Anti-Defamation League
10 Ideas for Teaching Black History Month
Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...
PBS
Family History: On Your Honor
What is your history? Scholars work with their own families to create a unique story of the courage and bravery of their ancestors. The third and final part of the series culminates in a creation of not just a family history, but a...
BW Walch
Unexpected Family History
The history of the northern states' involvement in the slave trade is not widely known. This resource uses the PBS documentary, Traces of the Trade, and the nonfiction book, Children of the New England Slave Trade, to examine this aspect...
Curated OER
What is History? Timelines and Oral Histories
Students determine that their lifetime shows just a small piece of history. They determine how two or more accounts of the same event can be different. They write an account of the same event from two perspectives.
National Gallery of Canada
The Roots of My Family
Represent family history visually by requiring your young artists to create family trees that express balance and symmetry. Pupils examine works of art, research their family histories, and put together large family tree posters.
Curated OER
What is History? Timelines and Oral Histories
Students consider how we learn about the past and discuss how the framing of history is always done by the person who is telling it. They construct a personal and class timelines, compare two or more accounts of the same event and record...
Curated OER
We Are History: Family Stories
Students examine their own family heritage and share family stories with the class. They differentiate between primary and secondary sources, and bring in and write about three artifacts from their family. They conduct an interview...
Curated OER
Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?
Here is a nicely designed instructional activity on ancestry and family history. In it, learners read an article entitled, "Where Were Your Ancestors in 1871?" Then, they make up a series of questions to profile their family and their...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan on Family History and Past Generations
Second graders listen to The Keeping Quilt and through class/small group discussion relate this story to beliefs, customs, and traditions of their own families. They make a class quilt based on these discussions.
PBS
African American History: Climbing the Wall
Imagine the challenge of trying to trace your family genealogy if no records were kept of births and deaths. Where would you look for information? What types of documents could provide you with the information you seek? History...
Curated OER
Taxes in U.S. History: The Social Security Act of 1935
Students explain the history of the Social Security Act and the FICA tax. They describe what Social Security is and whom it is intended to help. They explain the purpose of the FICA tax.
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
Macmillan Education
Webquest: Thanksgiving
Class members use the Internet to research the history of Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada, as well as the traditions surrounding the Thanksgiving-style celebrations of the Hebrews, the Chinese, and in Ancient Greece and Rome.
Curated OER
Our First Families
Students complete a variety of activities in which the Washington Post Newspaper is used to reinforce concepts pertaining to the history of the Washington, D.C. area.
TED-Ed
How Languages Evolve
Do all languages have a common ancestor? Although no one yet knows the answer to that big question, the narrator of this short, animated video explains how linguists use migration patterns, geological features, and word clues to...
Curated OER
Family Tree
A unique twist on a family tree project is a fun alternative to the traditional family tree drawing. This 3D family tree would make a great display for back to school night or open house. Presenting all the important people in their...
National Woman's History Museum
Sally Hemings: Raising a Family Amidst the Brutality of Slavery
Pupils may know about early American figures such as Phyllis Wheatley and Abigail Adams, but what about Sally Hemings? Sally Hemings was the mother of Thomas Jefferson's children, but she is often left in the shadows of history....
Curated OER
Creating Identity Posters
Students discover the identities of their classmates. For this tolerance lesson, students create individual posters showcasing their identity, history, and family background. Students examine the posters to get a better understanding...
Curated OER
"Me and My Family Tree"
Learners explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. For this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Learners identify what the term...
Curated OER
History - Up Close And Personal
Students identify national origin and population movement across U.S. of ancestors and/or community residents, explain historical development of major local industries, identify local social patterns/economic development as provided by...
Curated OER
You Mean I Am Part of History?
Fourth graders open the lines of communication between family members and to gain a historical understanding about family history. They research and interview their grandparents and parents and create a research paper.
Curated OER
Picturing First Families
Students complete a variety of activities as they study Washington, D.C., the Presidency, and George Washington. They take a virtual trip to Washington, D.C., and visit the National Portrait Gallery, the White House, and the Library of...
Curated OER
Cultural Awareness/Sharing Traditions
Students examine and explore cultural traditions that make their own families unique. In groups, they discuss traditions, write about the similarities and differences in the group, and interview other students.
Museum of Tolerance
Where Do Our Families Come From?
After a grand conversation about immigration to the United States, scholars interview a family member to learn about their journey to America. They then take their new-found knowledge and apply their findings to tracking their family...