Browse lesson plans

And justice for all: The Trail of Tears, Mexican deportation, and Japanese internment

Many textbooks mention the Trail of Tears, but fail to mention that this early displacement of an ethnic minority is only the one of many legally-sanctioned forced relocations. This lesson will address the displacement of American Indians through the Trail of Tears, the forced deportation of Mexican Americans during the Great Depression, and the internment of Japanese American citizens during WWII.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Patricia Camp.

Colonial and state records of North Carolina

Lessons developed using the Colonial State Records of North Carolina collection from Documenting the American South

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Discussion guide: Religion in early America

In Educator's Guides: North Carolina Digital History, page 3.4

This discussion guide will help students understand the larger context of religion in colonial America as they read about topics such as Quaker emigration and the Great Awakening.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Educator's guide: The arrival of Swiss immigrants

Teaching suggestions to help your students synthesize the information in the article "The Arrival of Swiss Immigrants."

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Farm animal immigrants

Students will identify a rare or endangered farm animal and then locate its country of origin on a world map. Students will also research the animal and its uses to determine why it was imported.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

By Meg Millard and Pamela Webb.

Graphic organizer: From Caledonia to Carolina

Graphic organizer designed to aid students' comprehension as they read an article about the immigration of Highland Scots to North Carolina in the colonial era.

Format: chart/lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Immigrants' experiences in colonial North Carolina

In this lesson plan, students read two primary-source documents describing the experiences of new arrivals to North Carolina during the colonial period: One is a summary of a report written by a young Moravian settler from Pennsylvania; the other is a letter from a German immigrant. Students compare and contrast the journeys and settlement of the two groups.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

The land of milk and honey: Propaganda and the colonies

In Colonial and state records of North Carolina, page 3

In this lesson, students use primary sources to examine the use of propaganda and how it influenced people's decisions to immigrate to the colonies.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Lara Willox.

The land of milk and honey: Reasons for migration

In Colonial and state records of North Carolina, page 2

In this lesson, students brainstorm reasons people leave their homes and move somewhere else. After discussing modern day reasons for migration, students will explore the motives of early settlers to immigrate to colonial North Carolina. Motives will be explored using a primary source, specifically letters from potential settlers asking for permission to come to the "land of milk and honey."

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)

By Lara Willox.

Turning the century

Students will create a museum display illustrating life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

By Lisa Stamey.

Resources on the web

Where I come from

Students take research into their heritage a step beyond the construction of a family tree, traveling through cyberspace to find out what's happening in their ancestral homelands today and explore their sense of connection to these places in their past. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: EDSITEment