Fun, FREE Hands-on American History Lessons and Unit Studies for Kids

Have you been looking for fun, FREE hands-on unit studies? Each of the below unit studies is filled with active projects that are both educational and fun! Included are 8 unit studies comprised of more than 81 lessons! Click on the individual lesson plans to see the dramatizations, art projects, cooking, singing, and/or lapbook ideas! Also included are our favorite "living books"/picture books that compliment each lesson.

For FUN American History, choose from:

Shorter lessons for K-2:

• K-2 American History from Columbus through World War II (35 lessons, 40 minutes per lesson)

Longer unit study lessons for all ages (PreK - Gr. 6):

• Explorers
• Native Americans
• Early American Settlers
• American War for Independence
• George Washington & The Constitution
• Westward Expansion & Pioneers

Shorter lessons, each focused on a President:

• U.S. Presidents

• Hands-on American History Series of 35 Lessons for K-2 - This is a series of 35 lessons covering American History through World War II. I used these lessons while teaching a 45 minute homeschool co-op history class for children in Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grades. Each lesson includes a biography report, history notebook page, history song, our favorite children's books, YouTube video, a history joke, & a variety of hands-on activities to make each lesson engaging & memorable. This is the link for the first lesson. Links for the remaining lessons can be found at the bottom of the page.

Build Viking shields and swords and "sail" to Vineland with Leif Erikson, walk the route of Marco Polo (through your house) and collect the items that he saw on his journey through China, go on a compass treasure hunt, dramatize Columbus' journey, make Da Gama Portuguese land markers, create Montezuma's headdress, go on a conquistador hunt for gold, bake constellation bar cookies, dress up as and present on famous explorers, and more during this unit study on Explorers!

• Marco Polo and Leif Erikson Lesson - This is part 1 of a 5 part hands-on unit on Explorers. Walk the route of Marco Polo (through the house) and collect the items he came across while in Asia. Make Viking bread, Viking helmets, shields, and swords and “sail” to Vineland (America) as a Viking, and more!
• Christopher Columbus & Prince Henry the Navigator Lesson - This is part 2 of a 5 part hands-on unit study on Explorers. Go on a compass treasure hunt, eat sailor food, jump across the parts of a caravel ship, act out Columbus' journey, and more!
• Da Gama, Vespucci, Balboa, & Magellan Lesson - This is part 3 of a 5 part hands-on unit study on Explorers. Make Da Gama Portuguese land markers, Vespucci parrot puppets, and Balboa hiding-in-a-barrel stick puppets. Search for the Pacific Ocean with Balboa (through your house). Eat “sawdust” and “leather” with Magellan and many more activities!
• Ponce de Leon, Aztecs, Cortes, & Conquistadors Lesson This is part 4 of a 5 part hands-on unit on Explorers. Create Montezuma's headdress, act out the meeting between Cortes & Montezuma, go on a conquistador hunt for gold, and more!
• Cabot, Cartier, Drake, Hudson, and Astronomy Lesson - This is part 5 of a 5 part hands-on unit on Explorers. Bake constellation bar cookies, create star finders, act out Cartier's expedition, and more!
• Explorer Unit Presentations and Field Trip Ideas – For the culminating project we following the 5 part hands-on unit on explorers, the children dressed as explorers, made presentations, and shared “authentic” food from their explorer’s country of origin. They also sang the songs from the unit. Also included are the field trips we took during this unit.

Hunt for arrowheads, build teepees, paint totem poles, draw Pueblo chalk drawings, present on specific Native American tribes, and more during this fun four week hands on study of Native Americans.

• Northeast and Southeast Native Americans Lesson - This is part 1 of a 4 part hands-on unit on Native Americans. Make arrows, cook Three Sisters Stew, go on an “archeological dig” for arrowheads, create Iroquois Bowl games, bead Seminole necklaces, and more!
• Plains Native American Tribes Lesson - This is part 2 of a 4 part hands-on unit on Native Americans. Create headdresses and war shields, build a teepee, eat dried “buffalo” and more!
• Northwest and Plateau Native American Tribes Lesson - This is part 3 of a 4 part hands-on unit on Native Americans. Decorate parfleches, fry salmon cakes, create totem poles, dramatize a dramatize potlatch ceremony, and more!
• Southwest Native American Tribes Lesson - This is part 4 of a 4 part hands-on unit on Native Americans. Make Navajo Fry Bread, draw Pueblo chalk drawings, create Navajo sand paintings and concho-style belts, weave Apache baskets, and more!
• Native American Powwow and Field Trip Ideas - After our 4 part unit study on Native Americans, our culminating activity was a powwow. Each child presented on a different tribe and brought food from that tribe for us to share. I am also including where we went for field trips during this unit.

Build a waddle and daub house like they did in Jamestown, create pilgrim costumes, set up a beaver trading post as you study Dutch settlers, cook a batch of William Penn's applesauce, perform a play on the Pilgrims, eat a semi-authentic Thanksgiving feast, and more during this fun 4 lesson unit study on Early American Settlers.

• Jamestown Lesson - This is part 1 of a 4 part hands-on unit on America's Early Settlers. Build a waddle and daub house like they did in Jamestown, dress as cavaliers and hunt for gold, cook and taste gruel, and more!
• Pilgrims Lesson - This is part 2 of a 4 part hands-on unit on America's Early Settlers. Create pilgrim costumes, make stewed pompion (pumpkin), plant corn, and more!
• Dutch and Swede Settlers of Early America Lesson - This is part 3 of a 4 part hands-on unit on Early American Settlers. Make butter, bake authentic Dutch Christmas cookies, set up a beaver trading post, build log cabins out of craft sticks, and more!
• William Penn and Thirteen Colonies Lesson - This is part 4 of a 4 part hands-on unit study on Early American Settlers. Cook a batch of Dutch applesauce, match up the Thirteen Colonies, and make costumes to prepare for the Thanksgiving Presentation.
• Thanksgiving Feast, Children's Play, & Authentic Recipes - This is the end of the unit activity for a 4 week hands-on unit on Early American Settlers. Eat a feast (complete with authentic dishes), perform a fun Thanksgiving play, and sing a Psalm (just as the Pilgrims did for their Thanksgiving feasts). Authentic and semi-authentic recipes are included!

Make tricorn hats and mob caps, "brew" root beer with Samuel Adams, hold a tea party as you study the Boston Tea Party, reenact the Battles of Lexington and Concord, make ink and quill pens in order to sign the Declaration of Independence, cook hasty pudding, drill with Baron von Steuben as you study Valley Forge, write a secret code and seal it with wax as you study Benedict Arnold, present on the people of the American War for Independence, and more during this exciting unit study!

• King George III, Patrick Henry, & Samuel Adams Lesson - This is part 1 of a 6 part hands-on unit on the American War for Independence. Make tricorn hats and mob caps, “brew” root beer with Samuel Adams, bake cornmeal molasses rolls, and more!
• Paul Revere, Boston Massacre, and Boston Tea Party Lesson - This is part 2 of a 6 part hands-on unit study on the American War for Independence. Hold a tea party, act out the Boston Massacre and Boston Tea Party, bake a pound cake, examine the work of silversmiths, and more!
• Lexington and Concord, Thomas Jefferson, and Declaration of Independence Lesson - This is part 3 of a 6 part hands-on unit study on the American War for Independence. Make tin can lanterns, reenact the Battles of Lexington and Concord, make ink and sign the Declaration of Independence with a quill pen, eat ice cream with Thomas Jefferson, and more!
• George Washington, Battle of Trenton, & Betsy Ross Lesson - This is part 4 of a 6 part hands-on unit study on the American War for Independence. Make powder horns, cook hasty pudding, reenact the crossing of the Delaware and Battle of Trenton, paint the first American flag, and more!
• Benjamin Franklin, Battle of Saratoga, & Valley Forge Lesson - This is part 5 of a 6 part hands-on unit on the American War for Independence. Build “dragoon pistols,” drill with Baron von Steuben, cook and eat firecakes, experience cold feet at Valley Forge, reenact the Battle of Saratoga, and more!
• Battle of Yorktown, Benedict Arnold, Swamp Fox, & John Paul Jones Lesson - This is part 6 of a 6 part hands-on unit on the American War for Independence. Make drums, write a secret code and seal it with wax, make and eat hominy, act out the battles of Bonhomme Richard, Cowpens, and Yorktown, and more!
• American Revolution Presentations and Field Trip Ideas - This is the culminating activity we did after a 6 part hands-on unit on the American Revolution. We had a colonial-themed dinner and the children each dressed up as a famous person from the American Revolution time period and presented on him/her. Also included are the field trips we attended while studying this unit.

Dance a minuet, cook and eat Nelly's Hoecakes, go on a "fox hunt," create the three branches of the Constitution, and more during this lesson on President George Washington and the Constitution!

• The Constitution and President George Washington Lesson - This a hands-on lesson plan on the the Constitution and President George Washington. Dance a minuet, cook and eat Nelly's Hoecakes, go on a “fox hunt,” make a Constitution tree, and more! This lesson follows my 6 part unit on the American War for Independence.
• President George Washington for Teachers & Students - Find our favorite YouTube video clips, books, and free worksheets and lapbooks for teaching and/or learning about President George Washington.

Fry up Daniel Boone's favorite fried chicken recipe and talk a walk outdoors in search of tracks and you study frontiersmen and tracking. Dramatize the purchase of Louisiana from France and more as you study Lewis and Clark! Build a pioneer wagon and the transcontinental railroad. Pan for "gold" and deliver mail on the pony express (using bicycles rather than horses). Wrap up the unit on Westward Expansion and pioneers with a wagon roundup dinner and presentations on various frontiersmen and pioneers.

• Daniel Boone, Frontiersmen, & Tracking Lesson - This is part 1 of a 4 part hands-on unit study on Westward Expansion and Pioneers. Go on a nature walk to practice tracking, cook Daniel Boone's favorite fried chicken recipe, create salt maps of the US, and more!
• Lewis and Clark Lesson - This is part 2 of a 4 part hands-on unit study on Westward Expansion and Pioneers. Dramatize the Louisiana Purchase, taste and see some of the plants and animals Lewis & Clark discovered on their journey, visit with Sacajawea and Pomp, create a Lewis and Clark lapbook, and more!
• Oregon Trail Lesson - This is part 3 of a 4 part hands-on unit study on Westward Expansion and Pioneers. Build prairie schooner, head out on a scavenger hunt using only landmarks to navigate, bake Pioneer Persimmon Pudding, practice pioneer children's chores, and more!
• California Gold Rush, Pony Express, & Transcontinental Railroad Lesson - This is part 4 of a 4 part hands-on unit study on Westward Expansion and Pioneers. Pan for “gold,” bake Gold Rush Sourdough Biscuits, race to deliver mail on the Pony Express, build the Transcontinental Railroad out of craft sticks, and more!
• Westward Expansion & Pioneers Presentations & Field Trip Ideas - The end of the unit activity and presentations for our 4 part hands-on unit on Westward Expansion and Pioneers was a Pioneer Wagon Roundup Dinner. Children dressed as various famous frontiersmen or pioneers and presented on their assigned person. Afterward we had a pioneer themed dinner around a campfire. Also included are the field trips we attended while studying this unit.

• Presidents Day Unit Study - Check out our favorite books, YouTube clips, recipes, lapbooks, and worksheets on each President. Also included is a timeline of major events and an overview of each man's presidency. This page contains links to the information and activities for each individual President. It also contains additional resources (YouTube video clips, books, etc.) we enjoyed that provide a good overview of the Presidential election process and learning about the Presidents in general. Currently there are pages created for the first 22 Presidents of the United States. Additional pages will be added as time allows.