Students examine transportation. In this train design lesson, students study how trains work and how to efficiently design a track by working with an electric train set. As a class they compare various types of trains and work...

Students view and discuss "The Transportation Revolution," a lecture by Peter A. Coclanis. They read and respond creatively to brief descriptions of railroad workers and their job responsibilities.

Students discuss what it would be like to be new to a town. They are then asked questions related to the immigrants coming to America. Extensions of this lesson are available.

Fifth graders investigate the significant events in America's history. Students listen to a variety of books based on significant historical events in America. Students divide into 6 groups, each of which is responsible for researching...

Students practice basic Internet navigation skills, find and summarize information on a Web site, and explore tenement life in the 19th and early 20th Century.

Eleventh graders study the history of immigration from 1850 to the present.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders compare the 1924 and 1965 immigration acts and give a reasoned opinion on each.  Students research,...

Eleventh graders examine a picture of John Gast's, American Progress to determine what they know about American growth between 1877- 1900. By working through thirteen center or folder activities, they study the economics,...

Students study whale migration and their natural history.  In this migration lesson students plot whale migration on a map and describe their ecosystems. 

Students analyze the passage of the 16th through 19th amendments during the Progressive Era around the turn of the century. Using research skills, they write papers and create portfolios supporting and opposing the adoption of each...

Eleventh graders explore the life of Chief Joseph and Nez Perce.  In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze paintings and photos detailing the flight of Nez Perce.  Students create a narrative newspaper article based on...

Young scholars analyze fables and trickster tales from various cultural traditions. In this fable analysis lesson, students identify the elements of fables and trickster stories. Young scholars read Aesop's fables and Ananse spider...

Students write a diary. In this writing and creativity lesson, students pretend they are moving west and keep a diary about their adventures. Students study real-life scenarios about families who made the trip out west before writing...

Students describe the activities that occurred in the Willamette Valley before the establishment of the Oregon Trail and agricultural settlement and explain the impact that American settlement had on the landscape and native groups who...

Young scholars explore the challenges involved in carrying out a program to care for the needs of Civil War veterans an to mark their graves after their deaths. The biography of a veteran from the community is researched and written in...

Students discern a map of Texas and it's forts in the early to mid-1800's. From this map they analyze movement from the moment Texas became a state to its involvement in the Civil War.

Students discuss contemporary situations in which governments mistreat people. They examine real-life instances in which people break the law for what they believe is a higher good. They role play a variety of human rights injustices.

Eighth graders explore the question "What Counts as History?"  In this Philosophy lesson, 8th graders pretend that they are going to interview a historian.  Students read a primary source and answer the questions that follow.

Seventh graders comprehend the interaction and conflict beween Native Americans and white settlers in the years following the Civil War. They listen to T"his Land is Your Land." Students are asked what their interpretation of the...

Students set, and attain a goal using a daruma, a Japanese folk toy.

Eleventh graders understand the effects of segregation and analyze the effects of Supreme Court decisions. They trace the interpretations of the 14th amendment. They utilize a work of art to explore the topic of segregation.

Students draw a time line on graph paper on a scale of one square to every five years beginning in 1770 and ending at 2000. They place historic events and inventions in their correct time period on the time line, and add their birthday...

Eleventh graders review what they have gathered on the Gold Rush and how the Native Americans lived in the Plains. Using a worksheet, they choose one scenerio they would have liked to be a part of and write their opionions about it...

Students will develop a greater awareness of the things surrounding them and will be able to build a bridge between their own material culture and that of an imaginary figure from the past. This lesson plan focuses on the significance of...

Students draw three cattle trails that passed through Indian Territory, using a written description of the trails and will create a diary of trail life. Students research a historical trail as assigned. Students share their information...