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National expansion of the United States (1815 to 1850), and its connection to local Illinois history.
Students discuss the importance of establishing the I & M Canal water route. They watch a video about the canal's history. They collect and write a personal migration story by interviewing a family member. They analyze trends and...
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Civilizations of the Ancient Near East
Sixth graders investigate ancient civilizations by creating a research project. In this world history instructional activity, 6th graders investigate historic civilizations developed close to important rivers of the near East. Students...
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The Dawn of Humanity
Students investigate recent archaeological challenges to theories of human origins. They research the history and geography of various African regions to create proposals for future excavations.
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Negotiating Treaties
Eleventh graders recognize the interaction between early settlers and indigenous people in the U.S. They recognize the impact of the Indian Removal Act on displaced Natives in the early West and the impact on Native attitudes today.
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Feelings On Japanese Internment
Students listen to the story, "The Bracelet" and evaluate with other class members right and wrong actions. They create a watercolor painting that describes how the book made them feel and discuss their feelings with the rest of the class.
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Watermelons
Students discover the origins and different uses of watermelons. Using the internet, they find photographs of the fruit and reading about them in primary source documents. As a class, they plan a community activity in which they use a...
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Digital Picture Books
Second graders create digital picture books reflecting their experiences during the school year on field trips and various classroom activities. Using digital pictures taken during the year, they write captions for each picture and...
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Routing Explorers
Students read excerpts from an explorer's journal and then become investigators and navigators themselves. Students answer questions about the difficulties and time it took for the explorers to travel from Washington to New Orleans and...
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The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush: Native American Life
Learners read," The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and discuss the way legends are passed down orally. They then create their own legend and illustrate it on a simulated "Buffalo Skin" made from brown paper.
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Geography, Ecology, and Folklife
Students identify how do geography and ecology influence a region's folklife. Then they investigate this question and consider how an outsider might view their own region in this lesson. Students also identify how the natural world, even...
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What Does Your First Day of Winter Look Like?
Students brainstorm the characteristics of winter. Using an email program, they share their characteristics of winter with those in another part of the country. They compare and contrast each letter they receive with their own criteria...
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Forests, Deserts, & Grasslands
Third graders complete activities to become familiar with the content and vocabulary related to biomes and ecosystems in order to mainstream into the classroom.
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Jamestown Journey Part 2
Fourth graders create a chart or web to display qualities and characteristics of a good leader.
They write a paragraph describing the qualities of a good Jamestown leader. Finally, 4th graders contribute to small group discussion about...
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Citizens for Responsible Change
Third graders write a petition to a school figure, get signatures from other students, share the petition with the appropriate authority, and then work as leaders to carry out the group's solution.
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Evaluating an Olympic Sport
Students research the political context of the Winter Olympics in general and within certain countries in particular. They read authentic, published articles on the topic from the Internet and add this information to the spreadsheet as...
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Canada - US: Approaches to Immigration
Sixth graders explore the Canadian immigration experience through comparison and contrast to American immigration and settlement patterns. In this immigration patterns lesson, 6th graders dialogue their opinions regarding immigration....
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Focused Learning Lesson: American History
Eleventh graders compare and contrast the type of immigrant that came to America during the 19th and 20th centuries. They write letters as if they were immigrants coming to America and what they faced and their hopes for the future.
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Storytelling With Artists
Students retell a legend orally, illustrating it with the art style of the source culture.
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Sarah, Plain and Tall
Third graders experience what life was like during era in which "Sarah, Plain and Tall depicts using modern technology.
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Cultural Exchange (Alaska)
Students explore the culture of Alaska. They identify the geographic location of Tlingit Indians. Students compare/contrast the culture of the Europeans and Tlingits. Students complete selected reading worksheets and provide alternative...
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Get to Know Your City
Third graders research the history of their home city and how it's development was influenced by different groups of people. They present their research information to the class.
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Night by Elie Wiesel Chapter One
Students participate in a layered curriculum unit with varied difficulty activities like this one: Write a brief narrative (300 words) Discuss your answers to the following questions: What do you know about the Holocaust? Where did you...