Early American History for Kids: 8 Units from First Peoples to Pioneers
Early American History for Kids: 8 Units from First Peoples to Pioneers
For early American history that young children can follow and that treats the people involved with respect, the Early American History Bundle covers it in eight units for Grades 1–4, beginning with Native Americans as the first peoples of North America. Explorers, the Pilgrims and pioneers follow, plus timelines and real source work. It costs $99.99 instead of $199.92 for the parts.
Open the 8-unit bundleThe Early American History Bundle ($99.99) has eight Grades 1–4 units: Native Americans: First Peoples of North America; Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas; Pilgrims & the First Thanksgiving; Pioneers & Life on the Frontier; Timelines & Measuring Time; Traces of the Past, a unit on historical sources; School Then and Now; and Family & Daily Life Then and Now. Each unit has an overview and three sub-units with a lesson plan, worksheet, activity, answer key and slides.
The resources
Early American History Bundle, Grades 1–4
8 resources in one download: $99.99 instead of $199.92 bought separately.
Start with the first resource; the others are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
Early American History Bundle | Native Americans, Explorers, Pilgrims & Pioneers | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Elementary History Curriculum | All 20 History Units | Grades 1–4
Ancient Civilizations Bundle | Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Vikings & Stone Age | 8 Units | Grades 1–4
Civics & Civil Rights Bundle | Martin Luther King Jr., Voting, Direct Democracy & Freedom of the Press | 4 Resources | Grades 5–9
The real problem
Teaching early America to seven-year-olds without the myths
Early American history is one of the trickiest topics in the primary grades. Children arrive with ideas from picture books, holiday decorations and TV, and some of those ideas are simplified or simply wrong. At the same time, the people in these stories include Native nations whose descendants are part of today's communities, and possibly part of your class. Teachers want accuracy and respect, but they also need lessons a first or second grader can follow. The second difficulty is order. When a unit starts with ships arriving, children learn that the story of America begins with Europeans. Starting with the people who already lived here changes that. A third issue is evidence. Young children can learn that we know about the past from objects, pictures and writing, and that different people left different kinds of records. That habit makes the rest of the topic more honest, because students start to ask who is telling a story. Finally, November crowds the calendar, and building respectful, well-sourced lessons from scratch in that month is hard. A planned set lets you spend your energy on the class discussion instead of on worksheets.
Why it fits
What is in the eight units
The bundle mixes four content units with four skill and then-and-now units, which is what lets students question the stories they hear.
- Native Americans: First Peoples of North America presents the continent's first peoples factually and with respect.
- Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas covers the voyages in a form young students can follow.
- Pilgrims & the First Thanksgiving gives the November topic a factual, respectful treatment.
- Pioneers & Life on the Frontier covers pioneer life in lessons pitched at Grades 1–4.
- Timelines and Traces of the Past teach students to order events and ask where evidence comes from.
- School and family then-and-now units let children compare their own lives with life long ago.
Getting started
Suggested order: start with the first peoples
You can teach the units in any order. This sequence puts the people who lived here first at the beginning, which many teachers prefer.
- Set up the toolsTeach Timelines & Measuring Time and Traces of the Past first. Students build one class timeline and learn to ask where a piece of evidence came from. Keep the timeline on the wall all year.
- Native Americans: First PeoplesBegin the content with Native Americans: First Peoples of North America. Students learn that many nations lived across the continent long before any European ship arrived.
- Explorers, then the PilgrimsMove to Explorers & the Voyage to the Americas, then Pilgrims & the First Thanksgiving. Use the source habits from the first step: who is telling this story, and whose view might be missing?
- Pioneers & Life on the FrontierContinue with pioneer life. The project or source activity in each sub-unit gives students something to make or examine as well as something to read, which keeps younger children engaged.
- Close with then and nowEnd with School Then and Now and Family & Daily Life Then and Now. Students compare their own day with a child's day long ago, which pulls the whole sequence together.
What to buy
Eight units, or the full 20?
The Early American History Bundle at $99.99 is the right pick if you want this strand only; the eight parts bought separately cost $199.92. If you also teach ancient civilizations, the Elementary History Curriculum ($169.99) includes these eight units plus twelve more, so buying both would duplicate content. The Ancient Civilizations Bundle ($99.99) is the matching eight-unit set for Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, the Stone Age and the Vikings. For older students in Grades 5–9, the Civics & Civil Rights Bundle ($54.99) continues American history with Martin Luther King Jr., the I Have a Dream speech, direct democracy and voting, and freedom of the press.
Honest limits
Limits worth knowing
The bundle is not written for any one state. It has no state history unit, it is not about the Native nations of any particular region, and it carries no state standards codes. If your state or district expects local tribal history, add it from local sources and, where possible, from the nations themselves. Check the topics against your state's social studies standards. You supply printing and project materials. Using the units across a grade team needs a short message to Teach Lessons first. Not the right fit? Exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value; there is no cash refund.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this aligned with my state's social studies standards?
No. It is not aligned to, endorsed by or approved under any state's standards, and it carries no standards codes. Topics like Native Americans, explorers, Pilgrims, timelines and historical sources show up in many early-grade frameworks, so there may be overlap, but compare the unit list with your state standards and district plan yourself before you count on it.
How are Native Americans presented?
The unit Native Americans: First Peoples of North America frames them as the first peoples of the continent, factually and respectfully. It is a general introduction for Grades 1–4, not a study of one nation. If you have Native students, families or nearby nations, local voices make the topic stronger, and the source-work habits from the bundle help students ask good questions.
Is the Thanksgiving unit suitable for a diverse class?
Pilgrims & the First Thanksgiving is written to be factual and respectful, which suits classes with many backgrounds. Read through it before you teach so you can decide how to talk about family traditions, since some students may not celebrate the holiday or may see it differently. The slides make it easier to lead a calm group discussion.
What does source work look like for first graders?
Timelines & Measuring Time and Traces of the Past teach children that events happen in order and that we learn about the past from evidence. In the content units, each sub-unit includes a project or primary-source activity. With very young children, a good approach is to guide it: you read and ask questions while students look closely and answer.
Can I teach it in November only?
You can. Some teachers put the explorers and Pilgrims units in November and the others earlier or later in the year. Each unit has an overview and three sub-units, so you can teach one sub-unit or all three depending on the time you have. Pacing is up to you; the bundle does not set a calendar.
Will I get each unit as its own set of files?
Yes. The bundle is a collection of eight existing units, each also sold on its own and linked on the bundle page. After purchase you get all parts as digital downloads, through a link by email and in your customer account under Orders, ready for print or digital use.
Teach early America with care, without building it from scratch
Check the eight units on the product page and plan your sequence starting with the first peoples.
Open the 8-unit bundle