ourstory

Our Story is a new-to-me site from the Smithsonian that has an extensive resources for parents and teachers alike.

Here’s how they describe themselves:

Each OurStory theme consists of a main webpage and 3–5 activities that involve reading a work of historical literature, exploring museum objects, field trips, and home projects. The materials are mainly designed for use by an adult caregiver and child(ren) in a home or after-care setting, but are equally effective in the classroom.

They say the materials are designed for K-4 students, but lots of them can certainly be used for older English Language Learners, too. I think a number of the lesson ideas can also be modified for older English proficient students, as well.

All the lessons include extensive downloadable PDF’s. Many are designed to be used in conjunction with children’s history books, but most of the materials can be used even if you don’t have access to the books.

If you dig around the site, you can also find a wealth of other useful resources. For example, they have a nice page on simple field trip ideas, including nice downloadable worksheets that can be used in just about any field trip to any museum.

I’m adding this post to:

The Best Places To Find Free (And Good) Lesson Plans On The Internet

The Best & Most Useful Free Student Hand-Outs Available Online – Help Me Find More (because of the field trip hand-outs)