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American Values
 
America Responds: Classroom Activities Celebrating the American Flag (Grade 1, Unit 3)  
Celebrating a Legend in the White House (Grade 2, Unit 5)  
Debating the Importance of the Bill of Rights (Grade 5, Unit 7)  
Stars and Stripes Forever: A Closer Look at the American Flag (Grade K, Unit 4)  
Using Marcus Pfister’s The Rainbow Fish to Teach Caring and Sharing (Grade 1, Unit 2)  
 
Ancient History
 
Make a Relief Sculpture Frieze (Grade 6, Unit 5)  
Mayan Achievements in Time-Recording (Grade 5, Unit 1)  
The Emergence and Evolution of Cuneiform in Ancient Mesopotamia (Grade 6, Unit 2)  
 
California's History
 
Boom Town Concerns: Dealing with the Problems of a Gold Rush Town (Grade 4, Unit 3)  
California Regions Lesson Plan (Grade 4, Unit 1)  
Lessons to Help Celebrate César Chávez Day in the Classroom (Grade 4, Unit 5)  
Picking a Site for a California Mission: A Problem-Based Learning Project
for Fourth Graders
(Grade 4, Unit 2)
 
The California State Seal (Grade 3, Unit 5)  
Using Census Data to Look at Life in a California Gold Rush Town (Grade 5, Unit 6)  
 
Civic Responsibility
 
Can You Convince Me? Developing Persuasive Writing (Grade 5, Unit 4)  
Good Manners Show Respect Lesson Plan (Grade K, Unit 1)  
Why Have Rules: A Two-Part Social Studies Lesson (Grade 2, Unit 3)  
 
Community
 
Creating a Community: Using the Book Do Skyscrapers Touch the Sky? (Grade 3, Unit 1)  
Jobs at Our School: Creating a Class Book (Grade K, Unit 3)  
Our Community: Creating ABC Books as Assessment (Grade K, Unit 2)  
 
Diverse Cultures
 
A Closer Look at Eastern Philosophies (Grade 6, Unit 3)  
Birthdays Around the World: A Tele-Collaboration Lesson for First Graders (Grade 1, Unit 6)  
California Indian Acorn Culture: Teaching Activities (Grade 3, Unit 2)  
Religion, Culture, and Diversity (Grade 6, Unit 4)  
The Meaning of Rock Art (Grade 6, Unit 1)  
 
Early America
 
Living Together: Jamestown Colonists and Powhatan Indians (Grade 5, Unit 2)  
On This Day with Lewis and Clark: Tracking the Journey (Grade 5, Unit 5)  
Packing the Pilgrim’s Trunk: Personalizing History in the Elementary Classroom (Grade K, Unit 5)  
Passages: A Unit Based on the Kidnapped Prince: The Life of Olaudah Equiano (Grade 5, Unit 3)  
 
Economics
 
A Lesson in Economics Using Robert McCloskey’s Make Way for Ducklings (Grade 1, Unit 5)  
  Money Facts: the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s website includes all kinds of trivia, and important information, about United States currency (Grade 1, Unit 5)  
Agriculture in Your Life: Categorizing Sources of Agricultural Products (Grade 2, Unit 4)  
Not Your Grandmother’s Lemonade Stand: A Lesson in Economics (Grade 3, Unit 4)  
 
Guidelines for Evaluating Primary Sources
 
Evaluating Historical Sources  
Evaluating Primary Source Websites  
When Analyzing Primary Sources  
 
How to Find and Cite Electronic Sources
 
Library Research: Finding Primary Sources   
Teaching Students How to Cite Electronic Sources   
 
Maps/Geography
 
Mapping Our Worlds: Making Our Own Maps of Places We Know (Grade 1, Unit 1)  
Planning a Trip to a National Park after Reading Allen Say’s The Lost Lake (Grade 2, Unit 2)  
 
More Ideas for Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
 
Integrating OurDocuments.gov into the Classroom   
  Arts and Media Basics  
Medieval Sourcebook: Why Study History through Primary Sources?  
 
Physical Links to the Past
 
Autobiography through Objects: The Life and Music of Celia Cruz (Grade 1, Unit 4)  
Examining Photographs for Historical Clues (Grade 3, Unit 3)  
Learning about the Great Depression through Letters Children Wrote to
Eleanor Roosevelt
(Grade 4, Unit 4)
 
My Piece of History: What Old Things Can Teach Me about My Past (Grade 2, Unit 1)