Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: Who were the Settlers?

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Life in the great, wide-open spaces of the West! Scholars analyze the reasons behind the vast movement to the Great Plains after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Homestead Act. Using photographic, document, map, video, and...
Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Native Americans and Settlers

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Did Western settlers receiving free land from the Homestead Act realize it wasn't really free at all? Scholars investigate the impact Western expansion had on Native American culture in the mid-1800s. They use documents, timelines, and...
Activity
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 African American Settlers

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Go West, young man! Scholars investigate the impact of African American settlers moving to the Nebraska territory, following the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the mid 1800s. Using primary sources, timelines, maps, and...
Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Notable Nebraskan: J. Sterling Morton

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
What are the characteristics of an outstanding citizen? Nebraskan J. Sterling Morton contributed to the formation of societal and family values in his state. Learners gather information on Morton's life accomplishments from primary...
Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Railroads and Settlement

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Have you ever wondered how your town was placed where it is? Scholars research the impact the advancement of the railroad due to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act had on the formation of civilization in the Great Plains. Map...
Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Beef Moves to Nebraska

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Just how long was the Long Drive? Learners investigate the movement of cattle in the Great Plains during the mid-1800s. They incorporate photographic, newspaper, video, and primary source evidence into their posters, artwork, and written...
Lesson Plan
NET Foundation for Television

1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: The Challenges of The Plains

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...
Interactive
DocsTeach

The Settlement of the American West

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
What do Abraham Lincoln and the Transcontinental Railroad have in common? Using a set of primary source documents, including pictures, maps, and treaties, class members link together the common themes of expansion into the American West....
Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

Roll of the Genes

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Animal reproduction in sheep and cattle is explored with the help of Punnet squares. Scholars employ tools using probability to conclude the color of wool a sheep's offspring will have. Acting as animal geneticists, pupils then take...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Threatened Species and Public Policy

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers discuss the Endangered Species Act and its impact on people and the environment. They read the act and watch video footage. They examine why sea turtles are endangered and efforts to protect them. They analyze numerical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sectionalism, Popular Sovereignty, and Secession

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Pupils examine sequence of national events that resulted in the Civil War by using primary sources, and creating timelines and maps.
PPT
Curated OER

1850s: Road to Secession

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Detailing the political and social events leading up to the Civil War, this presentation provides students with maps, political cartoons, and photographs to put this time period into historical context. The Presidential Elections of...
Lesson Plan
Agriculture in the Classroom

Build it Better

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
If you think you can do better, feel free to give it a try. Pupils learn about the work on Temple Grandin and consider ways to improve animal handling facilities. They work in groups to build models to showcase their ideas.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the transcripts of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates and create a platform for each candidate in the 1858 Senate race. They utilize the candidates' arguments to explore the historical and political impact.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Co-evolution of Plants and Pollinators

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars explore biological evolution and natural selection and its evolutionary consequences. They also explore how organisms are interdependent on one another.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Smiles Change the World

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students discuss and write about groups that need friends. In this friendship lesson, students create a banner for someone who needs a friend. students pair share to chose a recipient for the banner.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Can Influence Legislators?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify four influences that affect how a Member of Congress decides to vote on a bill, and describe ways that individuals and groups influence legislators.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Time, Talent, Treasure, and Economics

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine and trace the origin of an item of clothing. They write, illustrate, and publish a book describing the trade flow that brought their item of clothing to the United States.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slow-moving Process

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students explain why the Framers designed a long and complicated legislative process, and evaluate how effectively the legislative branch of the government is serving the purposes for which it was created.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: The Kansas Nebraska Act and the Republican Party

For Students 11th - 12th
Students will learn about the political ramifications of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the founding of the Republican Party.
Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: 1850 1874 Era | Lesson 1: The Kansas Nebraska Act

For Students 9th - 10th
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created a territory that stretched all the way north from the southern boundary of present-day Nebraska to include all of the remaining lands of the Louisiana Purchase.
Website
Nebraska Studies

Nebraska Studies

For Students 9th - 10th
A large site that tracks the history of the Nebraska area begins with the formation of the earth, moves through the earliest human activity in Nebraska, and then through proto-historical and historical Nebraska. The Kansas-Nebraska Act,...
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Bleeding Kansas

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive overview with interesting facts about Bleeding Kansas, a series of violent confrontations in Kansas, and border towns of Missouri, after the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Trouble in Kansas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart contains information about the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the violence that followed in Kansas. It contains photographs of key figures.

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