Core Knowledge Foundation
Volume 1 - A History of the United States: Precolonial to the 1800s
Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Native Americans and Settlers
Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...
NPR
The History of America’s Weed Laws
To understand the laws regarding marijuana use in the United States, you can go all the way back to the 1800's to learn about farming hemp, or you can go back to 2018 when California became the sixth state to legalize recreational...
Curated OER
The Cowboy Life
Travel back in time to the 1800s and research the Old West! Elementary and middle schoolers work with a partner to complete at least four activities from a list provided by the teacher. They use these activities to present their...
Annenberg Foundation
A Growing Global Power
How does a nation turn into a global superpower? The 16th installment of the 22-part series on American history investigates the rise of the United States to global importance in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Groups...
Curated OER
The West "The People": The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Fourth graders become familiar with the conditions facing the members of the Expedition in the early 1800's, as well as the causes and consequences of the Expedition. They describe the conditions of the land in the 1800's and during the...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion and the Frontier
Students explore U.S. history by researching a historic map. In this westward expansion activity, students discuss the mystery of the western U.S. in the early 1800's and the impact expansion had on Native Americans and agriculture....
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The War of 1812: America’s First Declared War
Free Trade and Sailor's Rights! Pupils dive into America's first declared war, the War of 1812. They analyze the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison through diary entries and historical reasoning. To conclude the lesson, they use their...
Curated OER
Overland Trails To The West
Consider the political, physical, and geographical factors that led to and marked the Westward Expansion. Learners will track the various routes developed during the 1800's. They create a first person journal describing what they see,...
Curated OER
Sunken Millions: The Way West
Recover sunken treasure with this interactive PowerPoint! Break your class into two teams: the divers and the surfers. They'll work together to answer 20 multiple choice questions, reviewing major events that occurred during the 1800s....
Curated OER
American Growth and Expansion in the late 1800s
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,...
American Chemical Society
Joseph Priestley, Discoverer of Oxygen
Do you want to hear a joke about nitrogen and oxygen? NO. We all know there is oxygen in the air and that plants produce oxygen, but how was it discovered? Scholars read a handout, answer questions, and analyze material in the...
Curated OER
Writing Women: The Yellow Wallpaper
Students examine the historical, social, cultural and economic context of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's story, The Yellow Wallpaper. Students determine the place of the middle class woman and her role in society.
Curated OER
Native Americans 1700s-1800s
Eighth graders investigate and explain major Native American groups, events, individuals and conflicts from the 1700s through the 1800s in the early American colonies and the United States.
Curated OER
Interpreting Quotes From Native Americans and European Americans
Students examine the relations between Native Americans and European Americans in the late 1700's and early 1800's. For this Native American history lesson, students read and analyze quotes from Atiatoharongwen, Tecumseh, Thomas...
Curated OER
Photography and the National Park Service
During the 1800s the United States was expanding westward; land was there for the taking. Kids explore how some early photographers used their photography to influenced the US Congress to save areas like Mirror Lake. They...
Curated OER
African Americans in the Columbia River Basin
Students research the Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive (CRBEHA) and use a variety of primary sources to explore the history of blacks in the region.
Curated OER
The Civil War 1850–1865
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 10 short answer questions about the American Civil War. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.
Curated OER
History in Literature - The House of Dies Drear
Hook your learners with a great project. They research the underground railroad and civil rights movement through literature, view the video The Underground Railroad: Escape from Slavery, and read the book House of Dies Drear in...
Curated OER
The Early American Temperance/Anti-tobacco Movement
Tenth graders consider movements to regulate alcohol and tobacco use. In this Temperance Movements lesson, 10th graders compare and contrast movements in the 1800's and the modern era as they research selected primary and secondary...
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conservation, Preservation, and the National Parks
Going green? Scholars investigate the creation of the US National Park program. Through diary entries as well as expert testimony, they synthesize information and analyze the need for conservation and preservation. Finally, they display...
Curated OER
The Changing Union
Fourth graders analyze a document and make assessment and historical prediction based on the text. For this establishment of American government lesson, 4th graders analyze a poem and discuss the climate of the Union in the early 1800's....
Curated OER
Persistent Paths: Trails, Tracks and Turnpikes Across the Alleghenies
High schoolers study maps to determine barriers associated with the Pennsylvania mountains and the Native Americans. In this investigative activity students study the routes used by Native Americans, explain physical features of...