Pig in the West in the Classroom: Chopstick Tax
Students explore Chinese culture by reading a story with their class. In this Chinese economics lesson, students read a chapter from the story The Fastest Pig in the West and define the chopstick tax that was enacted in China. Students...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark: Meeting the Indians of the Northwest
Eighth graders examine the relationships forged with Native Americans by Lewis and Clark. In this Westward Expansion lesson plan, 8th graders research digital and print sources to study details regarding the Native American tribes that...
Curated OER
This Land is my Land-Westward Expansion During Reconstruction
Young scholars analyze policies regarding Native American territories during Westward Expansion. In this Reconstruction lesson plan, students research primary and secondary sources pertaining to the transfer of Native American land....
Curated OER
The Settlers are Coming, but the Natives are Here
Students examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students participate in a classroom simulation and then write paper about how the Native Americans and settlers could keep the...
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Students demonstrate understanding of the ideology of Manifest Destiny, the nation's expansion to Northwest, and the Mexican-American War. Students understand national foreign policy.
Curated OER
Wounded Knee Massacre
Learners interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students examine sources regarding the Battle of Wounded Knee from the perspective of Lakota fighters and American...
Curated OER
Factors Contributing To the U.S. Dominance of the Pacific Northwest
Students examine the painting Columbia by John Gast. They discuss the concept of Manifest Destiny and the role of different groups (miners, missionaries, fur trappers, farmers, etc.) in the Americanization of the West. In groups, they...
Curated OER
Native Lands: Indians in Georgia
Young scholars research what Native Americans looked like in order to dispel common stereotypes. In this Native American history lesson, students begin by drawing their mental picture of an Indian, then they research North American...
Curated OER
The Colonization of Liberia
Young scholars analyze how slavery shaped social and economic life in the South. They study methods of passive and active resistance to slavery, and the similarities and differences between African-American and white abolitionists.
Curated OER
Lesson III: Crisis, Pearl Harbor, Internment
The third in a series of lessons introduced by “A Fence Away From Freedom,” uses the Smithsonian website, “A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans and the U.S. Constitution” and focuses on the section of the presentation devoted to the...
Curated OER
Impact of Westward Expansion on Indigenous Populations
Students study the impact of westward expansion on Native American populations. They create a diorama of a Native American scene, write imaginary letters as a pioneer child reflecting on his/her experiences, and create story sticks that...
Curated OER
James Welch's Fools Crow
Learners explore the history of Montana's Native Americans by reading James Welch's Fools Crow. Set shortly after the Civil War, the novel focuses on a young Blackfoot Indian and his tribe. Over the course of several weeks, class members...
Curated OER
A Differentiated Way through Think Dots
Students examine reasons that led people to explore, identify "West" as defined following Revolutionary War, explain importance of finding natural resources, develop time line of dates and events leading up to Lewis and Clark Expedition,...
Curated OER
First Nations Plants and their Uses
Students identify the uses of plants by researching Native Americans. In this First Nations culture lesson, students identify the First Nations coastal people of British Columbia and their use of plants such as seaweed, bark and moss....
Curated OER
Discovering the Oregon Trail
Students explore U.S. history by researching the Oregon Trail. In this American exploration instructional activity, students read the story On the Shore of the River and define the exact path early settlers took to find the state of...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon a Time (Sa Hi Pa Ca): Lesson Plan 3
What was the most significant tool used by the Chumash? How did the environment make the tool possible? What group behaviors allowed the Chumash be be successful for thousands of years? After watching West of the West's documentary Once...
West Virginia Department of Education
History Scene Investigators - John Brown's Raid
An informative resource covers the event of John Brown's Raid, an event that became an important part of West Virginia history. It serves as a standalone and covers the event and John Brown's life in depth using group work, online...
Judicial Learning Center
Civil Rights and Equal Protection
Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...
Museum of Tolerance
Can It Happen in America?: Taking Social Action
Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...
Elizabeth Murray Project
The Education of Women in Colonial America
What educational opportunities were available to women during the colonial era in American history? How did the opportunities available to women differ from those for men? To answer this question, class members examine a series of...