Curated OER
George Washington: The President Without Precedent
Students explore time period and events surrounding George Washington's inauguration, demonstrate how Washington set precedent for each action he took as American Republic's new president, and compare and contrast traditions and events...
Library of Congress
Oral History and Social History
Students examine the Great Depression. In this oral and social histories instructional activity, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the America in the 1930's.
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Navigation
Students explain that globes are the best way to show positions of places, but flat maps are portable and can show great detail. They make a mercator projection of the route Lewis and Clark took on their journey.
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Powerful Memories, Powerful Words
Students identify and describe the influence slavery had on Mark Twains writing, and then determine the status of race relations and ethnic differences in contemporary life.
Silos & Smokestacks National Heritage Area
Life as a Pioneer
Students examine historical documents and research why early pioneers settled on the Iowa prairie. They review maps, describe the impact of railroading, describe life in pioneer times, and identify the effects of drought, prairie fire,...
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Signature History
Learners review the meaning and application of primary and secondary sources in research. They determine how researchers locate primary source documents before looking at signatures as a validating factor on many primary sources....
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Exploring Islamic Lands
Students explore the culture of the Middle East. In this Islamic culture lesson plan, students conduct research to create personal narratives that reveal what life is like in the Middle East for Islamic teens today.
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Ninteenth Century Women: Struggle and Triumph
Young scholars examine the role of women in US society during the 19th century and how this role evolved and changed in time. They then write a persuasive letter that domonstrates their comprehensin of the subject.
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How Transportation Transformed America
Eleventh graders focus on the role of transportation. In this transportation lesson, 11th graders look at the lives of Americans at the turn of the centuries. They compare and contrast 2000 to 1900.
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Jackie Steals Home
High schoolers read articles relating to Jackie Robinson's breaking of the racial barrier in professional baseball. This leads to a deeper exploration of racism in the United States. They use a variety of worksheets imbedded in this plan...
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American Lives in Two Centuries:What Is an American?
Students decide what it means to be an American. For this historical perspectives lesson, students read Crevecoeur's "Letter from an American Farmer," and interviews with everyday Americans from the Works Progress Administration....
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Waldseemuller's Map: World 1507
Students investigate the 1507 word map. In this world geography lesson plan, students examine the details of each section of the map and then draw conclusions about how the people of 1507 understood the world. Students are evalated on...
Curated OER
Cosmic Wheels
Students build a scale model of the Solar System and determine the time other planets take to travel around the Sun in comparison to the time of the Earth's revolution. The velocity of the planets are also determined in this lesson.
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Analyzing Poetic Devices: Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz"
High schoolers examine how Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke incorporate poetic devices to convey meaning in the poems, 'Those Winter Sundays,' and 'My Papa's Waltz.' They listen to audio clips, explore websites, and write an analysis...
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Gwendolyn Brooks
Students examine the contributions of the author Gwendolyn Brooks. They create a journal, read and discuss poems by Brooks, write a poem about themselves, and create a timeline of their own lives.
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Family Interviews: The Grandparent/Elder Project
Young scholars explore key concepts/facts in 20th Century history, develop interview questions, and produce master list of questions that can be used in project. Students then interview grandparent, great-grandparent, or other elder...
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Inventions Change the World: The Enigma Machine
Third graders explore WWII by analyzing technological advances. In this invention lesson, 3rd graders discuss the use of the Enigma machine which decoded private German messages that communicated with U-boats. Students utilize a timeline...
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On the Oregon Trail
Students work with primary documents and latter-day photographs to recapture the experience of traveling on the Oregon Trail. Working in groups, they write a scene for the movie that is historically accurate and based on the kinds of...
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Immigration to the Golden Land: Jewish Life in America
Students examine waves of Jewish immigration during three time periods and analyze a variety of primary sources, including letters, memoirs, and laws, to gain insight into both the American immigrant experience and American society...
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"Jazz is About Freedom": Billie Holiday's Anti-lynching Song Strange Fruit
Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...
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Exploring Islamic Lands
Young scholars examine the lives of Islamic teens. In this global studies lesson, students explore selected Internet sites to discover the attributes of Islam, the cultural traditions of Islam, and information regarding Middle Eastern...
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The Immigration Experience
Learners research the reasons people immigrated to the United States. In this United States history lesson, students explore the causes and effects of immigrating. Learners engage in a role-playing scenario , watch a video, and explore a...
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Black Separatism or the Beloved Community? Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this African American history lesson, students compare and contrast the tactics employed by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King,...
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All Aboard The Campaign Train!
Students explore campaign politics. In this political campaign instructional activity, students investigate multimedia sources in order to examine the structure of political parties and platforms from previous presidential elections....