Curated OER
Cemetery Restoration Project
Who is buried in this tomb? Trek to a local cemetery, take pictures of markers, explore records, and conduct interviews to bring to life the stories behind the stones. Use Olympus and Tool Factory to coordinate and gather information...
Curated OER
Pre-Columbian Civilizations in the Americas
Before you begin a unit on Christopher Columbus and the European explorers, take your class through the Mayan, Aztec, and Incan Civilizations in this vivid and interesting presentation. With photographs of golden artifacts and ancient...
Curated OER
Civil Rights in America
Seventh graders visit the Smithsonian and are shown different exhibits. They are to make their own drawing about one of the exhibits and write about the experience.
American Museum of Natural History
Tools of the Trade
Archaeologist David Hurst Thomas details his search for a lost Spanish Mission on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. A great way to introduce youngsters to the life of and the tools used by archaeologists.
Calisphere
The 6 C's of Primary Source Analysis
Arm your class members with the six C's of primary source analysis—content, citation, context, connections, communication, and conclusions—and help them to establish a solid system for analyzing historical sources of...
Art Institute of Chicago
African Myths and Stories
Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.
Smithsonian Institution
War of Independence
Want to explain the War of Independence without using just a textbook? The resource, an online exhibition, provides direct instruction to scholars. It discusses what led up to the war, the time of the war, and the legacy left behind long...
US National Archives
The Royal Seal What Can It Tell Us?
Analyze the images and details of the Great Seal of Queen Elizabeth I, and discover clues that reveal how one of the greatest monarchs in the history of England wished to be seen and respected. This is a great way to discuss how even to...
University of Southern California
Deconstructing Genocide: The Ultimate Crime Against Humanity
There are eight stages of an atrocity known as genocide, and it's important to understand how they are represented so we can fight against it in the future. As young historians watch video clips of ten Jewish Holocaust survivors'...
Curated OER
Archaeological Self-Study: What Do Our Belongings and Trash Tell About Us?
Students examine how their belongings and their trash represents who they are. In this archaeology skills lesson, students watch a video titled "Discovering the Past" and then give archaeological techniques a try. Students examine and...
Curated OER
My Secret War: Lesson 3
Fifth graders read My Secret War. For this social studies lesson, 5th graders discuss how United States citizens worked together to ensure success in the war. Students discuss primary and secondary sources. Students paraphrase.
Curated OER
Explore the World: Create-Your-Own-Artifact
Students examine the cultures of different countries other than their own. They select a country they are interested in and research their lifestyles. Using clay, they create a model of one aspect of the new culture of their focus. ...
Curated OER
Using Artifacts to Engage Students in Critical Thinking Activities
Creating learning centers with artifact-related activities are a great way to promote deductive reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Curated OER
Design Life: Exploring Society Through Art
Introduce learners to the design elements and artifacts of interior environments in Victorian Canada (or any people and era you care to explore) based on artwork that represents their world. Your secondary social historians view the art...
Curated OER
Artifact Activity
In this Richard Smallbroke and Richard Small worksheet, students respond to 5 fill in the blank questions correctly sorting and labeling the objects that belong to a rich gentleman and those that belong to a poor man.
Curated OER
Bronze: Scientific Inquiry through Chinese Art
Students examine the use of bronze and porcelain in Chinese art and commerce through in-class activities, role play events, and small-group discussions in this exciting Social Studies/Arts instructional activity.
Curated OER
Artifact Bingo
Seventh graders participate in an artifact bingo game. Before beginning, they label the coordinates of a grid correctly along with symbols. They use the grid to place artifacts in their correct coordinates. They use primary source...
Curated OER
Pieces of an Artifact
Students review what an artifact is and discover what happens when only pieces of the artifact are found. In groups, they are given a picture of a small piece of an artifact found and they are to make the entire drawing of the artifact...
Curated OER
Learning from Artifacts Uncovering Clues, Large and Small
Students observe artifacts from Fort St. Louis at a website in order to make inferences about the people who lived there. They paint pottery in the style which might have been used by one of the cultural groups who inhabited the fort.
Curated OER
For the Record
Students read a New York Times article in order to examine the importance of cultural artifacts. They create essays from the point of view of one cultural artifact to demonstrate the knowledge they gained by doing research.
Curated OER
Making Inferences about a Llano River Rancheria
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.
Curated OER
What Culture Game?
Students examine artifacts from ancient cultures. They compare the differences and some similarities that may exist . They decide on at least two artifacts per area for each of the three cultures chosen and explore diversity.
Curated OER
Living History
Students write an essay and interview someone who remembers the 1960's and 1970's. In this history lesson plan, students write their essays as if they were there in that time period, write their feelings, and put together a mini museum...
Curated OER
Jamestown
Seventh graders examine life at the Jamestown settlement. In this colonial America lesson, 7th graders visit the noted Web site to analyze artifacts from the settlement. Based on their findings, students write descriptive pieces about...