CURRICULUM &

RESOURCES

Collaborating with teachers to make history
relevant and empowering for students

Curriculum & Resources

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

Curriculum Spotlight

IE Stories: Using Local Narratives in K-12 Instruction

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.

LOST LA: Curriculum Project

LOST LA 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.

Grade 12
How does the media shape public opinion?

Lost LA Curriculum

Local History

World History Lessons

United States History Lessons

Content Standard	Lesson Title	Resources
	How can memorials help us understand continuity and change in our community?	Lesson
11.8	Why are there so many freeways in Boyle Heights	Lesson
11.7	How did Zoot Suit fashion challenge the accepted culture of the 1940s?	Lesson
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
11.5	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	How youth in East L.A. and the San Gabriel Valley challenge discrimination and segregation in the 1950s?	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 (pdf) Lesson (Google Doc)
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
	How did Latinx Riversiders Create a Thriving Community at the Beginning of the 20th Century?	Lesson
	Do you agree that Syrian Americans can be defined with the term Mestizaje? Why? If not, what term would you use instead? Why?	Lesson

Ethnic Studies

Resources

HGP’s C3 Unit Planning Guide

Local History Resources

Tell us what you think!

We welcome your feedback on the lessons featured on this page. Please use this form to let us know how the lesson went with your students and what recommendations you have for us to improve it.

Feedback form

Other Resources

The History Blueprint: How Did Sites of Encounter Change the Medieval World?

The History Blueprint: Why and How was the Cold War Fought?

The History Blueprint: Was the Civil War a war for Freedom?

Content Standard	Title	Resources
6.6	Which Chinese philosophy would be most effective for running your school? In this 2 to 3 day lesson students will use information from primary sources and a PowerPoint to learn about the three main Chinese philosophies—Taoism, Confucianism, and Legalism, analyzing and organizing the information from the documents on a worksheet. They will then use the information to write an eight-sentence paragraph in which they answer the guiding question.	Lesson
6.6	How should we remember Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di? In this 2-day lesson students will read and analyze multiple sources about Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di. Students will discuss his accomplishments, how people felt about his rule, and the impact he had on future dynasties.	Lesson
6.6	How did belief systems influence society in China? Students will understand the role of belief systems as they shape cultures and cultural interaction. By matching pairs of artifacts, descriptions, quotes, and literature excerpts, students will learn about, discuss, and write about Confucianism, Taoism, and mysticism and their impact on ancient Chinese culture.	Lesson
	Evidence Sort & Claim 6th Grade Ancient Greece Many historians have written about the freedoms associated with Athenian democracy, while others have argued that slavery was vital in supporting Athens’ Golden Age. Argument/Claim: The Athenian Golden Age would have occurred with or without the existence of slavery. Evidence Sorts are a low-stakes strategy that allows students to practice the skill of connecting evidence to a claim. In this strategy, the claim, or argument, is provided alongside a series of primary and secondary sources. Working individually, or in groups, students read and analyze each piece of evidence and determine if it supports the provided argument or it if counters it.	Strategy

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
	In what ways are Mayans living in Los Angeles connected to Quetzaltenango?	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
10.9.1	How did the United States address social, political, and economic issues in post WWII Japan?	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
	How should we remember the Haitian Revolution? In this unit, students learn about the causes and consequences of the Haitian Revolution. This unit of instruction was created using the Inquiry Design Model. The unit plan includes links to supporting sources and strategies. This can be taught as an entire unit, or teachers can use the individual lessons embedded in the unit.	Unit IDM

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
	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
	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 Remote 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	Lesson Title	Resources
8.6	What was life like for Chinese Railroad Workers in the 1860s?	Lesson Remote Lesson
8.12	Were Chinese Americans free in the West?	Lesson
	How did the African Americans of Santa Monica and Los Angeles challenge racial discrimination and segregation at beaches to form community spaces during the 1900s?	Lesson
	Slavery in the US ended largely because of the efforts of Northern Politicians	Lesson
	What consequences did the pursuit of Manifest Destiny have on liberty and freedom for the expanding nation?	Lesson

CURRICULUM &

RESOURCES

Collaborating with teachers to make history
relevant and empowering for students

Curriculum & Resources

Curriculum Spotlight

IE Stories: Using Local Narratives in K-12 Instruction

LOST LA: Curriculum Project

Local History

World History Lessons

6th Grade – Ancient Civilizations

7th Grade – Early Modern

10th Grade – The Modern World

United States History Lessons

Ethnic Studies

Resources

Contact

Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities

Local Voices: Remembering Stories of Art, Power, & Community

Tell us what you think!

Other Resources

About Center X

Educator Prep

Professional Learning

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
	What did housing segregation look like in the Inland Empire in the 1920s-1970’s?	Lesson
	How does the media shape public opinion??	Lesson

Inquiry Question	Resources
What can we learn from the hidden history of African American resistance to institutionalized racism in Santa Monica?	Lesson
How have shifts in land use in and around Mira Loma, CA contributed to evolving social justice movements?	Lesson
How do we remember our community’s history?	Lesson
How does food embody art, culture, and resistance?	Lesson
How does food help us understand our cultures and loved ones?	Lesson
What might we learn about our families from photos?	Lesson
Why does Ethnic Studies Matter?	Lesson
How can we right past wrongs against California’s Native Americans?	Lesson
How can we right past wrongs against California’s Native Americans?	Lesson

CURRICULUM &

RESOURCES

Collaborating with teachers to make history relevant and empowering for students

Curriculum & Resources

Curriculum Spotlight

IE Stories: Using Local Narratives in K-12 Instruction

LOST LA: Curriculum Project

Local History

World History Lessons

6th Grade – Ancient Civilizations

7th Grade – Early Modern

10th Grade – The Modern World

United States History Lessons

Ethnic Studies

Resources

Contact

Tell us what you think!

Other Resources

About Center X

Educator Prep

Professional Learning

Collaborating with teachers to make history
relevant and empowering for students