Curated OER
Debating for Land
Students discover about the varying attitudes and definitions of land ownership held by Native and European Americans. They study a variety of primary documents from the nineteenth century.
Curated OER
QUIZ SHOW! What were you thinking? What did you say?
Students participate in a game show to share the information they have uncovered about the US expansion policy and how it affected Native Americans.
Curated OER
BEGINNER LEVEL LESSON PLAN
Students are be able to analyze primary sources (photographs) for evidence of Native American culture and construct a cultural symbol. They are explained what the stars and stripes stand for on the American flag. Students work as...
Center for History Education
Transforming the West: Did the Reality Match the Expectations for Kansas Homesteaders?
They expected good soil and hearty crops ... but they found buffalo chips and grasshopper plagues. Using an advertisement encouraging famers to go west, budding historians examine primary sources including letters, photographs, and...
Curated OER
Keeping the Home Fires: The lives of Western women
Fourth graders explore the various trails that settlers took West from Missouri. They examine the reasons that people took these trails as well as the kind of people who made the journeys. They examine the Oregon, the Mormon, the Santa...
Curated OER
Donner Online
Fourth graders participate in a simulation of the Donner Party in order to learn more about this episode in history. In this social studies instructional activity, 4th graders take on a role which dictates their group job; each role was...
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny Crossword
In this crossword puzzle instructional activity, students read the clues about the American West and the manifest destiny. Students complete the 9-word puzzle.
Curated OER
Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny
Fourth graders examine the beliefs of Manifest Destiny and its role in the California Gold Rush. They analyze a painting to gather information about Manifest Destiny.
Curated OER
Let's Party like its 1849
Students explore prairie life. In this Oregon Trail lesson, students read literature regarding the move west and participate in cross-curricular activities. Students should take digital photographs of the participation in activities and...
Curated OER
The Western Migration Lesson Plan
Students examine the western migration in the United States in the early 19th century and identify the factors that caused the migration as well as how government adapted to meet the needs of an expanding country.
Curated OER
The Trial of Standing Bear
Students investigate the story of Standing Bear and his people as they defied the U.S. Governemt and returned to their homes in Omaha. Their arrest was followed by a trial which the Ponca people won.
Curated OER
Lonesome Linda
Pupils analyze the create of Loma Linda. In this Western expansion lesson, students look at the development of a resort in the desert and how a town is begun.
Curated OER
Industrial Revolution in America: Exploring the Effects of the Heat Engine on the Growth of Cities
Eighth graders examine the reasons for the growth of cities in North American. Using the internet, they research the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution and determine if the growth of cities is a sign of progress. They...
Curated OER
To Move or Not to Move? Decision Making and Sacrifice
Students examine the motivations that prompted people to move westward during the 19th century. They take on the role of an average citizen and weigh the costs and benefits of making such a move and decide if they would have participated...
Curated OER
Voluntary Movement or Not? Africian-American Movement to the West
Ninth graders, in groups, determine reasons for African-American migration to the west
Curated OER
Going West
Students examine the lives of early pioneers who traveled west for better opportunities. They listen to story "Josafina and the Story Quilt", and discuss hardships encountered by traveling families. Students then complete research and...
Curated OER
The Grand Adventure of Lewis and Clark
Students take a closer look at the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this Louisiana Purchase lesson, students discover tools used by the men as they explored the land. Students also read excerpts from The Incredible Journey and America...
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny
Students explore the concept of manifest destiny as practiced in the 1840s. They discuss how contemporary maps of the 1840s influenced United States expansion in the 1840s and analyze the relationship between manifest destiny and democracy.
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny
Complete with maps, photographs, and historical documents, this presentation would be a great resource throughout a unit about mid-19th century America. Manifest Destiny, Texas Independence, the Oregon Trail, and the Mexican War are...
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.
Core Knowledge Foundation
A History of the United States
This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Fairy Tales and Tall Tales Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
Enrich a unit on fairy tales and tall tales with a set of read-aloud lessons. Second graders hone writing, vocabulary, comprehension, and literary analysis skills as they read classic stories. Complete with extension projects, discussion...
Curated OER
Billy the Kid: Perspectives on an Outlaw
Students examine the life of Billy the Kid. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students use Internet and print sources to research the contributions of gunfighters to the settlement of the American West.
Curated OER
How Perceptions of Cultures Influences Perceptions and Historical Outcomes
Pupils research different ethnic groups that lived in the United States. They compare and contrast Spanish, African American and Native American cultures and how American culture interacted with them. They present their findings using...