Curated OER
Preserving the Memory
Young historians explore ways to help preserve historic battlefields and artifacts. Designed for secondary scholars, the resource focuses on Civil War battlefields and the National Registrar of Historic Places Application. Pupils also...
Curated OER
Incorporating Artifacts and Guest Speakers into Curriculum Planning
Artifacts and guest speakers are enriching and exciting for your students.
Smithsonian Institution
Civil War
Did you know that more than three million people fought in the Civil War? Through artifacts, graphics, and passages class members learn about the stark divide between North and South that led to the war, as well as about the events...
Curated OER
Asian-American History for Grades 6-8
Young scholars use web technology to access American history and the Asian-American experience. They evaluate journals as historical artifacts, especially the concept of firsthand account vs. history text. Students discuss Asian...
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BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Students observe and identify characteristics of artifacts and fossils; explain how artifacts and fossils are used to explore the past; and identify ways that Native Americans prepared food and made tools
Curated OER
Lesson plan: History Underfoot
Students study Native Americans of Virginia. In this Virginia history lesson plan, students take on the role of archaeologists as they analyze a site and its artifacts. Students use the information to draw conclusions about the natives...
Curated OER
Second Grade Time Capsules
Second graders leave clues from the past for students of the future by creating time capsules filled with artifacts from the year. These artifacts are buried along with others on school grounds somewhere. Students identify and analyze...
Curated OER
The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde
Students research evidence discovered during Mesa Verde archaeological dig, view images of ancient artifacts, simultate real dig and reconstruct items buried on school grounds, and create newsletter or video tape skit.
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Written Clues About the Past
Third graders investigate written clues from the past. In this clues from the past lessons, 3rd graders read and entry called, "Rick's Backyard Site." They complete the associated resource sheets. They read about a second site and use a...
Curated OER
The Anasazi
Sixth graders investigate and determine the origins of the ancient Anasazi who inhabited present-day Utah and the Four-Corners-Region, after receiving direct instruction and carrying out activities in cooperative group settings. They...
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An Exercise in Seriation Dating
Students study the different types of artifacts found that were made by the colonial people. In this archaeology instructional activity students take part in finding ceramic and charting their results.
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Between the Rivers
Second graders compare and contrast historical American cultures. In this American history lesson, 2nd graders participate in reading, writing, oral, and hands on activities. Students discuss the similarities and differences...
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Native Lands: Indians in Georgia, How Do We Know What We Know?
Learners examine Native American oral traditions. In this Georgia history lesson, students discuss Native American oral traditions and research stories of migration. Learners create their own oral history projects that feature their...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Would you fit in with the Cherokees?
Students use this activity as an introduction to the unit on Cherokee Native Americans. They discuss and research Cherokee dress and homes and identify difference between the Cherokee and the individuals in the class.
Curated OER
Patriots v. Loyalists
Students consider how colonial citizens chose sides in the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students role play Loyalists, Patriots, and undecideds in a classroom simulation. Students research their positions so that...
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CSI: Native America
Young scholars discuss the murders of Native Americans in Indiana. In groups, they research and make drawings of the scene as if they were part of a CSI team. They complete any needed experiments to help them solve the crime and create a...
Curated OER
A Treaty Trail
Young scholars complete vocabulary work related to the Native Americans of the past. In this Native American lesson plan, students read and answer questions about Native Americans and how they created their own resources.
Curated OER
Understanding Freedom: Catching "The Spirit of '76"
Sixth graders complete activities about colonial history through an examination of art from the American Revolution period. In this history and art lesson, 6th graders define an iconic image, sing the song 'Yankee Doodle,' and analyze...
Curated OER
They're Only Children
Third graders compare how the lives of African American slave children differed from children's lives today. In this analysis of slavery lesson, 3rd graders evaluate and discuss the conditions of slavery in collaborative groups....
Curated OER
A Lesson on Reconstruction Legislation and Amendments
Learners study the legislation and Amendments of Reconstruction period in America. In this Reconstruction lesson, students work in groups to dissect the Black Codes, an article in the US Constitution, as well as the 13th, 14th, and...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion and the Frontier
Students explore U.S. history by researching a historic map. In this westward expansion lesson, students discuss the mystery of the western U.S. in the early 1800's and the impact expansion had on Native Americans and agriculture....
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Native Americans
Eighth graders are assigned a group of Native Americans from the North Carolina area to study. They research and write a paper, including sections on family, government, food, clothing, shelter, European contact, artifacts and give an...
Curated OER
John and Mary Jones and the Importance of Oral History
Students examine the role of John and Mary Jones in the abolitionist movement. Using primary source documents, they discover the importance of an oral history and take notes on the Jones' role. They write a summary of the data to...
Curated OER
ARTIFACT to ART to GLYPHS
Students study the development of early Latin American civilizations in unit one. The second part of the unit is based on early image-making attempts from the Cro-Magnon to the Peruvian Incas. Students create their own weavings using a...