Middle schoolers discover the ways different cultures gathered and made food. In groups, they read excerpts from primary sources about the food people in Mesopotamia liked to eat. They work together to make a batch of goat stew and a...

Students are introduced to the way writing was invented in Mesopotamia. In groups, they participate in re-creations of events that occured in a traditional Mesopotamian school. They practice writing in cuneiform script on clay using...

Young scholars show how constant irrigation, with repeated evaporation of water that left salts in the soil, eventually ruined much farming land in southern Mesopotamia. They discuss the idea that with the development of irrigation...

Students locate and name different types of transportation. They categorize types of transportation by where you find them: land, air, or water. Students graph the information collected. Additional ideas are listed for cross curriculum.

Students examine the Lane Tech murals on the Web or at the school. They conduct interviews with students and professionals as a method of researching the subjects of these murals. They write an article for a special "mural" edition of...

Young scholars distinguish between a rural community and a city community by observing the architecture in each one. They observe and discuss pictures of buildings. Students write a paragraph explaining the purpose of a particular...

Students explore the rain forest and where they are located. Students examine why the rain forests are important and what is happening to them. They investigate the water cycle and life cycle of a frog. Students build a rain forest in...

Students discuss the types of information they can get from artifacts. In groups, they practice "reading" artifacts and determining their usage. They use inferences to test against official information about certain pieces. They also...

Students examine the various types of architecture used in Mesopotamia. In groups, they identify how climate, resources and cultures affect where and how people live. Using a worksheet, they compare and contrast their house to the one...

Fourth grade reading students study art works by famous artists. They use various tools for learning about the artist, and they present their information by writing and speaking about the artist. They also create artwork in the style of...

Fourth graders examine the life and works of famous artists. Using the internet, they take notes and present their information to the class in an oral presentation. They create their own original artwork in the same style of their...

Sixth graders participate in various activities in which they must complete research. Individually, they draw a human heart and label each part along with its function. They use the internet to research an invention in Mesopotamia was...

Pupils research and recreate coins from ancient civilizations to determine how the imagery reflects the cultures which originally made them.

Sixth graders discover the ways archaeologists examine artifacts and where they are found. After being introduced to new vocabulary, they use artifacts from their own lives and discover what could be told about their life from them. ...

Learners discuss how changing the environment can cause conflict between two groups. In groups, they brainstorm other ways to deal with this issue without using warfare. They use the internet to research the differences in today's army...

Third graders recall the reasons why the Pilgrims came to the New World. They ideology and compare and contrast the ideology of the Puritans and Roger iams. They study the colony of New York.

Read historical fiction stories that illuminate Chicago's past. Use the Interactive History Map to look closer at artifacts from the collection of the Chicago History Museum and to explore locations throughout the city from each story....

Come explore the history and culture of Chicago through this resource. There are lots of activities for kids with different sections for teachers and parents.

Visit the Chicago History Museum's retrospective about Louis Sullivan, famous Chicago architect.

Provides a thorough biographical profile and pictures of the well-known Chicago mobster, Al Capone.

This article focuses on the oral histories of Polish immigrants in Chicago. The Chicago History Museum's Polish American oral history archive started in 1976 under the Ethnic Heritage Studies Program Act. Researchers recorded 140...

Media coverage of the 1919 World Series involving the players from this team and the scandal that became so well known.

Read about the luxurious rail car George Pullman introduced that made transcontinental rail travel so desirable.

Click through four pages on this larger website about the Pullman Rail Car Company. Read about George Pullman's ideas about establishing a company town for his workers that would address their housing, recreation, and even moral needs.