Architecture: Lesson Plans

Beginning in the 9th century the Khmer empire, which was based in what is today northwestern Cambodia, began to gather power and territory in mainland Southeast Asia. It would grow to be one of the largest empires in Southeast Asian history. In this lesson, students will learn about Angkor Wat and its place in Cambodian, and Southeast Asian, history. Students will attempt to “read” the temple, in a way which resembles the reading of a primary document, to gain insight into this history.

This lesson introduces students to Egyptian pyramids and to artifacts and archaeology in general. Through a discussion of the size, scale, and purpose of pyramids, students learn how these structures tell audiences of today about the peoples of ancient Egypt. An extension lesson allows students to consider what messages modern monuments provide about present-day cultures.

The famous Great Wall of China, which was built to keep the China’s horse-riding neighbors at bay, extends more than 2,000 kilometers across China, from Heilongjiang province by Korea to China’s westernmost province of Xinjiang. This lesson will investigate the building of the Great Wall during the Ming Dynasty, and will utilize the story of the wall as a tool for introducing students to one period in the rich history of China.

In this curriculum unit, students take a close look at the design of the White House and some of the changes it has undergone. They also reflect on how the “President’s House” has been and continues to be used.

Lesson 1: How Was the White House Designed?
Lesson 2: How and Why Has the White House Changed?
Lesson 3: A President’s Home and the President’s House

Take a virtual field trip to the ruins of Pompeii to learn about everyday life in Roman times.

Leonardo da Vinci—one of history’s most imaginative geniuses—was certainly born at the right time and in the right place. In this lesson plan, the students will explore Leonardo da Vinci and the age in which he lived and consider the meaning of the Greek quotation, “Man is the measure of all things” and why it particularly applies to the Renaissance and to Leonardo.

The story of the Ramayana has been passed from generation to generation by numerous methods and media. Initially it was passed on orally as an epic poem that was sung to audiences by a bard, as it continues to be today.

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was the hub of a rich civilization that dominated the region of modern-day Mexico at the time the Spanish forces arrived. In this lesson, students will learn about the history and culture of the Aztecs and discover why their civilization came to an abrupt end.

Curriculum Unit overview. For many people, Timbuktu is a metaphor for the mysterious, the remote, or the unobtainable. But the Malian city of Timbuktu was, in fact, once a thriving center of commerce and intellectual activity. In the lessons of this curriculum unit, students will learn about the geography of Mali and the early trade networks that flourished there.

Lesson 1: Trekking to Timbuktu: The Geography of Mali — Student Version
Lesson 2: Trekking to Timbuktu: Trade in Ancient West Africa — Student Version
Lesson 3: Trekking to Timbuktu: Timbuktu: A Center of Trade — Student Version
Lesson 4: Trekking to Timbuktu: Mansa Musa Takes a Trip — Student Version
Lesson 5: Trekking to Timbuktu: Timbuktu's Golden Age of Scholarship — Student Version
Lesson 6: Trekking to Timbuktu: The Search for Timbuktu — Student Version
Lesson 7: Trekking to Timbuktu: Restoring the Past — Student Version
Lesson 8: Trekking to Timbuktu: Making The Pitch to Globe Trekker — Student Version

Curriculum Unit overview. For many people, Timbuktu is a metaphor for the mysterious, the remote, or the unobtainable. But the Malian city of Timbuktu was, in fact, once a thriving center of commerce and intellectual activity.

In the lessons of this curriculum unit, students will learn about the geography of Mali and the early trade networks that flourished there. They will study how the spread of Islam influenced the cultures and economies along the Niger River. They will find out about the three kingdoms that evolved in ancient and medieval West Africa. They will discover how Timbuktu rose from a simple watering place to the most important city in Islamic West Africa. And they will find out what is being done today to protect the city’s antiquities

Lesson 1: Trekking to Timbuktu: The Geography of Mali —Teacher Version
Lesson 2: Trekking to Timbuktu: Trade in Ancient West Africa — Teacher Version
Lesson 3: Trekking to Timbuktu: Timbuktu: A Center of Trade — Teacher Version
Lesson 4: Trekking to Timbuktu: Mansa Musa Takes a Trip — Teacher Version
Lesson 5: Trekking to Timbuktu: Timbuktu's Golden Age of Scholarship — Teacher Version
Lesson 6: Trekking to Timbuktu: The Search for Timbuktu — Teacher Version
Lesson 7: Trekking to Timbuktu: Restoring the Past — Teacher Version
Lesson 8: Trekking to Timbuktu: Assessment of Lessons 1-7 — Teacher Version

Curriculum Unit overview. The “President’s House,” built under George Washington’s personal supervision, was the finest residence in the land and possibly the largest. In a nation of wooden houses, it was built of stone and ornamented with understated stone flourishes. It did not fit everyone’s concept for the home of the leader of the young democracy. In this lesson, students take a close look at the White House in recent times and throughout our history.

Lesson 1: What Happens in the White House?
Lesson 2: What Has Happened in the White House?
Lesson 3: What Happens in the White House? A Timeline

Students make connections between European voyages of discovery, colonial spheres of influence, and various aspects of American culture.