
These classroom activities were developed in collaboration between primary and secondary teachers, Ohio State University faculty and Ohio History Connection public historians. They were created during a professional development program called Connecting to the Past which was funded by the U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History grant. The lessons integrate a variety of primary sources that can be used in classrooms with various degrees of available technology.
Lesson Plans:
Grade 2
- John Rankin and the Underground Railroad - Grade 2
The Constitution: A Second Grade Lesson - Grade 2
The Lewis and Clark Expedition:
- Prairie Animals - Grade 2
Grade 4
- African American Slavery - Grade 4
- Slavery as Scene by Austin Steward - Grade 4
- The Molasses Act and the Coming of the American Revolution - Grade 4
- The Boston Massacre - Grade 4
- American Revolution in the Ohio Country - Grade 4
- Fort Laurens, Ohio, and the American Revolution - Grade 4
- Articles of the Confederation Vs. The U.S. Constitution - Grade 4
- Comparison of King George III and George Washington - Grade 4
- Impact of European Settlers on Ohio - Grade 4
- Early Ohio Settlement - Grade 4
- Homestead Act of 1862 - Grade 4
Grade 5
- The Daily Life of Slaves - Grade 5
- Spies and Espionage - Grade 5
- Daily Life of Revolutionary War Soldiers: An Artifact Analysis - Grade 5
- Ohio during the Pre-Revolutionary Era - Grade 5
- Revolutionary Songs - Grade 5
Cahokia & Mississippian Native Culture - Grade 5
Diarists on the Ohio Frontier - Grade 5
The Progression of Transportation in Ohio and the West - Grade 5
The Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act - Grade 5
- Hunting of Bison - Grade 5
Grade 6
- Lewis and Clark Etching - Grade 6
Grade 7
- "My Furthest Black Person" by Alex Haley - Grade 7
- Jefferson Peace Medals - Grade 7
Grade 8
- The Passage - Grade 8
- The Boston Massacre: Analyzing the Evidence - Grade 8
- The Boston Massacre: Paul Revere's Engraving - Grade 8
- Common Sense. Guided reading of Thomas Paine's revolutionary pamphlet - Grade 8
- The Declaration of Independence - Grade 8
- Revolutionary War Maps - Grade 8
- Tarring and Feathering: Political Activism - Grade 8
- American Revolution - Image Analysis - Grade 8
- Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence - Grade 8
- George Washington - Grade 8
- The Battle of Trenton - Grade 8
Canal Versus National Road - Grade 8
Cold Case: The Lost Colony - Grade 8
John Winthrop and the Puritans - Grade 8
Native American Cultures - Grade 8
Shay's Rebellion - Grade 8
- Petition to Ohio Governor Huntington from Chief Tarhe - Grade 8
- Don't Leave the Farm Boys - Grade 8
- Getting There: Settling the West - Grade 8
Multiple Grade Levels:
- Slave Ships - Grade 7/8
Worksheets that can be used to analyze primary sources: