ESL Library
Beginner Level Thanksgiving ESL Lesson Plan
Thanksgiving is a cherished tradition in the United States and Canada. Introduce the beginnings of the Thanksgiving celebration with a resource that features reading comprehension activities, vocabulary exercises, and a short...
Reading Through History
Early History and Exploration Unit
We all know about Christopher Columbus, but who else explored the Americas, and specifically, the future United States of America? Learners find out these answers and more in a resource that includes four different reading sections,...
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National Road to Indiana
Students explore the National Road to Indiana. In this U.S. highway history and primary source research lesson, students read an original journal written by Jane Voorhees Lewis in 1806 describing her trip west on the first federally...
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Religious Freedom
Sixth graders examine the religious issues of the early settlers in the New World and the current issue of separation of church and state. They discuss a list of colonial laws from the 1600s, participate in a class discussion, and in...
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Celebrate Native American Heritage
Students examine Native American heritage. They explore a museum of Native American culture and explore their food, dress, and customs. They also explore the Native Americans role in the first Thanksgiving.
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English-Indian Encounters in Early 17th Century Virginia
Learners participate in a three part lesson in which they examine the initial encounters between the English and the Indians, the different ways in which the colonist and Indians interacted and why English settlers and Native Americans...
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The Frontier
Students, given certain background information, list hardships that Laura Ingalls Wilder and other people that lived during the same time period went through. They interview someone who grew up in a different era than them.
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Worksheet #20 Questions - New World and Roanoke
In this New World and Roanoke activity, students expand their historical knowledge through ten fill in the blank questions that relate to the aforementioned subject.
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Be the Kiwi: History of New Zealand
Students discover details regarding the settlement of New Zealand. In this New Zealand history lesson, students read about the Maori people in their textbooks and then complete a vocabulary square activity worksheet.
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Exploring Indiana's Natural Resources
Fourth graders complete a variety of activities as they study the European exploration of the Midwest, focusing on Indiana. They map the path explorers took, comparing the British with the French. They research why the explorers stopped...
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Manifest Destiny
Students explore the Manifest Destiny. They interpret quotations, study point of view in writing, research English words that derived from Mexico, and analyze reasons why settlers moved west. After writing journal entries in first-person...
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Seeking a Fortune in 18th Century Maritime Boston
Study the Revolutionary War era practice of recruiting seamen to prey upon the British shipping industry, and discuss the impact this practice had on the Colonial war efforts. Learners read and interpret recruiting advertisements for...
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Rice Around the World
Third graders draw pictures to show the life of early colonists and how they set the standard for rice farming. In this rice farming lesson plan, 3rd graders read about how and when Americans set the standards for growing and producing...
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The Jamestown Colony
In this Jamestown Colony learning exercise, students read a 2 page article on the colony, answer 3 questions with multiple choice answers, fill in 5 blanks to complete 5 facts and determine if 3 statements are true or false.
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The Anglo-Saxons in London
In this English history activity, students read a 2 paragraph selection about Anglo-Saxon settlers. Students answer 2 short answer questions about the reading.
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THE FABLE OF THE FAINTING GOATS
Students practice telling time while reading a story about a fainting goat. They write their own story about a fainting goat. Students write letters to the International Fainting Goat Association, asking for more information about...
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Time Line of the Land
Students use the internet to discover how agriculture has changed over time. In groups, they research any terms they are unfamiliar with and present their findings to the class. They are assigned one section of the timeline and...
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Creating An Understanding of the Past/Through The Art of George Catlin and Native American Artifacts
Students explore Native American culture. They observe and discuss the paintings of George Catlin. Students examine the lives of the Pawnee Native American Indians during the time period of 1830-1840. Numerous cross curriculum activities...
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Overview of World events during the Deerfield Colonial Period
Eighth graders explore the political, social, religious, and economic world and national context in which the events of Deerfield occurred.
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Home of the Brave
Students use various types of people and the special places they each call home. They discover houses, like the world, are always changing. Students start out by brainstorming what was the one thing that made a house a home. They were...
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Coming to America: A Look at Colonization in the 1600s
Pupils analyze the European colonization of America. In this colonial America lesson, students use provided Internet resources to research colonization and representative government. Pupils use their finding to...
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City Animals
Students identify some of the most important native and introduced species of animals in the United States. They describe how animals populations of cities have changed over time, outline the benefits and problems associated with...
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Magnolia
Students explore the first English colonies in America. They watch a video on the era of colonization. Students answer questions about the colonies. They visit a specified website to gather information on American settlers and the...
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Farming the Southern Colonies
Seventh graders investigate the basis for farming choices in the early colonies by using group research and discussion. Each group researches a topic that they write about and present to the rest of the class.