Young learners discover how the Sioux and Assiniboine tribes preserved native culture through the making of traditional dresses, identifying the resources used to make the dresses and discussing behind the meaning behind some...

An interdisciplinary unit focuses on third-grade ELA skills and Native American stories. Over two weeks, scholars practice spelling patterns, work with plural possessive nouns and suffixes, and identify between its and it's. Readings...

A 154-page anthology explores the life, culture, and history of Native Americans. Eight lessons follow the routine of introducing the reading, conducting the reading, discussing it, doing word work, then taking part in an extension...

The 2016-2017 protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) motivated Camille Seaman to create "We Are Still Here," a photo essay featuring portraits of contemporary Native Americans who protested the pipeline. This eight-page...

Many families have special dishes they serve during holiday celebrations and get-togethers. Many of these recipes have been handed down from generation to generation and often come with stories. Introduce your middle schoolers to the...

After watching and discussing a video on the Voyage of Cabrillo, individuals craft their own origin story and design and build an artifact they feel best represents their history.

"Native American history leaps boldly off the colorful quilts and patchwork designs." Learners discuss Native American identity and symbolism by reading about a variety of Native quilters and their unique art process, and participate in...

How did colonial settlement and the establishment of the United States affect Native Americans in the Chesapeake region? Your young historians will analyze contemporary and historical maps, read informational texts, and work in groups to...

To conclude an eight-lesson study of the events that occurred in the early colonial period in Deerfield, Massachussetss, class members evaluate the point of view and bias found in late 19th and early 20th century retellings.

How do nineteenth-century texts by African American and Native American writers contribute to the country's ideals of freedom and individuality? Learners explore the topic by watching and discussing a video, reading biographies, writing...

Is losing cultural traditions the cost of social progress, or should people make stronger efforts to preserve these traditions? High schoolers watch a short film about the native Yup'ik people in Alaska and how they handle the shifts in...

The Navajo people build their dwellings with the doors facing the rising sun in the east to welcome wealth and fortune. Pupils learn about the traditions of the Navajo people in the first part of a 16-part unit. They explore American...

In our increasingly multi-ethnic society, many students find it difficult to identify themselves as belonging to any one ethnicity. Gene Tagaban, a Tlingit, Cherokee, Filipino offers his personal experiences with these questions in his...

Redesign your holiday celebrations with the aid of a lesson plan booklet packed with facts, images, maps, activities, and readings about the three-day feast that marked the English settlers' first successful harvest.

The raven is the focus of a lesson that examines trickster tales and the different stories about the bird. After listening to three tales about the raven, scholars pinpoint and discuss descriptive words. Pupils use one story to...

How would the story of the discovery of America be different if indigenous people told it through their eyes? Individuals compare the conventional account of this moment in history to an account given by one of the native peoples. After...

Storytelling is a time-honored way to keep a culture alive. Introduce middle schoolers to Te Ata Fisher, the famous Chickasaw storyteller who shared her stories, songs, and dances across the United States and Europe. Young historians...

The Kiowa Six, a group of Kiowa artists, are featured in the lesson that asks young historians to consider the importance of art in representing a culture and contributing to a group's legacy. After examining paintings by the group and...

Looking to engage scholars in poetry with hands-on activities? What better way than making masks? Readers analyze literary devices in poetry, examine Native American masks, create their own masks, and then write poems to tell its story!

A read-aloud anthology focuses on Columbus and the pilgrims. Young scholars listen to several stories covering Christopher Columbus, the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, pilgrims, meeting Native Americans, and the first Thanksgiving. Nine...

Celebration or protest song? The full text of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" opens a study of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Louisiana Purchase, and Western Expansion from various perspectives. Middle schoolers examine...

Simplify the teaching of the US Constitution with this primary grade social studies lesson. While reading a fun story about an imaginary place called Bubble Land, children learn about the concept of authority and the importance of...

After watching the documentary Dark Water about a traditional Chumash ceremony and reading a Chumash origin story, viewers are asked to create a coat of arms and to craft an essay that details a family tradition or their own origin story.

Native peoples established civilizations all over Central and North America. Introduce native civilizations with a unit that promotes discussion, reinforces map skills, enhances reading comprehension, and exposes young historians to...