Lesson Plans

Children in Action

From recycling materials during World War II to wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, children have helped meet community goals during times of need. In this primary source inquiry, students explore how voluntarism and the civic action of children has been important to their communities in the past as well as today.

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Primary Sources and Me

In this lesson geared towards kindergartners, students analyze primary sources to understand what primary sources are and how they help to tell the story of each unique member of a community.

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Rules & Responsibilities

In this lesson geared towards kindergartners, students analyze primary sources to reinforce the definitions of rules and responsibilities and consider why rules matter and ways to be responsible at home and in the classroom as well as a ways to act as a responsible citizen of their local community and of the world.

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I’m More Than You See

Students learn about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and use primary sources to cement their understanding. Then they reflect on the identities of others and how people’s basic needs affect their own stages of needs on the road to achieving their full potential. After, students will work in small groups to discuss how understanding these different levels of needs could help people in their school or local community reach their full potential. Then they create a poster with examples from their discussions, illustrating people at each level on the road to self-fulfillment.

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Exploring Community Through Local History: Oral Stories, Landmarks and Traditions

After being introduced to the American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940 collection, students explore the local history and contemporary culture of their community through written and spoken stories; through landmarks such as buildings, parks, restaurants, or businesses; and celebration of cultural traditions.

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Recreation Yesterday & Today

Students conduct research and analyze primary sources to investigate entertainment and recreation in the 1920s and 1930s, comparing urban and rural experiences for this time period with their own experiences. After, students may conduct oral histories with local people in order to test their conclusion about recreation and entertainment in their community or use population density maps or settlement maps to hypothesize about a connection between distance and entertainment.

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Local History: Mapping My Spot

Through primary source analysis of different types of historical maps, students begin to see their homes as places of value in relation to the broader community portrayed on the panoramic map of their town. After, students document their town’s history for coming generations, placing themselves on a map of their creation and writing letters to future children in their community.

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Lessons for My Community

Students learn about a fable written by a past U.S. president, then write and illustrate their own fable that contains a lesson useful for their school or local community.

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Why I Believe in Santa

Students build knowledge and understanding of claims, arguments, themes, and community spirit as they analyze an historical newspaper page. After, students write about the spirit of a special holiday, describing why it is meaningful to them and the community they celebrate it with.

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Immigration: Our Changing Voices

Students analyze primary sources to identify issues involved with the migration of a community or family and examine the traditional picture of immigration. After, students investigate their own family history and put it into the context of immigrant stories.

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