Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Twentieth Century

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders summarize a decade in the twentieth century and compare it to another decade. They present facts in a Hyperstudio document that includes text, photos, and audio to describe the decade.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Birth and Early Childhood

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders read and compare creation stories of different cultures around the world. They identify and define the concept of the cycle of life and collect and analyze birth and childhood folk beliefs and stories in their families...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

It’s a Big, Big World

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students examine the role of the explorers. In this explorers and conquistadors, students create word puzzles (Wordles) regarding the time period in history. Students conduct research regarding a particular explorer and create foldables...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biomimicry, Nature: Architecture of the Future

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the relationship between nature and architecture. For this cross curriculum history, culture, and architecture lesson, students observe and discuss structures visible in nature. Students view websites in which Native...
Lesson Plan
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PBS

Women's History: Clara Barton

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students investigate Clara Barton's contributions to society. In this Clara Barton lesson plan, students watch videos, listen to lectures, and conduct research regarding Clara Barton's life and her possible authorship of a Civil War...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Family Life in the Federal Period

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the evolution of a small New England town, Deerfield families and diversity of jobs in a town. They also explore how families functioned and how the roles of women changed.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deerfield Visit: Reading a House/Place (Ebenezer Hinsdale Williams House)

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders study the relationship between economic level and material culture: markers of gentility (architecture, material goods) as demonstrated by a single structure.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Japanese-American Internment during World War II

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students write an in-class essay on whether they agree/disagree with Lippmann's article concerning Japanese-American internment
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Populists and Progressives

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Learners study the Gilded Age in American History. They present a speech demonstrating knowledge of the platforms of the Progressives and Populists.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Late 19th Century U.S. Foreign Policy

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders discover that many of the issues the United States faces today elicit the same type of political, philosophical and moral debate that has divided the country in the past.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

EARLY CIVILIZATIONS

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students compare and contrast the monuments of four ancient cultures and draw conclusions about the origins, construction, and purposes of these structures.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

MEDIEVAL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine the area of medieval Sub-Saharan Africa through eyes of travelers in the company of one of history's greatest travelers, Ibn Battuta. The project has been structured to include all the State standards for this unit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Whose Buffalo?

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders examine how the Plains Indians vied with white commercial buffalo hunters for the millions of Great Plains buffalo. They create an illustrated broadside supporting the interests of either the Indians or the commercial...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Inferences about a Llano River Rancheria

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study the Indian groups who lived 1,000 years ago on the Llano River. They use paintings and photographs of tools and other artifacts to make inferences and conclusions about how the Indians lived.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting the News about the Stamp Act

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students review opinions of the Stamp Act as stated in colonial newspaper articles of the 1760's. They compare colonial newspapers to those of today. They take a side regarding the Tax Act and write a note to a friend explaining their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Greek Inquiry Report and Presentation

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders choose from a list of researchable inquiry questions. They engage in all phases of inquiry/research process.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The French in Texas

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders use Internet to examine early French exploration and settlement in Texas, and write journal entries from point of view of 17th Century French settler, French or Spanish explorer, or Native American whose land was taken.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

China's Customs

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars discuss important customs and traditions in their cultures, examine Chinese customs and traditions, and work in groups to create skits about Chinese customs and culture.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

War of 1812

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders locate the major land forms and bodies of water on a map of Louisiana. In groups, they discuss the role of the Mississippi River in the Battle of New Orleans and how land and water affect the outcome of battles. To end...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

We Are Family

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders research their family history and how it connects them to the past. They identify their ancestors, graphically organize relatives in a family tree, and chart significant events in their lives on a timeline.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children of Yesteryear

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders go back through time to examine what would be different if they lived in the 1800s. They explore differences in clothing, leisure, communication, and access to art supplies.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scary Stuff!

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders interview community members for a "newspaper". They design a business brochure, write a disappearing ghost story, and experiment with mono-printing. They experiment with a variety of materials, tools, equipment, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

At Play

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders evaluate works of Robert Harris. They apply historical methodology to interpret and understand time, continuity, and change at an age appropriate level. They demonstrate awareness of the effect of context.