Lesson Plan
Curated OER

English-Indian Encounters in Early 17th Century Virginia

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners participate in a three part lesson in which they examine the initial encounters between the English and the Indians, the different ways in which the colonist and Indians interacted and why English settlers and Native Americans...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native American Storytelling

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the background of Native American myths and legends.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders read a myth out loud to their classmates.  Students compare and contrast their myths with other...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown in Context: The Colonization of North America

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Pupils analyze the significance of Jamestown in the broader picture of colonization and analyze a historical document to determine the effects of previous explorations on the expectations of the Jamestown colonizers
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Picturing George: A Pictorial Survey of the Life of George Washington

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students create pictorial biographies of George Washington. Working in groups, they research various portions of Washington's life, highlighting significant events. After presenting their projects to the class, they are displayed for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan: The Math of Removal

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students consider the plight of those who walked the Trial of Tears. In this Indian Removal lesson, students compare statistics regarding Indian survival rates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

California Trail and Native Americans

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders identify the American Indian tribes who lived on the lands in which the California Trail went through. They investigate and describe the impact of western expansion on the American Indians.
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 Great Exchange

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine the connection that the present has to the past and how different cultures impact each other with lasting results. They discuss European exploration in North America and West Africa by describing cultural...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Western Expansion and Native Americans

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders research the Oregon, Old Spanish, California, and Mormon trails, and the impact western expansion had on the Native Americans living on those lands.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Expansion and Reform: Applying the Declaration of Independence

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct inquiries and research-acquiring, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, evaluating, and communicating facts, themes, and general principles operating in American history. They use the Declaration of Independence to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native American Images in the Media

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine various images of Native Americans in the media. In groups, they create a list of present Native American stereotypes and what the media did to continue the stereotype. To end the lesson, they write in their...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Will the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up?

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Learners explore the life of Pocahontas and Powhatan Indians. After studying information on a given website, students compare and contrast what they read about Pocahontas and what they previously thought of her. They explore life in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How the West was Won? Conflict and Change on the Western Frontier

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders assess the conflict and change that occurred in the westward expansion following the Civil War. They list specific reasons why different groups moved west and the interaction between the "white" European civilization and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 3

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students demonstrate knowledge of geography and early inhabitants of Virginia by locating and identifying water features important to early history. They also locate three American Indian language groups. Both of these activities require...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reasons for English Colonization

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students explain the reason for English colonization. They review the reasons for the colonization and settlement in Virginia and trace the route from England to Virginia through the Chesapeake Bay to Jamestown on a map.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women in India: Tradition vs. Modernity

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore cultural aspects such as gender roles and their impact on Indian culture and compare and contrast issues associated with those roles in America through literature.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Farming on the Virginia Frontier

For Teachers 4th - 5th
In this social studies worksheet, learners discover how early frontier settlers in Virginia planted and raised their crops. Students read an information paragraph and answer 5 questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Athabaskan Migration & Bering Strait

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students study Athabaskan migration patterns and the Bering Strait Land Bridge theory. They investigate the importance of the expansion of trade and compare the differences between American Indian oral tradition accounts of origin and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tribal Termination & Urbanization

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students list the main events in historical sequence of tribal termination and urbanization. They identify a present-day American Indian experience or phenomenon as a result of termination and urbanization and refer to 'Navajo...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose Land Is It Anyway?

For Teachers 7th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown Celebrates 400th Anniversary

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students view a world map and identify the locations of England and Virginia and discuss what kinds of things they would take with them on this kind of trip. They read the words in the news box on the student page and fill in the blanks...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

VS.5a

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore, examine and identify the reasons why the colonies went to war with England as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. They discover the conflicts that developed between the colonies and England over how the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anasazi Basket Weaving: 0-500 A.D.

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders study Period 1- Basket Maker 0-500 A.D. of Anasazi Culture. They identify the sequence of history in Anasazi Culture and Indians of the Mesa Verde. They discover American Indian contributions to the world and develop...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anasazi Pueblo Period: 700-1050 A.D.

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders study Period 3-Developmental Pueblo 700-1050 A.D., of Anasazi culture. They identify the sequence of history in Colorado and recognize American Indian Contributions to the world. They study Indians of the Mesa Verde and...