Core Knowledge Foundation
Volume 1 - A History of the United States: Precolonial to the 1800s
Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.
Core Knowledge Foundation
A History of the United States
This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
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Keeping the Home Fires: The lives of Western women
Fourth graders explore the various trails that settlers took West from Missouri. They examine the reasons that people took these trails as well as the kind of people who made the journeys. They examine the Oregon, the Mormon, the Santa...
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Cultural Lit. 18: The Oregon Trail & Native Americans
Fifth graders name the American Indian people by tribe who lived in the lands which the Oregon Trail traversed. They investigate and describe some impacts of western expansion upon the American Indians.
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The Mormon Trail and Native Americans
Fifth graders identify the American Indian tribes who lived in the lands that the Mormon Trail went through. They investigate and describe the impact of western expansion on the American Indians.
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Cultural Lit. 19: Old Spanish Trail & Native Americans
Fifth graders name the American Indian people by tribe who lived in the lands which the Old Spanish Trail traversed. They investigate and describe some impacts of western expansion upon the American Indians.
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The Trial of Standing Bear
Learners investigate the story of Standing Bear and his people as they defied the U.S. Governemt and returned to their homes in Omaha. Their arrest was followed by a trial which the Ponca people won.
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Moving West With Pioneers
Fifth graders read a book written by Laura Ingalls Wilder to examine the hardships that were endured by pioneers traveling during the Westward Expansion of the US. They predict, summarize and participate in literature circles. They visit...
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Lesson One: The Three Perspectives on Native American Removal
Eleventh graders explore the impact of the Indian Removal Act. In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze primary resources.
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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 all...
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People of the West
Sixth graders research and identify key facts about men and women of the Westward Movement. They assess the events and reasons that motivated people to move west, hardships they faced and their contributions to the nation. Each student...
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Heading West
Young scholars study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Young scholars...
PBS
Myth of the West: Kit Carson to the Rescue
There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...
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QUIZ SHOW! What were you thinking? What did you say?
Students participate in a game show to share the information they have uncovered about the US expansion policy and how it affected Native Americans.
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Adventure Writing: Oregon's Landscape as a Setting
Students identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Students write a narrative...
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The Brief American Pageant: Manifest Destiny and its Legacy
Frame your lecture about Manifest Destiny around these maps, which portray the extended boundaries of various American territories in the 19th century. Campaigns of the Mexican War, and a map of the Spanish Missions on the West Coast are...
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California Trail and Native Americans
Fifth graders identify the American Indian tribes who lived on the lands in which the California Trail went through. They investigate and describe the impact of western expansion on the American Indians.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
The Homestead Act
To understand how the Homestead Act of 1862 changed the US and the lives of the people during that time, class members examine primary source materials including letters, broadsides, and images. They then assume the voice of a...
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Factors Contributing To the U.S. Dominance of the Pacific Northwest
Young scholars examine the painting Columbia by John Gast. They discuss the concept of Manifest Destiny and the role of different groups (miners, missionaries, fur trappers, farmers, etc.) in the Americanization of the West. In groups,...
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Kill the Indian to Save the Man: Reservations, Assimilation, and Native American Resistance and Persistence in the West
Students investigate the theory versus the reality of US government reservation policy in the mid to late 19th Century by watching a video. They design a time line that shows how the individual tribes surrendered to the reservation...
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The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Young scholars study westward expansion. In this US history activity, students describe the adventures and hardships faced by the explorers known as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Young scholars write a report to the President about...
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Industrial Revolution in America: Exploring the Effects of the Heat Engine on the Growth of Cities
Eighth graders examine the reasons for the growth of cities in North American. Using the internet, they research the causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution and determine if the growth of cities is a sign of progress. They...
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Uncle Sam is Rich Enough to Give Us All a Farm:
Students examine websites and video clips to become familiar with tenets of the Homestead Act, challenges faced by settlers and misconceptions about settlers. They role-play colonists on the Planet XR-38 and make choices similar to...
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Art and National Identity: Analyzing Painting and Literature from the Era of Manifest Destiny
Students begin the lesson by discussing the causes and effects of the movement west. Using primary sources, they develop their own definition for manifest destiny. In groups, they view examples of paintings and read poems on the topic. ...