Fourth graders discover the meaning of the different objects on the State Seal. They identify changes in the State Seal over time students hypothesize why elements have changed students suggest what elements should represent the State of...

Learners are introduced to the study of economics, including an introduction to basic business types and systems. They investigate about international, national and California history as they take a historical tour of cooperatives and...

Fourth graders research the details of a California Mission. They design a slide show to present their research.

The city of Los Angeles' 1979 Special Order 40 states: "LAPD officers shall not initiate police action with the objective of discovering the alien status of a person." After reading a fact sheet that details the history of Special Order...

Though the Statue of Liberty welcomes political refugees to her shores, the welcoming sentiment has not always been reflected in the American citizenry. High schoolers read about the regrettable period in United States history...

Fourth graders examine patterns that influence population density in the various regions of California. The unit's three lessons utilize graphic organizers for the interpretation and presentation of data.

High schoolers explore the culture and community of the Chicano movement in California using prints that emerged from the Chicano movement. The historical, binational, and bicultural components are examined in this three lessons unit.

Fourth graders examine the effect of the Great Depression on California. After reading a summary, they discover how the depression and Dust Bowl led to the immigration of great numbers of farm workers into California. They also...

Eleventh graders examine the impact of the gold rush on different cultures.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders examine the reasons for ethnic diversity in the west. 

Students complete a history and research instructional activity about the Gold Rush using selections from Jack London. In this Gold rush research instructional activity, students research the Klondike/Alaska Gold Rush and use details...

Middle schoolers continue their examination of the Gold Rush in California. In groups, they use a map to examine the original sites of the towns and what happened to them. They work together to create a brochure for one of the towns...

Young scholars visit the Rincon History Museum in California. They discover different periods in the state's history and discuss. They view the art and explain what can be learned from it.

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...

Prepare young historians for a study of Angel Island Immigration Station with a instructional activity examining primary and secondary source materials, maps, and websites. Using what they have learned, individuals create a map of Angel...

What was the most significant tool used by the Chumash? How did the environment make the tool possible? What group behaviors allowed the Chumash be be successful for thousands of years? After watching West of the West's documentary Once...

A poem carved on Angel Island's walls is the guiding text of a instructional activity that challenges scholars to put movement into a written piece of art. After warm up-activities, learners play a game of "Pass the Clap" and "Pass the...

Using the insight they have gained into the experiences of detainees at the Angel Island Immigration Station, young poets create their own free verse poems that they feel captures what it may have felt like to be an immigrant interned on...

The unit study of Angel Island Immigration Station concludes with scholars using information from the previous lessons to craft a news story about the Angel Island program.

Primary source texts provide scholars with the background information they need to understand why Chinese peasant farmers were driven to emigrate. After underlining keywords, phrases, and/or lines in the texts, individuals craft a...

Director Felicia Lowe's film Carved in Silence splices together re-enactments, interviews, and actual film footage to tell Angel Island Immigration Station's story. Viewers use a film matrix to record new information they learned from...

Imagine being interrogated by someone you don't know about minute details of your life. Imagine that the interrogator is matching your responses to the answers of other family members. Imagine how you would feel knowing that the...

The documentary, The Legendary King of San Miguel Island, introduces the fascinating tale of Herb Lester, his family, and their life on San Miguel Island. Viewers have an opportunity to expand their study of the island and of...

After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...

As part of a study of Angel Island Immigration Station, young historians examine the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first restriction on the United States immigration based on race and nationality. They complete a matrix identifying...