Educator Resources
Local History Lesson Plans
Browse or download free curriculum-aligned local history lesson plans. These lesson plans were created by local educators funded through grants from the SIUE Meridian Society and SIUE Emeriti Faculty Association using MCHS resources.
Oral Tradition & the Underground Railroad - Rachel Harris, 2024
Grades 8 - 10
This lesson focuses on the use of oral tradition to uncover the efforts of enslaved persons to gain freedom, those who helped them, and how available historical documents can support these narratives.
Civic Participation - Logan Ridenour, 2024
Grades 9 - 12
Students use planned activities to identify what it means to be a citizen and how citizens participate in their communities.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?: Using Primary Sources to Evaluate the Choices Made by Jews during the Holocaust - Suze Gibson, 2024
Grades 9 - 12
This lesson will help students understand the choices faced by groups targeted for persecution during
the Holocaust. Using primary source materials from individuals who either hid or left Germany during
the Holocaust, students will look at the fate of these individuals as they decide how best to deal with the
increasing restrictions of Nazi Germany.
Going Beyond the Stories of Soldiers: The Lived Experiences of WWI Nurse, Bertha Love - Cara Lane, 2024
Grades 9 - 12*
*This lesson is designed for 11th and 12th grade- level students and lends itself to a cross-curricular study with English classes, particularly American Literature
Students use Bertha Love’s diary entries and scrapbooks during her time in Rouen, France (1917-1919) serving as a WWI nurse to train themselves to think about those who participated in the war effort who aren’t usually addressed in textbooks.
Japanese American Concentration Camps: Loyalty & Service - Rachel Harris, 2024
Grades 8 - 10
Approximately 33,000 Japanese Americans served in the military, with about 6,000 becoming vital translators and interpreters.This intelligence significantly shortened the war and helped save lives by enabling more effective military operations. Students use primary sources connected to the Yamasaki and Takamoto families to learn about Japanese American incarceration and Japanese internment.
UNDERSTANDING THE NATIVE AMERICAN GENOCIDE - Suze Gibson, 2024
Grades 9 - 12
This lesson plan focuses on the study of the genocide and discrimination of Native Americans, as well as tribal sovereignty, treaties made between tribal nations and the United States, and the circumstances pertaining to forced Native American relocation. Students should be able to answer questions about the the causes and consequences of the Native American genocide and how government policies and actions impacted Native American populations.
Plan a Field Trip
Want to plan a field trip? The Madison County History Museum is a great place to explore how the land formed and learn about the early inhabitants, both animal and human. Students can follow the trails, rails, and roads, as people migrate in and out of the county. Future galleries will explore how those people used the land for agriculture and industry. The second floor exhibits will also tell the social history of Madison County.
For information on field trip planning, please contact the Museum at 618-656-7569 or info@madcohistory.org.
Please note that the Museum is not currently open. Please check back for details on the grand opening.
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