Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Day in the Life of a San Francisco Native Animal

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students write from an animal's perspective. In this writing lesson students explore the landscape of San Francisco prior to the arrival of the explorers. Students research animals indigenous to the area.
Lesson Plan
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Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Navajo dictionary used by the U.S. military in W.W. II. They role-play Navajo messengers and Marine Corp staff. They research the Battle of Iwo Jima and confirm or discount the claim that Navajos made the victory...
Lesson Plan
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Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students examine the changing life ways of the inhabitants of a Pueblo Indian village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. They explain the influence of Spanish missionaries on the lives the...
Lesson Plan
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Walking the Trail of Tears

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students, through the use of examining video clips and Websites, become familiar with the reasons that the settlers wanted the land, broke treaties, and initiated the Indian Removal Act leading to the Trail of Tears.
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Through the Past, Lightly

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders engage in a variety of activities in the study of Native Americans and the times of the early explorers. They create art, write in journals, and study how art influences society.
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Rock Art Stories

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine different types of rock art. They analyze them to try to figure out the meaning of the art. They create their own rock art that tells a story. They share their creation with the class.
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Documenting Where We Are

For Teachers K - 8th
Students contribute to discussions and identify how an artist elicits a viewer's response. They use William Henry Jackson's Pawnee Indian Village, photograph and painting. After analyzing this information, students use information gained...
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Sacred Art

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view a PowerPoint about Tibetan monks to help them explain the culture's world views, myths and religious beliefs. They investigate Navajo sand paintings and compare how they are similar to the Tibetan monks' artwork.
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Conflict On The Plains

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders investigate the culture and lifestyles of the Lakota Sioux and the Northern Cheyenne tribes. They use a variety of resources for research. They create questions based on information to be used during classroom discussion...
Lesson Plan
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Andrew Jackson

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Using the Internet, they research his decision to remove the Indians from their land and place them on reservations. They discuss the effects of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.
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Ft. Vancouver the Fur Trade: A Skin for a Skin

For Teachers K - 4th
Learners study Fort Vancouver. They discuss trading and what is meant by "a skin for a skin." They complete math story problems that represent possible trading scenarios. They explore the Chinook Jargon trade language.
Lesson Plan
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Gluskap Story Skits

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners read and analyze a Gluskap (Algonquin legend) story. Together, they discuss the morals and values these stories demonstrate and in groups, create and perform an imaginative skit based on one of them. They perform their skits for...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Dia de los Muertos: Celebrating and Remembering

For Teachers K - 2nd
Help scholars understand the history, geography, traditions, and art of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Find background information for your reference as well as a detailed cross-curricular lesson plan. Learners compare...
Lesson Plan
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Photography and the National Park Service

For Teachers 9th - 12th
During the 1800s the United States was expanding westward; land was there for the taking.  Kids explore how some early photographers used their photography to influenced the US Congress to save areas like Mirror Lake. They...
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Worth a Thousand Words

For Teachers 1st
First graders examine the significance of the American bison to the American Indians of the Great Plains. They create a story in pictographs in the style of American Indians of the Plains.
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Inference By Analogy

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Students infer the use or meaning of items recovered from a North Carolina Native American site based on 17th-century European settlers' accounts and illustration.
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Prehistoric Indians

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify the four Native American groups of Wisconsin. They compare the four groups through discussion and list the four groups with their tools, food, shelter, and time period.
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Indian Basket Weaving

For Teachers K - 3rd
Students explore Indian Basket designs, experiment with weaving materials and create their own baskets in this 5-day Arrt lesson for the early-elementary classroom. The lesson includes scoring guides and illustrated directions for students.
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Miwok Storytelling Legend Movie

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research the art of storytelling. The stories were used by societies to tell about significant events in the lives of individuals. There are important aspects of storytelling composition and performance that make the delivery...
Lesson Plan
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Lewis and Clark's Journey West: A Timeline Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students complete a scavenger hunt which highlights events on the journey by Lewis and Clark. Using the internet and journals, they identify events on the journey and places them on a timeline. They complete a worksheet as well to end...
Lesson Plan
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Minority Graduation Rates: A 50-50 Chance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources. In this lesson the issue is minority graduation rates.
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No Man is an Island

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students sing the melody of the song, "No Man is an Island," in the Oneida native language. They memorize the song and discuss how the words demonstrate important feelings of the Oneida people.
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Paper Mache Birds - Pueblo Pottery Inspired

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Pupils explore the Pueblo culture and art work. Students compare and contrast various forms of artistic expression and discover how artists get ideas. Pupils use a variety of resources to gain an examineing of artists and art forms....
Lesson Plan
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Native American Poetry

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders locate the poetry section of the LMC. They produce a hand written transparency based on the poem Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Students illustrate a poem from their poetry section. It is a mystery to them what...