Curated OER
Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local
Learners explore personal, local, state, and national history. In this historiography lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding their family histories framed in local, state, and...
Curated OER
Family Portraits
Students discuss, analyze, and interpret "Portrait of a Dutch Family" by Fans Hals and then create subject specific projects for assessment. This cross-curricular lesson is well-suited for Language Arts or Visual Arts classrooms and...
Curated OER
A Brief History of Fairfax County
Young scholars brainstorm a list of things they already know about the history of Fairfax County, Virginia. After reading a primary source document, they discuss the similarities and differences between their prior knowledge and what...
Curated OER
Religious Influence On US History
Eleventh graders explore the influence of religion on U.S. History. Using an internet database website, they research the religious affiliation of governors, Presidents and Vice-Presidents. Students write a paragraph explaining how...
Curated OER
Literacy Lesson: Guided Reading
Here is a wonderful lesson designed for pupils with special needs. This well-thought-out lesson uses Big Books, familiar stories, and has a lot of review learning built into it. The book, The Keeping Quilt is used in the main part of the...
Curated OER
Home Healing and Family Stories
Students explore their family history by examining home remedy traditions. They read and discuss a handout about home remedies, conduct an interview with a family member, and complete an interview worksheet.
Curated OER
Storytellers Past and Present
Students read and discuss an article about Olga Loya, a modern storyteller. They watch a videotaped performance of a story and then create a storytelling experience for a story of their choice to share with the class.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Wrong Side of History: How One Group Justified Its Opposition on the Freedom Riders and Civil Rights for African Americans
Designed as a supplement to the study of the Freedom Riders, this resource uses primary sources to reveal the views of those who opposed the Freedom Riders. After careful study of the arguments presented by the members of the Montgomery...
Curated OER
Discovering Your Heritage
Students interview a family member about their heritage. They listen to and record part of their family's oral history. Students also create and label a family tree going back a minimum of two generations and compare and contrast...
Teaching Women's History
Medieval Women
Not all the women in the late Middle Ages (1400-1510) lived lives of quiet desperation. Young historians study images and read primary source documents to gain an understanding of what life was like for the elite class of medieval women.
Scholastic
Smart Quotes Mini-Lesson
Prepare for an interview project with a set of worksheets about asking questions and quoting people. After completing a grammar exercise about quotation marks, kids write out the questions they want to ask their interviewee, and record...
Curated OER
Growing up in Las Vegas; Memories of Childhood in the Neon City
Students investigate the history of Las Vegas through conducting interviews. In this oral history activity, students locate and speak with older residents of Las Vegas in order to gain a better understanding of the city....
Curated OER
Journey
Students complete a variety of enrichment activities that focus on the book, Journey, by Patricia MacLachlan. They create a photo album that shows their own family history.
Curated OER
Native Lands: Indians in Georgia
Students investigate the Native Americans of the Muscogee Creek and their use of the land. In this U.S. history lesson, students investigate the importance of the deer for the Muscogee Creek peoples' way of life and the many uses they...
Curated OER
Young Author Books: I Am a Leaf on My Family Tree
Fourth graders create family tree books. They discuss culture and brainstorm interview questions for family members. They write stories, poems, and captions for family photos. They interview family members and assemble the interviews...
Curated OER
Where I Come From
Students discuss the countries and cultures that are part of their family history. They research the country their family "came from" and write a report.
Curated OER
Listening for Leschi: Voices from the Past
Students interview a family other than their own to learn about oral history. In this oral history lesson plan, students also create a newspaper article about Leschi and pretend they interviewed him back in the past.
Curated OER
Keeping the Past Alive
Students read about the oral histories of West Africa and complete related activities. In this oral histories lesson, students read about the importance of oral customs in African cultures. Students interview a family member about oral...
Curated OER
Mary's Choice: To Go or Stay?
Students read about Mary Jemison and her decision to stay in her adopted Indian culture or return to her native culture. In this Pennsylvanian history lesson, students read about the true story of Mary Jemison's kidnap as well as her...
Curated OER
Levittown, White Picket Paradise?
Students study the origins and happenings of Levittown, Pennsylvania. In this Pennsylvania history lesson plan, students use primary and secondary sources to research the beginnings of Levittown, PA. As a culminating activity, students...
Curated OER
Metis- Grade 11
Eleventh graders consider the impact of immigration on native peoples. In this Canadian history lesson, 11th graders watch "Places Not Our Own," and then participate in a classroom simulation that requires them to consider land...
Curated OER
Native Indian Culture: Plains Indians in Montana
Students examine the culture of the Plains Indians. In this Montana history lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation regarding the social, religious, and traditional life of the Plains Indians.
Curated OER
Everybody Cooks Rice
Students read the book, "Everybody Cooks Rice," and they participate in activities pertaining to the book. They identify countries mentioned in the text and locate them on a world map. They use an atlas to identify the climatic...
Curated OER
Celebrating Our Connections Through Water
Students examine the role of water in ceremonies around the world. In this world history lesson, students explore how other cultures celebrate water. They create a Water Day for younger students to participate in.