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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sodbusters!

For Teachers K - 2nd
Young scholars study American settlers, how and where they lived by observing images. They investigate how the settlers used sod to build houses that were adaptable to the plains environment. They compare living in a sod homes with their...
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Organizer
Polk Bros Foundation

Topic Report Learning Organizer

For Teachers 3rd - 10th Standards
If you'd like to quickly access a simple graphic organizer designed for a class to divide and conquer a larger subject, then check out this resource. Assign class members to study a specific topic within a historical theme or event, and...
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Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Westward Expansion: Image and Reality

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
As your young historians study Westward Expansion, practice in-depth primary source analysis with the documents and guidelines presented in this resource. They will examine a lithograph and excerpts from two letters written by a Nebraska...
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Interactive
Curated OER

O Pioneers! Study Questions

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
In this online interactive literature worksheet, students respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about Willa Cather's O Pioneers! Students may check some of their answers online.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pioneer America: Journey West

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders experience pioneer life on the Oregon trail. In this pioneer lesson plan, 4th graders research the reasons for moving west and what life was like on the trail. They create a map, complete an oral presentation, and write...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beisbol! Latino Baseball Pioneers and Legends

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students explore Latin America by researching the favorite past time, baseball. In this Latin culture lesson, students identify the leaders in the Latin American baseball movement such as Felipe Alou, Jose Mendze, and the great Roberto...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whats so Different Between Them

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students evaluate primary sources. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students will write essays that compare and contrast the differences and similarities between pioneers and Native Americans. Students will engage in a wide variety of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Ho

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine primary sources regarding Western migration. In this Manifest Destiny lesson, students determine why the pioneers moved west and what the trip was like as they examine sources and write journals based on their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pioneer Life: Food

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students investigate the types of food the pioneers ate, and how they prepared and preserved their meals. They explore websites, view video diaries from PBS Frontier Life, read recipes, and complete a crossword puzzle.
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Headin' West! The Life of a Pioneer

For Teachers 5th
Students explore the life of a pioneer and the relationship between the concept of Manifest Destiny and pioneering. Students complete activities, maps, writing and reading to experience pioneer life. Handouts and worksheets are included...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pioneer Scramble

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students explore the concept of Manifest Destiny. In this Westward Movement lesson, students study why Americans emigrated west in the 1840s and 1850s. Students create interactive timelines, write exploration reports, and complete an art...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Expansion: The American Indian Experience

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students complete a brief presentation documenting the life of an American Indian. In class, students discuss the pros and cons of placing American Indians on a reservation. After their discussion, students choose a issue in Native...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wagons West: Native Americans

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion lesson plan, students analyze select passages from Plains Indians by Dana Newmann and The World of Native Americans by Marion Wood....
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Worksheet
Curated OER

The American West: Knowledge Test

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this American West worksheet, students answer a total of 25 questions about The American West. Questions are short answer and "lists."
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pioneer America: Legendary Westerners - Can One Person Really Make a Difference?

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research famous Americans from the Westward Movement and complete an interview. In this Westward Movement instructional activity, 4th graders work in pairs to research someone who was important during this time period....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Expansion

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students locate California and New York on a map and explore available means of travel in the 19th century. Students explore the role of trade in pioneer America and simulate various barter transactions.
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Study Guide
Penguin Books

A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Willa Cather's My Ántonia

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Willa Cather's My Antonia might seem like a hard sell for today's teen readers. Rather than dramatic plot twists, trysts, and terrors, the novel celebrates the pioneer spirit that lead immigrants to a small Nebraska town. The Signet...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Masculine Heroes

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Flying High in Ohio

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Her is a lesson using the Ohio State Quarter. Pupils utilize beautifully-designed worksheets embedded in the plan, to study about the origins of aviation. Many of the pioneers of aviation were born in Ohio. They compare some of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Melba Pattillo and Ruby Bridges: Two Heroes of School Integration

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Learners put themselves in the shoes of students who integrated Little Rock High School in 1957-58. Note: The primary resources in this activity provide powerful and poignant descriptions of what those students faced.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moving West

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Students research the Westward Movement and struggles encountered by the pioneers as they moved from Nebraska, Westward along the Oregon Trail. For this Westward Expansion lesson, students read an Oregon Trail poem and visit 5 different...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students explore life as a pioneer in the late 1890's. In this appreciation of history lesson, students read excerpts from My Antonia. Students create presentations about life and culture in Nebraska.  Students write an original short...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aboriginal Quilting Activity

For Teachers K
Students explore Aboriginal culture by participating in an art activity. In this First Nation history activity, students utilize the Internet to research images and designs from Native American culture. Students create images on quilting...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Ho!

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students explore what life was like on the American frontier. They participate in a simulation of frontier life using Oregon Trail computer software, create an Oregon Trail newsletter, develop a timeline, and conduct interviews with...

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