Lesson Plan Westward Migration: Opportunities and Dangers K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Click here to download this four-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source A perspective on the San Francisco earthquake, 1906 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ At 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, a great earthquake broke loose, with an epicenter near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the shaking, which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon to south of...
Spotlight on: Primary Source William Penn on the "Well-Governing of My Family," 1751 Religion and Philosophy K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Quaker school teacher Josiah Forster first published this broadside in 1751, thirty years after the death of its author, William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania. The treatise, Christian Discipline: Or Certain Good and...
Lesson Plan Surveying Land Geography, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math K, 1, 2, 3 Introduction During the time of the American Revolution, much of the land in the colonies was not mapped. In his early years, George Washington was a surveyor and measured land to figure out the location of property. Materials Rope or...
Lesson Plan Making a Lens Science, Technology, Engineering and Math K, 1, 2, 3 Introduction Benjamin Franklin was a scientist and an inventor. As he got older, he noticed he needed glasses for reading and seeing things far away. Franklin solved this problem by inventing bifocals, which were glasses made with two...
Lesson Plan Back in 1734 K, 1, 2, 3 Introduction Present the following scenario to your students. You can either read it to them or enlist students to act it out. The scenario is about two children who lived in 1734 and were the age of your students. "Anna Elizabeth and...
Lesson Plan Our New Country Needs New Money: Colonial Money Simulation Economics K, 1, 2, 3 There certainly can’t be a greater Grievance to a Traveler, from one Colony to another than the different values their Paper Money bears. —an English visitor, ca.1742 Introduction Students use different kinds of paper money to...
Lesson Plan The First Thanksgiving Celebration K, 1, 2, 3, 4 Learning Objectives Students will use literature to gain insight into the lives of the Wampanoag people and their participation in the first Thanksgiving celebration. Students will present information on different aspects of the...
Lesson Plan Singing for Freedom Literature 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Background In the early 1960s, Mississippi was the poorest state in the nation, with most non-white families living well below the poverty line. Although African Americans made up nearly half of the state's population, few were...
Lesson Plan The Pony Express: The Fastest Delivery of a Message across America Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Background The inauguration of a new service, the Pony Express, on April 3, 1860, promised the fastest communication ever from the Missouri River to California. How long did a Pony Express message take to go from its starting point in...