Curated OER
Ernest Hemingway: Inside Out
Introduce class members to basic biographical information about Ernest Hemingway. Groups read three brief paragraphs, and then respond to fact-based questions using material drawn from the readings. The exercise would work well with...
Scholastic
The Rise of Railroads: California
Railways are an integral part of the history of California. Using a timeline format, class members connect major historical events to the rise of the railroads and their impact on the state. Activities include a mix of independent and...
Curated OER
Manifest Destiny
Complete with maps, photographs, and historical documents, this presentation would be a great resource throughout a unit about mid-19th century America. Manifest Destiny, Texas Independence, the Oregon Trail, and the Mexican War are...
Curated OER
Wagons West!
Through learning about the Oregon Trail and Nebraska, learners evaluate the elements of historical fiction. Coming with a comprehensive bibliography, this instructional activity has your class learn about settlers traveling along the...
Curated OER
The Origins of the Cold War, 1945-1949
High schoolers investigate the early years of the Cold War and the origins of containment. Both supporters as well as critics are probed to examine the differences that emerged in the months following the end of the war in Europe. This...
Curated OER
Survey of the Louisiana Purchase in 1815
Students explore the survey of the Louisiana Purchase by creating their own surveying and mapping techniques such as natural maps, pace maps, and orienting. Other students then try to follow the maps.
School Rack
Westward Expansion Project Choices
What a great list of brief research projects for reviewing the era of westward expansion in the United States! Learners are directed to choose and complete three of the projects on the given list, which includes opportunities to design...
Curated OER
"Police Action": The Korean War, 1950-1953
High schoolers investigate facts about the war in Korea in the 1950's and attempt to classify American foreign policy as a triumph or a failure. Why the U.S. became involved and the unpopularity of the war in America forms the focus of...
Curated OER
The Railroads and Settlement of the Great Plains
Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Conservation, Preservation, and the National Parks
Going green? Scholars investigate the creation of the US National Park program. Through diary entries as well as expert testimony, they synthesize information and analyze the need for conservation and preservation. Finally, they display...
What So Proudly We Hail
The Meaning of America: Enterprise and Commerce
Using Mark Twain's The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, invite your learners to consider the concept of virtue in a democratic society devoted to gain and self-interest. This stellar resource guides your class members through a close...
Curated OER
Japanese American Internment
Students create a presentation based on the primary sources they have researched about the Japanese Americans that were held in internment camps during World War II. In this Japanese Americans lesson plan, students read different points...
Curated OER
American Colonization Society Lesson Plan
Students read an article online "Colonization and Emigration" and break into debating groups. They research points that support their side, namely whether or not the American Colonization Society was for or against segregation. They...
Curated OER
Guardians of the West
Eighth graders discover the role of American buffalo in Westward Expansion. In this Westward Expansion lesson plan, 8th graders examine primary and secondary sources in order to create a cause and effect chart that features the treatment...
Curated OER
Bible Lesson: Wagons West
Students debate whether manifest destiny is right or wrong. For this manifest destiny lesson, students discuss the westward movement and the role of manifest destiny as they focus on the Native Americans. Students view the...
Curated OER
Wagons West: Native Americans
Students examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion instructional activity, students analyze select passages from Plains Indians by Dana Newmann and The World of Native Americans by Marion...
Curated OER
Reading: Home on the Range
In this cowboy poetry instructional activity, students read about stories and poems in the American West. Students read the lyrics of "Home on the Range". Students answer 7 multiple choice questions.
Curated OER
History of the Americas: Causes of the Civil War
In this American Civil War activity, students read assigned textbook pages about the causes of the war and then respond to 35 short answer questions about how the war began.
Curated OER
Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Students demonstrate understanding of the ideology of Manifest Destiny, the nation's expansion to Northwest, and the Mexican-American War. Students understand national foreign policy.
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark: Meeting the Indians of the Northwest
Eighth graders examine the relationships forged with Native Americans by Lewis and Clark. In this Westward Expansion lesson, 8th graders research digital and print sources to study details regarding the Native American tribes that Lewis...
Curated OER
The Settlers are Coming, but the Natives are Here
Students examine interactions between Native Americans and settlers. In this Westward Expansion lesson, students participate in a classroom simulation and then write paper about how the Native Americans and settlers could keep the...
Curated OER
The Homestead Act of 1682
In this American West worksheet, students read about the Homestead Act of 1682. Students read 8 paragraphs and complete the 3 activities for the worksheet.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Runaway Slaves in Alabama: Individual Freedom Fighters in the 1800s
Class pairs examine eight runaway slave advertisements from the mid-1800s to develop an understanding of the conditions slaves faced and of race relations.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
One Land, Many Trails: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Bring history to life through literature. The first in a series of three challenge activities designed to accompany Theme 5: One Land, Many Trails does just that through unique projects connected to historical fiction and nonfiction...
Other popular searches
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