Browse lesson plans

The Birchbark House

This study guide was created by a group of third grade enrichment students. They were planning to read this book but could find no published guide to go with it. They decided to create their own as they read.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts)

By Carolyn Ridgway.

Along the Trail of Tears

A part of history is often forgotten when teaching younger students. This is the relocation of the Cherokee Indians when the white settlers wanted their property. The US Government moved whole groups of Indians under harsh conditions. This trip became known as the Trail of Tears. Using this as a background students will explore and experiment with persuasive writing as they try to express the position of Cherokee leaders.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Glenda Bullard.

Culture everywhere

In Intrigue of the Past, page 1.3

In their study of culture, students will use a chart to show the different ways that cultures meet basic human needs and recognize that archaeologists study how people from past cultures met basic needs by analyzing and interpreting the artifacts and sites that they left behind.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Family story with research

Using the book, When The Legends Die and a Native American story-telling unit, students gather a family story of their own.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Eric Broer.

First Americans of North Carolina and the United States

This lesson will use shared reading, center time, hands-on projects, and journal writing to help learners discover facts about first Americans, particularly those in the region that is today North Carolina, while at the same time developing their English language skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

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

By Adriane Moser.

Native American poetry workshop

This week-long set of lessons uses four different center activities to help students respond to poetry written by American Indians. This lesson plan was written with ESL (English as a second language) students in mind, so there are many opportunities to practice vocabulary, discuss and talk with others, and model expectations.

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

By Liz Mahon.

North Carolina American Indian stories

In this lesson students will select and read stories from some of the North Carolina American Indian tribes. They will compare and contrast two stories of their choice and complete a Venn diagram. Students will use the information on the Venn diagram to write three paragraphs. After reading several American Indian tales or legends, students will then create their own legend using the narrative writing process.

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

By Janice Gardner.

North Carolina Cherokee Indians: The Trail of Tears

In this two week unit, students will study the Cherokee by participating in literature circles, learning about Native American story telling, writing a letter to Andrew Jackson to protest against the Creek War, and more.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Gina Golden.

Pottery traditions

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.5

Students will learn how Indian people of North Carolina made and used coiled pottery, summarize why archaeologists study pottery, and make and decorate a replica of a North Carolina coiled pot.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Seven directions: Making connections between literature and American Indian history

This middle school lesson uses picture books to integrate American Indian culture and belief systems with language and visual arts.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6–8 English Language Arts, Guidance, and Social Studies)

By Edie McDowell.

Site robbers

In Intrigue of the Past, page 5.6

Students will use an interview with a Native American to write a newspaper article or letter that expresses concern about robbing archaeological sites.

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

Spinning spider stories

This interdisciplinary lesson is designed to introduce students to the purpose and process of comparative literature. The literary selections may be altered according to audience and purpose, from grades 5 through 8.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Edie McDowell.

Storytelling with Cherokee folktales

This is a two day lesson pertaining to telling Cherokee folktales. This lesson can be modified and used with any folktale.

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

By Ricky Hamilton.

The Trail of Tears

In The Walking Classroom, page 11

In this lesson for fifth grade language arts and social studies, the Walking Classroom kids discuss the history of the Trail of Tears and its aftermath.

Format: lesson plan

The Walking Classroom

Lesson plans and podcasts aligned to the fifth grade curriculum.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Resources on the web

American prehistory: 8000 years of forest management

In this lesson from the Forest History Society in Durham, North Carolina, students study the evidence of 8000 years of Native American prehistoric land use practices. By analyzing images of Native American material culture, students will understand how... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5–6 and 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: Forest History Society

Colonial Williamsburg

This extensive website features access to the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library collections, primary source materials, videos of what life was like in the 18th century in Williamsburg, Va. and much more. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

LitSite Alaska

LitSite Alaska, created by the Creative Writing Department at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the Alaska Literary Consortium, includes workbooks designed to help teachers design effective assignments in reading and writing. Examples... (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: University of Alaska Anchorage

Native Americans today

Students are engaged in a critical thinking activity in this lesson that facilitates the development of knowledge about present-day Native Americans. The teacher engages students in a brainstorming activity where they provide information they think is accurate... (Learn more)

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

Provided by: ReadWriteThink