Browse lesson plans

America's first people

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 2.2

These activities, designed to accompany "First Peoples" and "The Mystery of the First Americans," will enable students to explore the origins of human populations in North America.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Analyzing historical maps of North Carolina

In this lesson students will analyze historical maps and will use their knowledge of history, observation skills, and inference to draw conclusions about the events that affected the geographic development of North Carolina over time.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Loretta Wilson.

Archaeobotany

In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.6

Students will use pictures of seeds, an activity sheet, and a graph to identify seven seeds and the conditions in which they grow. They will also infer ancient plant use by interpreting archaeobotanical samples and determine changing plant use by Native North Carolinians by interpreting a graph of seed frequency over time.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 and 8 Science and Social Studies)

Building the Blue Ridge Parkway

In Driving through time: The digital Blue Ridge Parkway, page 4.2

In this lesson, students will learn about various ways in which the land was modified in order to build the Blue Ridge Parkway. They will analyze different types of resources for details and use those details to make generalizations about the work required to build the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Social Studies)

By Melissa Harden.

Cherokee relocation

Students will use primary sources to investigate the boundaries of the Cherokee lands set for North Carolina after the Revolutionary War.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–10 Social Studies)

By Donna Hernandez.

Driving through time: The digital Blue Ridge Parkway

In these lessons and units for eighth grade, students delve into the rich primary sources and historical overlooks from the Driving Through Time project and explore the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Educator's guide: Spain and America

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 3.1

The article "Spain and America: From Reconquest to Conquest" introduces a lot of information and a number of issues that may be new to students. These suggestions will help you use the article in a way that best fits the needs of your class.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8–12 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Interstate highways from the ground up

This lesson gives students a first-hand opportunity to hear about the planning and effort it takes to build a highway by through an oral history of a North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) resident engineer.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Introducing the Blue Ridge Parkway

In Driving through time: The digital Blue Ridge Parkway, page 4.1

In this lesson, students will be introduced to the Blue Ridge Parkway. They will work in groups to analyze historical photographs of the Parkway in order to determine what purpose it serves and why it is such a unique landmark.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Social Studies)

By Melissa Harden.

Lighting the maritime path: The geography of North Carolina's lighthouses

In this lesson students will examine images of North Carolina lighthouses from the Built Heritage Collection at North Carolina State University and explore various websites to determine the relative location of eight North Carolina lighthouses and develop an understanding of maritime activities and coastal living.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)

By Sonna Jamerson.

Linking important geographic sites to world history

Students will learn the importance of geography as it relates to significant events or periods in world history, especially that which pertains to Europe and the United States.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 Social Studies)

By Guy Swanson.

Navigating the inlets and havens

In this lesson plan, students read and analyze a primary source document written in the early 1700s that describes the inlets of the North Carolina coast. The students adopt the perspective of a contemporary ship's captain and discuss the importance of the information in the document.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

North Carolina's physical and cultural geography

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 1.3

In this lesson students will make assumptions about the influence of geography on various aspects of historical human and cultural geography.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Reading guide: Spain and America

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 3.2

These terms and questions will guide students as they read "Spain and America: From Reconquest to Conquest." Filling in the chronological list of dates will enable students to understand the order in which events unfolded in Spain and in America, and answering the questions will encourage students to think critically about the readings in the chapter.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8–12 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

The regions of North Carolina

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 1.2

In this lesson, students analyze the differences between North Carolina's geographical regions: the Mountains, the Piedmont, and the Inner and Outer Coastal Plain.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Salt trading in Asia

In this interdisciplinary lesson, students explore the mineral salt from a variety of perspectives — scientific, geographic, and cultural. The lesson incorporates images of salt production in Nepal and Vietnam. It may be used with grade 4 or grade 7.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 6–7 English Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies)

By Edie McDowell.

Teaching suggestions: Graveyard of the Atlantic

Suggested activities for use with the article "Graveyard of the Atlantic," which explains why the waters off North Carolina's coast have been unusually treacherous for shipping.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Theories of migration

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 2.1

In this lesson, students will read about and evaluate differing theories about the migration of the first people to the Americas.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Topography of North Carolina and its influence on settlement

This lesson explores where North Carolina is in relation to the United States and North America. Also, we will explore the different regions of North Carolina and how the topography of the region affected settlement.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Development and Social Studies)

By Jessica Wilson and Tabitha Horton.

Resources on the web

Ancient worlds workshop: Egypt

In this Xpeditions lesson, students explore the ancient civilization of Egypt. Activities in this lesson engage students in small group discussion, online learning, and development of note-taking skills. Students will: learn about the... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3 Social Studies)

Provided by: Xpeditions