Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Preserving the Past with Oral History

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students research history by interviewing people in their community. They create a list of questions and record their responses. They end the project with some type of final product which might include a memory book.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History Telling

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders examine the different parts of history that make up people's lives.  In this American History lesson, 10th graders explore how historians learn about events that happened in the past by looking at events that happened...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Group Rehearsal

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Pupils study their national and family heritage while working in groups.  In this personal history project, students examine the family shield or crest of the teacher while preparing to create and share their own with the class....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From Object To Story

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students engage in a study that focuses upon the study of artifacts for the purpose of defining the heritage of family. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order to create a personal family...
Lesson Plan
Civil War Trust

Genealogy

For Teachers 6th - 9th
The Civil War is undoubtedly a part of America's history, but could it be part of your pupils' history as well? Middle schoolers conduct research to discover a connection between their ancestors and the American Civil War. Whether...
Lesson Plan
Story Corps

The Great Thanksgiving Listen

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
StoryCorp provides a resource that captures and preserves the remembrances of family or community elders. Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, class members select a person they want to interview, record the conversation, and then upload...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

America in Space: German Voices from Huntsville, Alabama

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Project Paperclip, the Redstone Arsenal, and the Huntsville Space Center are all featured in a resource that investigates the contributions of Dr. Werner von Brawn and other German scientists to the US space program....
Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Wilma Mankiller: Cherokee Leader

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Middle and high schoolers consider the characteristics that make for a great leader. For example, they investigate Wilma Mankiller, the first female Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Researchers read a short biography, watch a...
Lesson Plan
Global Oneness Project

Today’s Native America

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed Standards
The 2016-2017 protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) motivated Camille Seaman to create "We Are Still Here," a photo essay featuring portraits of contemporary Native Americans who protested the pipeline. This eight-page...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigration and Ancestors

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
We are all immigrants to this country and the study of immigration can help students connect to history in a personal way. Students will listen to audio clips from the Ellis Island web site, discuss the treatment of immigrants in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Indigenous Land Guardianship, Settler Colonialism, Racial Capitalism. While the terms may be new to some, they feature in a lesson plan designed for Indigenous Peoples' Day. Young scholars investigate four concepts: Land...
Lesson Plan
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PBS

Women's History: Clara Barton

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate Clara Barton's contributions to society. In this Clara Barton lesson plan, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding Clara Barton's life and her possible authorship of a Civil War...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Family Portraits

For Teachers K - 7th
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 plan is well-suited for Language Arts or Visual Arts classrooms and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Young Author Books: I Am a Leaf on My Family Tree

For Teachers 4th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life in Ancient India

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils study Ancient India and the vocabulary, language, and everyday life associated with India. They build a time capsule representing their own world for future civilizations to discover. They create labels for each item, giving a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Growing up in Las Vegas; Memories of Childhood in the Neon City

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the history of Las Vegas through conducting interviews.  In this oral history lesson, students locate and speak with older residents of Las Vegas in order to gain a better understanding of the city....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baseball Memories

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students act as historians by, first, reading and analyzing oral histories of professional baseball players to become familiar with baseball figures. Then, they proceed to interview family members, relatives, or neighbors who have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Living History- An Intergenerational Philanthropy

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students gather information from a senior friend to write a biography. In this living history books lesson plan, students organize information to complete a book about their senior friend. Detailed teacher instructions for completing the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students 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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Key Ingredients: America By Food

For Teachers 4th - 12th
In this set of five lessons, learners analyze the important of food traditions, identity, and history. Students analyze how food traditions contribute to family identity, investigate family food traditions through interviews, and compare...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Legendary Life Cycles

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Upper elementary historians research a legendary person who had an impact in the the history of the United States. Learners research the life of their person of choice, and construct a legendary timeline using computer software which...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"We Remember" Eulogy Project

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders complete a culminating project on the Holocaust. For this eulogy lesson, 8th graders use information gathered from previous research and create a poster about the Holocaust. Students make a presentation using a document...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: Shaking the Family Tree

For Teachers 1st
Create family trees while reading "Little House in the Big Woods." After examining Laura Ingalls Wilder's family tree, compare it to a real tree's roots and branches. Conclude with interviewing family members and decorating family...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wheeling and The Big City Lesson 1

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders consider how immigration impacted the East. In this West Virginia history lesson plan, 8th graders research the effects of immigration on Wheeling, West Virginia. Students also gather information about immigration on a...