Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Catch the Gullah Beat: Rhythm and Percussion

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students explore the Gullah culture. In this social studies instructional activity, students construct and play instruments similar to those of the Gullah people.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Balloons

For Teachers K - 12th
Students explore the different types of balloons.  In this materials lesson students can complete several experiments including building their own hot air balloons, making balloon animals and experimenting with static...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Thanksgiving

For Teachers Pre-K - 2nd
Teach little learners about the first Thanksgiving.  In this Thanksgiving lesson, young scholars discover what it was like to live during that time period.  Students compare and contrast the first Thanksgiving to their own.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Brucemore Mansion

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students take a closer look at Brucemore Mansion. In this Iowa history lesson, students research what life was like at the mansion during the Gilded Age and through history. Students also research the responsibilities of servants as well...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Barter Day

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research bartering. In this bartering lesson, 5th graders investigate bartering as a way to trade for goods and services. Students experience bartering first hand while playing a game.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

To Come to Illinois - Or Not?

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students analyze primary documents to determine whether the author is pro- or anti-emigration. They outline reasons for or against immigration to Illinois during the early 19th century.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

John Lawson's Emigration Impact: Short Essay

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students review John Lawson's writings to discover the impact they had on emigration to America. Using the writings, they analyze the influence of them and review the early settlement of the colonies. They write their own essay sharing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Journey to Language Arts

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore events of the Lewis & Clark expedition. Students observe a PowerPoint presentation. They demonstrate journal writing using first person point of view. Students describe life in North America during the early 1800s.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evita: The Woman Behind the Myth

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Pupils explore the meteoric rise of Eva Duarte Peron, First Lady of Argentina. Born in poverty, Eva Peron rose to become the most powerful woman in Latin America and one of the most powerful women in the world.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History or Mis-story?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Pupils explore some of our country's founding myths and legends by participating in an online poll. For example, did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree, then confess to his father about the deed, saying, I cannot tell a lie?
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Regions In Which I Live

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students investigate different regions. Beginning with the idea that a neighborhood is a region, students explore maps to discover that towns, states, and countries can also be considered regions. Students create a book, with...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's Important?

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Pupils, through teacher modeling and guided practice, explore four steps/rules of summarizing. In groups, they read a short passage and then, by applying the summarization rules and skills, write an effective summary of it.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native American

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students investigate how early European exploration and colonization resulted in cultural and ecological interactions among previously unconnected peoples. They comprehend that Europeans had misconceptions about Native American literacy...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Celebrating A Century of Flight

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students investigate the Wright Brothers. They complete an online Webquest, explore various websites, use a flight simulator, answer discussion questions, and locate newspaper articles on the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers'...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Truth or Hogwash

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Explore the history of domesticated pigs and their important byproducts. After discussing the use of pigs, class members create game boards describing the animals. While playing the game, they determine if the answers are true or...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eleanor Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss the election of 1960. They examine the political styles of important leaders, the issue of money, and the issue of fair play in American politics. Students explore the lives of Eleanor Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Religions of Japan

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore, analyze and study the religions that originated in Japan, including Shintoism and Zen Buddhism. They assess the beliefs of each religion and compare/contrast all the Eastern Religions and view their people and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evaluating the "Save the Indian" Reforms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the policies of the "Save the Indian" reforms. Working in groups, they review the motives, methods, and effects of the "Save the Indian" campaign of the late 19th century. Through discussion and writing, they form an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Historical and Economic Impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps in South Carolina

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders explore the effects of the Civilian Conservation Corps. In this lesson, 8th graders use primary sources to examine how the CCC impacted North Carolina. Students will locate National Parks on a map, write a summary and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Civilization - The Ice Age

For Teachers 1st
First graders discuss the Ice Age land bridge over the Bering Straits and how it affected the population of the Americas. They construct a clay model of the land bridge and research common animals of the time.
Interactive
American Museum of Natural History

What Do You Know About Horses?

For Students 6th - 12th
A 10-question online quiz tests scholars' knowledge about horses: all answers come with an informative explanation. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Robert Fulton and the Steamboat, "Trail of Tears"

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study Fulton and his Steamboat, the "Trail of Tears," the Oregon Trail, the Transcontinental Railroad and the Pony Express in this series of lessons.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Presentation of Pilgrims

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Learners are given a category to research (clothes, life before the New World, the voyage, etc.) about Pilgrim life. s Students, in groups, create presentations using software program such as PowerPoint.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Businesses and Communities on the Move

For Students 7th - 10th
In this American transportation history worksheet, students read about various forms of transportation and respond to 16 multiple choice and short answer questions regarding trains, streetcars, automobiles, and trucks.