Lesson Plan
Curated OER

End of the Line: What Happened to the Blue Ridge Railroad?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders study the westward expansion and the role of railroad construction to the expansion. In this railroad history activity, 6th graders complete KWL activity for the topic. Students view a PowerPoint about the growth of...
PPT
Curated OER

The Brief American Pageant: Manifest Destiny and its Legacy

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Frame your lecture about Manifest Destiny around these maps, which portray the extended boundaries of various American territories in the 19th century. Campaigns of the Mexican War, and a map of the Spanish Missions on the West Coast are...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Smithsonian Institution

Native Resistance: Native Resistance Then and Now

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
Native Americans lost so much—and gained so little in return. Scholars explore Native Americans' resistance to the United States government. The lesson uses primary sources to explore the different forms of protest and gives a voice to...
Assessment
Charleston School District

Review Unit 7: Real Numbers

For Students 8th Standards
Provide pupils with problems to check their understanding of the concepts within the unit. The seven-part series of lessons covers concepts related to irrational numbers. Learners convert between fractions and decimals, estimate the...
Lesson Plan
Center for Civic Education

Lesson 2: Suffrage Amendments

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Youngsters examine selected amendments to the Constitution to determine how voting requirements in the US have changed from the colonial days to the present.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

My Antonia: K-W-H-L Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use the well-known KWHL chart as a tool for building up to a research project and oral presentation related to Willa Cather's My Antonia. Starting with a class brainstorm, pupils research and gradually narrow down topics relating to...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Cosmic Microwave Background

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Begin your next class with a BANG! Pupils discuss the formation of our universe and its expansion before proceeding with an activity designed to demonstrate what most likely occurred billions of years ago. They conclude with a discussion...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Overland Trails To The West

For Teachers 5th
Consider the political, physical, and geographical factors that led to and marked the Westward Expansion. Learners will track the various routes developed during the 1800's. They create a first person journal describing what they see,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moving West With Pioneers

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders read a book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder to examine the hardships that were endured by pioneers traveling during the Westward Expansion of the US. They predict, summarize and participate in literature circles. They visit...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Integrated Lesson Plan

For Teachers 4th - 5th
An ambitious and engaging lesson on the Westward Movement for your students to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A WebQuest is also...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Imperialism and Expansion: Part 1

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars explore the era of imperialism and expansion of the United States. In this American history lesson, students play a game regarding the U.S. attempts to expand the nation in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Interactive
CK-12 Foundation

Pascal's Triangle: Pyramid Blocks

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Build a pyramid of sums. An interactive presents the first five rows of Pascal's Triangle as a pyramid. Pupils match missing entries in the pyramid and continue the pattern to determine entries of other rows. The learners use the entries...
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Understanding Immigration Through Popular Culture

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Class members are introduced to a project-based learning unit on US immigration with an activity that asks them to analyze sheet music and other primary source materials to uncover issues raised by immigration.  
Lesson Plan
Bill of Rights Institute

Freedom for All?

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What did abolitionists have in common with those working for women's rights? How has the Native American struggle for voting rights differed from the struggles of other groups? Class members examine the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, and 26th...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shasta Dam: How High is Too High?

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Research water use in California, environmental protection laws, and the proposition to raise Shasta Dam by 200 feet. Researchers use their findings to build an argument which will be presented at a mock decision panel. Groups then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native People of the Caribbean

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders use a map and locate and define the Caribbean region and then work in groups to read the passage and timeline. The groups' reader will read the passage aloud and the recorder makes a list of why colonists used slave...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Westward Expansion : Mapping

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders travel along exploring the expeditions of John F. Fremont. In this Westward expansion lesson, 5th graders gain understanding of the events that shaped the west through the use of maps. Students use mapping skills to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

AIH-8: American Indian Lifestyles

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explain how the history of the American Indian is affecting them today.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

North and South - Impact of the Abolitionist Movement

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine history of slavery in United States, discuss abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass who worked to end slavery, listen to excerpts from Douglass' autobiography, and visit interactive Underground Railroad web site.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Columbian Exchange

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders examine the consequences of Spanish exploration of the New World on animals, humans, and plants. They read and discuss an informational handout, define key vocabulary terms, and complete a Venn Diagram with Old World and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Columbian Exchange

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the significant consequences of Spanish exploration and settlement of the New World on animals, humans, and plants. They read and discuss an informational handout, define key vocabulary terms, and complete a...
PPT
Curated OER

Heat - A Form of Energy

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Middle school or high school physical science pupils will warm up to the topic of heat when viewing this set of slides. It covers heat transfer, measurement tools, phase changes, and more. Have demonstrations and examples of the tools...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Growth and Expansion in the late 1800s

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine a picture of John Gast's, American Progress to determine what they know about American growth between 1877- 1900. By working through thirteen center or folder activities, they study the economics,...
Lab Resource
Colorado State University

Do Cities Affect the Weather? (Making a Cloud in a Bottle)

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The dynamics of a city can have a drastic effect on the weather. A hands-on lesson asks learners to build a model to illustrate how city pollution provides a nucleus for condensation. The greater the pollution, the greater chance for...