Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Evaluating the "Save the Indian" Reforms

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the policies of the "Save the Indian" reforms. Working in groups, they review the motives, methods, and effects of the "Save the Indian" campaign of the late 19th century. Through discussion and writing, they form an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Was Columbus Thinking?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Why is Christopher Columbus one of the most studied figures in history? Upper graders will investigate why Christopher Columbus traveled to the New World and what happened to the native people he encountered. They read and discuss...
Lesson Plan
Institute for Humane Education

Where Are the People like Me?

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Are some characteristics more desired than others?Scholars examine attributes of characters in books, models in catalogs, and articles in magazines. Discussion leads to identifying characteristics they see more often as well as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Westward Movement

For Teachers Pre-K - 8th
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Health Enhancement Traditional Games

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders participate in Tribal games. In this tribal nations lesson, 4th graders play games that help improve on the physical skills for survival, invention, and problem solving. They discuss what is needed for survival and how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Happy Endings: The Final Battle

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore all the myths of the battle of Yorktown. A variety of primary documents are viewed and analyzed for discussion. They become aware that what one sees and hears is not always as it seems in reality. Each group...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Human Evolution

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students recognize that achievements of human beings throughout human history can be considered part of the ongoing story of human evolution. They research settings such as the biosphere and Mars and write imaginative short stories using...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: People in the Rocks

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Pupils discover characteristics of Native Americans as depicted in their rock art. By examining the rocks from the Human Figures Photo Gallery, they make inferences about the activities and purposes of the people drawn on them.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Before the White Men Came to Nisqually Country

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students work individually, or in pairs, to complete the questions on the "Map Activity" worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art and Culture

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students compare and contrast the ways in which human figures are portrayed in rock art made by ancient Native American artists and in the drawings and paintings of historic European and American artists. They use images to identify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Cares About the Forest?

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explore the natural environment and people's views, in particular the Native Americans. In this environment lesson students discover the many uses of wood as it pertains to our natural resources.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students discover how manifest destiny and westward expansion are related. Using the Internet, they research the beginnings of the movement of manifest destiny and how it influenced people moving westward. They discuss the expectations...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rituals/traditions with Gullah religion

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders discuss some of the earliest people who lived in each region in order to comprehend how humans interacted with the environmental conditions at that time. They make connections to present-day regions including...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Case Study: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in Philadelphia, PA, (17th-19th Centuries)

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders work in teams of three. Each team visits a workstation to interpret, analyze, and apply information from documents for their final project. The final project is an exhibit at Independence National Historic Park
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kiskiack: Changing Architectural Landscape

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students compare and contrast the changing Native and English colonial architectural landscape of the 17th and 18th centuries. Students research and evaluate how economic technology, and the environment reflected cultural changes in the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Homestead Act

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders analyze the Native American's viewpoint of the Homestead Act. Using one Native American group who lived in Nebraska, they write a letter to the editor of a local newspaper discussing the Homestead Act and how it affected...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Indian Wars Continue

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars focus on three incidents: the Chiapas uprising, the occupation of Alcatraz and the occupation and subsequent battle of the Wounded Knee reservation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baga Drum

For Teachers K - 6th
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Baker's Gold

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine art of the California Gold Rush. In this visual arts lesson, students analyze the photography and art of Isaac Wallace Baker. Students also conduct further research about the miners of the era in order to create...
Lesson Plan
Indian Land Tenure Foundation

Tribal Origin Stories

For Teachers K - 2nd
The teacher reads and retells Californian tribal origin or creation stories that come from the traditions of a variety of California Indian tribes. Then, pupils get together in groups and retell the stories they just heard; just as...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

U.S. History: The Progressive Era

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the Colonial Revival Movement as a response to industrialization and immigration. focusing on Deerfield, Connecticut, they create a documentary artifact reflecting the period.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Celebrate Colonial Maryland

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research colonial Maryland. In this colonial Maryland instructional activity, students participate in a WebQuest to investigate how families led their lives long ago. Students compare family and city life from long ago and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drake’s West Indian Voyage 1588-1589

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the exploration routes of Sir Francis Drake. In this American exploration lesson, students investigate primary sources to trace the routes and contact with the natives that Sir Francis Drake experienced on his voyages in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Science in the Past

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars research the science of ancient Native American people. They compare native science to the present time. They create a project that they can present to their classmates. The project could be a report, poster, Power Point...