Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explore the leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt through the use of historical documents. They examine the complexity of the creation of international documents. Students explore the Human Rights Declaration.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children in the Fields: The Life of the Hispanic Child Laborer During California's Agriculture Explosion

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders examine the agriculture explosion in California in the late 1800's to the early 1930's. They analyze primary source material putting themselves into the shoes of a child laborer. They also gain an understanding of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discover the World of Machines

For Teachers K
Students participate in a project which incorporates science with reading, writing, social studies, and technology. Through several activities over a 15 day period, they explore the computer, digital camera, computer software programs...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Were There Two Wars for American Independence?

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students debate whether or not the War of 1812 can be counted as America's second war of independence. After researching the War of 1812, they complete a WebQuest designed to help them decide on the validity of the war as a quest for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Impact of Hazelwood on School Publications

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the Supreme Court Case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier.  In this American Government lesson plan, 9th graders research the recent history of censorship and how the courts have been involved in either...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Helping Hand: The Role of Guides During Western Expansion

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students research and examine the lives and culture of western mountain guides during the early to mid 1800s. Students write reports about a guide they research, do a simulation of the guide by keeping a journal, managing money and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

At the Site: A Scavenger Hunt

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct field research on a historical site. They develop a scavenger hunt list, participate in a field trip to the historical site, and complete the scavenger hunt.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pre History through Modern Day Timeline

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students explore the historical sequence of cultures throughout history. They demonstrate the ability to organize events in chronological order and demonstrate how time is measured and annotated.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Walter Cronkite: Witness to History

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students brainstorm a list of news sources. They interview people about today's media and discuss their results. After watching segments of a film about Walter Cronkite, they role play as reporters and subjects from an historic period...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Twentieth Century Entertainment: When Work is Done

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students determine how Americans enjoy leisure time. For this 20th century America lesson, students research primary sources to study how Americans gained leisure time during the century and what they did with it.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

I Heard It Through the Grapevine

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students write a first-person narrative from the perspective of a runaway slave, or a historical character of the period, and present their story orally.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

“Home on the Range”

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders analyze the song "Home on the Range" and identify its meaning and setting.  In this timeline and retelling instructional activity, 4th graders use dictionaries to find definitions of unfamiliar words, create a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If These Walls Could Speak...

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the relationship between history, the use of a given space, and its design. They research the relationship between technology and design while exploring a variety of sources. They study what scale models are and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Constitution.

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders study the Constitution. They examine the meaning and fundamentals of the Preamble of The Constitution of USA. They assess the importance of having a Supreme Law that states the rights and obligations of the citizens. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Book: First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "First Encounters Between Spain and the Americas: Two Worlds Meet," design and create a map of the Aztec Empire at the time of the first contract with the Spanish. They create the map...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aztec Calendar

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students investigate the Aztec calendar. In this Aztec calendar lesson, students look at examples of Aztec calendars, both the solar and lunar calendars. They access web sites to further investigate the calendars before making a Aztec...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Overcoming Censorship Through Art

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students create an art piece that expresses their opinions while circumventing hypothetical government restrictions in this lesson on art and government censorship. Emphasis is placed upon historical instances of censorship around the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wreck Detectives

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students investigate shipwrecks. In this marine archaeology lesson ,students collect data and make inferences about the causes of shipwrecks. Students work in groups to create their own model of a shipwreck using clay. Students then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comparing Time Periods in U.S. History: The Ashford Project

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders use a "fact book" comparing periods in American history then students create a picture to illustrate their assigned periods. # # students use their pictures and concept maps to write expository paragraphs about their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Was It Like To Live in Tudor Times?

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students compare and contrast the lives of the rich and poor people in Tudor times. Students observe photographs of Tudor life. They investigate word clues describing the lives of the people. Students create a presentation on their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Longfellow and Dickens: The Story of a Trans-Atlantic Friendship

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the relationship between Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Charles Dickens. They read and analyze a manuscript, answer discussion questions, conduct Internet research, and discuss societal and historical context of the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life of a Chinese Emperor Through Art

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Learners create an invitation to the Chinese Emperor Qianlong's birthday party using historical knowledge of the Emperor and customary practices of the time. This lesson suggests using Microsoft Publisher for creation of invitations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Australian Aboriginal Art And Storytelling

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore Aboriginal storytelling traditions through the spoken word and through visual culture. They listen to stories of the Dreamtime told by the Aboriginal people and investigate Aboriginal storytelling in contemporary dot...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research how early colonists lived. They investigate late 17th century colonist's lives from Massachusetts and Delaware. Using their research, students write historical fiction in the form of friendly letters between the two...