"America's Story for America's Children" is a graded series of readers intended to prepare for the regular study of history and to supplement it. Care has been taken to give prominence to the elements of life and personality and picturesqueness, so as to develop centres of interest which more advanced and systematic study will bring into…

Many young students are unfamiliar with key symbols of the United States and the ideals that these symbols represent. These symbols consist of images and words that adults know by heart, but too often take for granted. The lesson activities described in this article focus on four well-known symbols--their history and what they mean to American…

This simulation allows students to participate in situations and events similar to those experienced by pioneers who headed west in early wagon trains. Students face problems such as floods, droughts, blocked trails, snakes, Indians, and the lack of food. Students must make numerous individual and small-group decisions that provide them with a…

This display kit highlights the contributions of contemporary Maryland women leaders in many fields. The kit contains a packet of black and white photographs of Maryland women leaders in a variety of areas, with descriptive captions for each picture. The booklet contains an introductory lesson about women and leadership from a historical…

This student handbook provides an overview of the Klondike Alaska Gold Rush of 1897-98. The unit was designed for junior high school students but can be modified for different grade levels. A vocabulary list and worksheet accompanies the unit, along with a time line and map activity. A group activity requires students to work in teams to get their…

Materials for teaching a unit about the Underground Railroad (the system set up to assist fleeing, runaway slaves heading north) in Indiana are presented. Specifically, the Western Route that passed through Daviess County in Indiana is examined. The materials provide background on the Underground Railroad and the Western Route, plans for teaching…

Teaching history with original documents is a stimulus for the inquiry method of learning. A curriculum packet produced by the Oregon State Archives contains 24 historical document facsimiles with an accompanying instructors manual. Selected from the state archives with an explanation of each document and questions for discussion provided, the…

This booklet was designed to be used as a supplemental social studies unit and is divided into four sections. Section 1 profiles famous women of West Virginia including Aracoma, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Mary Harris Jones, Susan Matilda Dew Hoff, Frances Benjamin Johnston, and Nancy Hart Douglas. Section 2, profiles contemporary women in West Virginia…

Soaring mountain peaks, glaciers, deep-blue lakes, and lush forests delight the senses of visitors who drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road through Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. The construction of the Going-to-the-Sun-Road, dedicated in 1933, made this experience available to the many visitors who come to the park by car. Building this…

In 1893 the last monarch of Hawaii, Queen Lili'uokalani, was overthrown by a party of U.S. businessmen, who then imposed a provisional government. Soon after, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison submitted a treaty to annex the Hawaiian Islands to the U.S. Senate for ratification. In 1897, the treaty effort was blocked when the Hawaiian Patriotic…

Paterson, New Jersey, was established in the 1790s to utilize the power of the water that cascades through the Passaic River Gorge. Massive brick mill buildings lined the canals that transformed the power of the falls into energy to drive machines. These mills manufactured many things during the history of this industrial city. In the late 19th…

Using primary documents, maps, and visual data, this lesson packet focuses on the founders of Ontario, California, and the Frankish Building that is on the Historic Register of Historic Places. The lesson could be used with U.S. history units on the Progressive Era, with course units dealing with a variety of civic issues, or units involving the…

Provides a lesson centered on excerpts from a 1675 letter from the bishop of Cuba, Gabriel Diaz Vara Calderon, to Queen Mariana of Spain that describes life in Spanish Florida missions. Includes a list of questions and excerpts from the letter. (CMK)

Presents a lesson about frontier life in Texas and is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file "Castolon Historic District" and other source materials about Castolon and ranching in the Big Bend region. States that the lesson could be incorporated into units on westward expansion or U.S. geography. (CMK)

Maintains that what students fail to get in most American history courses is an understanding of history as a process. Urges teachers to provide an intellectual context for history by emphasizing the importance of ideologies and using comparative or critical analysis of events. (JDH)