Instructional Resources for California Educators, Students, & Families
This collection of lesson plans is for California Elementary School students grades K-5th.
This lesson seeks to introduce students to the California Gold Rush by examining the gender stereotypes of the time. This lesson asks students to consider how gender roles and stereotypes have changed since the Gold Rush.
This lesson seeks to introduce students to different family models, specifically through comparing American and Native American culture. This lesson also seeks to define what it means to be Two Spirit and to discuss personal family narratives.
This lesson seeks to introduce students to gender roles, stereotypes and family roles in pre-colonial and early colonial time periods. Students will also explore current gender systems and examine how gender roles have changed over time.
This lesson explores culture, oppression, and colonialism by exploring Native American gender roles and how they differed from Spanish gender roles.
This lesson will increase student’s understanding of Charley Parkhurst and his gender and important contributions in the context of the founding of California and the Westward movement in the mid 1880s. Note that the context of this lesson may be set in 4th, 5th, or 8th grade history content.
This lesson plan explores two-spirit traditions in some Native American cultures. Students will learn different perspectives on gender roles and gender expectations. They will contrast the beliefs and values within these traditions with those of early European immigrants.
This inquiry-based lesson explores the life of Charley Parkhurst, who was born female but lived, and gained fame, as a stagecoach driver in late nineteenth century California. The lesson is envisioned as one, among several, that would explore the consequences of the Gold Rush and statehood in California. This lesson centers around gender expression, within a broader conversation about opportunities available to migrants to California during the Gold Rush Era.
This lesson plan aims to explain the dense history behind queer flags as a symbol of representation and pride. The course explores the parallels between national flags and LGBTQ+ flags, highlighting the different purposes and symbolism of each. The flags covered in this lesson are not a comprehensive list, rather a broad overview of the most widely used flags today.
This is Part 1 of the 2-part Pride Parade for LGBTQ+ Families lesson plan. It can be used as a standalone.
Students will examine the relationship of modern-day families to the history of their community through exploring the importance of Pride for LGBTQ+ families. This is a two-part lesson in which students will engage with the storybook ‘This Day in June’, which welcomes readers to experience a Pride celebration, and therefore (1) examine the origins of Pride- the Stonewall Riots, and (2) discuss the struggle for Marriage Equality in the United States.
This is Part 2 of the 2-part Pride Parade for LGBTQ+ Families lesson plan. It can be used as a standalone.
Students will examine the relationship of modern-day families to the history of their community through exploring the importance of Pride for LGBTQ+ families. This is a two-part lesson in which students will engage with the storybook “This Day in June,” which welcomes readers to experience a Pride celebration, and therefore (1) examine the origins of Pride- the Stonewall Riots, and (2) discuss the struggle for Marriage Equality in the United States.
This lesson seeks to introduce students to the racialization of masculinity of Chinese workers since their arrival during the Gold Rush in the 1850s. This lesson asks students to think about how race and gender was used to frame Chinese workers as an economic threat to white American men, as well as a threat to dominant gender norms in the United States.