Lesson Plans

Starting with the 2018 Native American $1 Coin, students will learn about the lives of athletes Jim Thorpe and Jesse Owens. Students will pick an athlete they think should be on a coin and present a persuasive argument about why their athlete should be honored.

Starting with the Voyageurs National Park Quarter, students will explain how the Northern Lights are formed.

Using the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Quarter, students will research and evaluate the lives of lighthouse keepers and create a new media product.

Students will demonstrate an understanding of the chronology of major events in George Rogers Clark's journey and how these events affected the outcome of the Revolutionary War and the expansion of the United States of America. Students will locate and evaluate potential sources of information, gather and synthesize information, and create a new product.

Students will compare and contrast the groups who used the Cumberland Gap and their reasons for using the gap. Students will analyze maps and create a map showing landforms, routes and areas. Students will identify and describe the components of a topographic/contour map.

Students will analyze and illustrate the development of sandstone formations over time. Students will create relief maps that show the development of the formations. Students will analyze the differences in the geographical formation of northern and southern Illinois.

Students will be able to describe the significance of Native American Code Talkers by identifying and evaluating primary and secondary sources.

Students will research the life of Sequoyah and create a diary detailing his accomplishments and the creation of the Cherokee syllabary.

Students will analyze the movement of Americans and the Mohawk ironworkers from rural to urban areas for job opportunities. Students will write a script and present a monologue from the perspective of the Kahnawake Mohawk and Mohawk Akwesasne ironworker on the construction site.

Students will research and draw conclusions about specific time periods. Students will understand and sequence events and demonstrate an understanding of the importance of Code Talkers in American history.