The materials here can be downloaded and used in K-12 classrooms for both in-person and remote learning. Many of these lessons focus on local history and the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Materials on this page are protected by copyright. #locallyoriented
We collaborated with UC Riverside’s Public History Program, Cal State San Bernardino, the University of Redlands, and The Relevancy & History Project to create a series of lessons about local, Inland Empire history. Using various archives and Storymaps from A People’s History of the IE, these lessons were designed by our teacher leaders for elementary, US History, and Ethnic Studies classrooms. a big shout out to our Teacher Leaders Lisa Patterson, Maia Ruiz, Vanessa Herrera, Amanda Sandoval, Vanessa Aranda, and Dr. Irene Sanchez for their hard work in creating these lesson plans.
We continue to collaborate with our partners at PBS and the USC Libraries to create lesson plans for the Emmy-award-winning series Lost LA. This round of lessons corresponds to Season 5 of Lost LA. The lessons explore solidarity, astronomy, public transportation, and oral history. A big shout out to the authors of these lessons, Frank Salcedo-Fierro, Miguel Sandoval, Vanessa Herrera, Maia Ruiz, and Marissa Matich.
| Content Standard | Lesson Title | Resources |
| 6.6 | Which Chinese philosophy would be most effective for running your school? | Lesson (pdf) |
| 6.6 | How should we remember Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di? | Lesson |
| 6.6 & 6.4 | How did belief systems influence society in China? | Lesson |
| The Athenian Golden Age would have occurred with or without the existence of slavery. | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Lesson Title | Resources |
| 7.2 | How does poetry help us understand how people thought and felt in 1200s-1300s Southwest Asia? | Remote Lesson |
| 7.2 | How was the city of Nishapur a Site of Encounter? | Remote Lesson |
| 7.3 | Can looking at the past help rulers succeed in the future? | Lesson |
| 7.4 | How did trade connections between the Gupta Empire in India facilitate the spread of Buddhist and Hindu ideas and beliefs in Srivijaya? | Lesson |
| 7.3 | How did the Mongols control their vast empire? | Lesson |
| 7.5 | How did the lives of women, as reported by writers of Heian Period, compare to the lives of women today? | Lesson |
| 7.5 | How Should Historians Remember Prince Shotoku? | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Lesson Title | |
| 10.4/10.8 | To what extent did Japanese imperialism of Manchukuo incorporate pan-Asianism | Lesson |
| 10.8 | How did Magnus Hirschfeld support and advocate for LGBT people? – ONE Archives | Lesson |
| 10.9 | Why did the US intervene in Chile? | Lesson (pdf) |
| 10.9.1 | How did the United States address social, political, and economic issues in post WWII Japan? | Lesson |
| How did everyday people assert their power and agency during the Arab Spring? | Lesson | |
| Why do People Revolt and What Justifies Revolutions? | Lesson | |
| Post-Ottoman Immigration to LA 1920s: Syrian Mestizaje Do you agree that Syrian Americans can be defined with the term Mestizaje? Why? If not, what term would you use instead? Why? | Lesson | |
| Did Vietnam live up to the promise of the August Revolution? What are the ideals vs. reality of the August Revolution? | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Inquiry Question | Resources |
| What actions did people take in order to live freely in my community? What informed actions can we take today? – from the Belmar History + Art Project | Lesson Remote Lesson |
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| What actions did people take in order to live freely in my community? What informed actions can we take today? – from the Belmar History + Art Project | Lesson Remote Lesson |
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| My Community: Past & Present | Lesson | |
| How can we continue to help preserve our communities’ stories? – Inland Empire Stories | Lesson | |
| 3.1 | Chavez Ravine: What happens to a place across time? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 3.1 | What can this photograph tell us about the Harvey family in 1874? This lesson includes the primary source analysis chart and writing frames. – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 3.1 | What can we learn about Japanese culture through their folktales and artwork? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 3.3 | What Impact has Urban Development had on Biodiversity in the Los Angeles Area? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Inquiry Question | Resources |
| 4.1 | Why would Charley Parkhurst decide to live as a man? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 4.1 | What are the main characteristics of the four geographical regions of California? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 4.2 | What was life like for the Tongva Before and After Spanish Arrival? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 4.2 | How did land grant requirements under Mexican rule effect the population of California during the Mexican period? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 4.3 | How did Mexican Diseños and land grant court cases of the 1840s and 1850s impact the Californios as they gained United States citizenship? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 4.4 | How has our concept of water use changed over time? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 4.4 | How did railroads affect California’s economy in the late 1880s? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 4.4 | How did this part of California- the dry, desert- become as agricultural area? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 4.4 | How did miners and mining change the environment of California? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Lesson Title | Resources |
| 5.2 | Why did the French claim land in North America? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 5.2 | What was Columbus’s attitude toward the native people of the islands and how did this affect his treatment of them? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 5.3 | Why did the Five Nations choose to come together to form the Iroquois League? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 5.3 | What was the purpose of the Proclamation of 1763, and how did the colonists respond? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 5.3 | How did the Spanish and indigenous people in the Americas view each other upon their first meeting? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 5.4 | How did the thirteen colonies participate in the triangular trade? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 5.5 | How was consumption and production a response to the Townsend Acts? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Lesson Title | Resources |
| 8.1 | How does the biography of an important figure like Benjamin Franklin help us to understand the philosophical principles on which the United States was founded? – UCI History Project | Lesson |
| 8.1 | Why was diplomacy important for the success of the Americans in the Revolutionary war? – UCI History Project | Lesson |
| 8.1 | How did Thomas Jefferson state in the Declaration of Independence that the colonies had the right to break away from King George III? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.1 | How did the Patriots use propaganda to turn the killings on King Street in Boston on March 5, 1770 into the Boston Massacre? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.2 | How did the Pilgrims use the Mayflower Compact to justify forming a new colony in North America? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.2 | How did state constitutions define the rights of citizens? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.2 | What were the Anti-Federalists fears about the new government – UCI History Project | Primary Source Set |
| 8.3 | How did the conflicts between Jefferson and Hamilton shape the politics of the nation? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.3 | How and why do federal and state governments borrow money? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.3 | How much power should the federal government have and what should it do? – UCI History Project | Primary Source Set |
| 8.3 | How did Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson offer different visions for a new America? – UCI History Project | Lesson |
| 8.3 | How did Hamilton’s ideas about the American political system differ from and Jefferson’s ideas? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.4 | How do Washington Irving and James Fenimore Cooper reflect and influence American writing and artists in the new republic? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.6 | How and why was the Declaration of Sentiments modeled after the Declaration of Independence? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.6 | How did water power the early Industrial Revolution in the United States? What effect did industrialization have on American rivers? – UCI History Project | Lesson |
| 8.6 | How did Americans and Native Americans respond to westward expansion?– UCI History Project | Lesson |
| 8.6 | What was life like for Chinese Railroad Workers in the 1860s? | Lesson |
| 8.7 | How did slave resistance impact the southern plantation and economy? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.8 | How were Native Americans affected by Jacksonian Democracy? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.8 | How did the Gold Rush impact California’s population and economy? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.8 8.9 | How did the land grant court cases of the 1840s and 1850s violate the Californios’ rights gained under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo? | Lesson |
| 8.9 | How did members of the Antislavery movement differ in motivation and strategy? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.9 | How did slavery contribute to the onset of the Civil War? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.9 | How did John Brown affect the movement to abolish slavery? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.9 | How did Americans’ movement to the West contribute to tension between the North and the South? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.11 | How did the development of the cotton gin impact the economy of the agrarian south and lead to the increased dependency on slavery? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.11 | How were the rights of African Americans, guaranteed by Congress in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, later restricted? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.12 | How did the relationship between the federal government and the Sioux change as federal policies toward Plains Indians evolve? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 8.12 | Were Chinese Americans free in the West? | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Lesson Title | Resources |
| 11.2 | What were the causes of the Anti-Chinese Massacre? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 11.2 | How was gender challenged during urbanization in the late-19th century and what was the response? – ONE Archives | Lesson |
| 11.4 | How did Los Angeles respond to the impact of the “Spanish Flu” Pandemic of 1918 and how is it similar or different to the city’s response to COVID-19? Created in collaboration with teachers from Compton Unified School District |
Remote Lesson
(Add to your Nearpod library) |
| 11.5 | In what ways did the Entertainment Industry Impact African Americans in Los Angeles During the Early 1900s? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 11.5 | What were the costs and benefits of Los Angeles urban growth in the 1920s? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 11.5 | Were LGBT Americans welcome in Hollywood during the 1920s and 1930s? – ONE Archives | Lesson |
| 11.6 | What internal and external factors shaped African-American South Central between the 1920s and 1950s? – Lost LA Curriculum Project |
Lesson |
| 11.8 | How did The Ladder magazine provide lesbian women support in the 1950s? | Lesson |
| 11.8 | How can we make the Beach Culture in So Cal Equitable for all? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 11.8 & 11.10 | How did African Americans adapt to the challenge of traveling in the United States over time? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 11.8 & 11.10 | What can historical markers tell us about what is important in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) and in the Greater Los Angeles area? – Lost LA Curriculum Project | Lesson |
| 11.9 | How were gays and lesbians viewed and treated by the U.S. government? | Lesson |
| 11.9 | How did LGBT Americans respond to the Vietnam War? – ONE Archives | Lesson |
| 11.10 | What led to the segregation of neighborhoods in the United States? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 11.10 | How have opportunities for Mexican immigrants to the U.S. changed during the 20th century? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 11.10 | How was Prop 187 resisted and ultimately defeated? | Lesson Remote Lesson |
| 11.10 | How did the Black Panther Party’s survival programs, specifically the Free Breakfast Program, support the organization’s larger goals for systemic change? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 11.10 | How were the ideas of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X similar and different as they worked to achieve a better future for black people in America? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 11.10 | How did the black civil rights movement influence other activist movements of the late 1960s and 1970s? – UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project | Lesson |
| 11.10 | What caused the Black Cat Tavern Riots? | Lesson |
| 11.10 | To what extent was the movement for LGBT rights part of the broader movement for Civil Rights? | Lesson |
| 11.10 | How did the movement for LGBT equality go from assimilation to “coming out” in the 1950s-1970s? | Lesson Powerpoint |
| 11.10 | How did Bayard Rustin’s identity shape his beliefs and actions? | Lesson |
| 11.10 11.11 | Were the 1950s truly the “dark ages” for gay men and women as some historians have claimed? | Lesson |
| 11.11 | Why and how did activists respond to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s? | Lesson |
| 11.11 | How did Harvey Milk and the Briggs Initiative unite marginalized groups? | Lesson |
| 11.11/12.2 | Through analyzing Audre Lorde’s essay on multiple identities and systems of oppression, how do power and privilege impact the relationships people have with each other as well as with institutions? | Lesson |
| Content Standard | Title | Lesson |
| 11.11/12.2 | Through analyzing Audre Lorde’s essay on multiple identities and systems of oppression, how do power and privilege impact the relationships people have with each other as well as with institutions? | Lesson |
| 12.2/12.7/12.8 | The FAIR Act: What are students’ rights to LGBT representation in the classroom? | Lesson |
The HGP Google Search Engine – only searches academic websites! https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=011755176428843409484:nvppeioya2u
Calisphere: California history archives: https://calisphere.org/
Lost LA: Series of Local history essays with embedded primary sources: https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la
LA as Subject: https://laassubject.org/
Selected Resources for Teaching Ethnic Studies: https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%3A%2F%2Fucla.box.com%2Fs%2Fzk98lo2d1olghe6umgzarjdqezkz5ywe
ONE Archives at USC: Digital archives of LBGTQ history: http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15799coll4
Mapping Indigenous LA: Explores LA indigenous history via maps and digital storytelling: https://mila.ss.ucla.edu/
The Process: a blog for American history created by the Organization of American Historians: www.processhistory.org
Los Angeles Public Library: https://laassubject.org/
The Seaver Center at the Natural History Museum: https://collections.nhm.org/seaver-center/
T-RACES: Redlining in California: http://salt.umd.edu/T-RACES/
US History Matters at George Mason University: http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
World History Matters at George Mason: http://worldhistorymatters.org
The American Memory Collections: The Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/updatedList.html
Edtech Teacher’s Best of History Websites: http://besthistorysites.net/
Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/
Yale’s Avalon Project: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/default.asp
PBS Learning: http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/
Nova Ancient: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/
The British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/
BBC History: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history
BBC Ancient History: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/
BBC History for Kids: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/forkids/
BBC Hands on History: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00bw6wp
BBC Primary: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/
Gilder Lehrmann: http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era
The Center for History and News Media: http://chnm.gmu.edu/
The British National Archives: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/
Odyssey Home Page by Emory University: Ancient and Pre-Modern World History http://carlos.emory.edu/htdocs/ODYSSEY/
National Archives Digital Vaults: http://digitalvaults.org/
Fordham University Sourcebooks Project: http://legacy.fordham.edu/Halsall/index.asp
California Common Core: https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/finalelaccssstandards.pdf (History/Social Studies starts on page 78)
California Content Standards: https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/histsocscistnd.pdf