What was California like before the Spanish came? Class members discover the answer to the question using images of Native Americans and diaries of the early Spanish explorers. Scaffolded activities allow instructors to adapt the...

Students explore the life of Friar Margil de Jesus as well as other Spanish friars. They research Friar Margil and write a paragraph explaining why Spanish friars came to Texas. In groups, students create a PowerPoint presentation...

Fourth graders work in partners to complete a series of activities. After reading the introduction, Students select a role of either a "Padre" or "Indigena." As partners, they need time on the computer for research as well as time to...

Young scholars investigate the characteristics of a clay ball.  In this particles lesson students examine what happens to a ball of clay when it is dropped from different heights. 

Students participate in a live simulation of traveling through space as part of a large science unit. They are encouraged to go into the community and ask for participation from parents and relatives. Students reflect upon their own...

Students can use this page as a jumping off page to do research on Spanish missions in California. There are numerous links to Scholastic articles and to other websites on subtopics such as missionaries, Franciscans and places in...

This collection at the University of California-Berkeley can now be accessed online through the Online Archive of California. It provides a vast collection of historically significant primary source images of early California and the...

Table of Contents of an easy-to-understand history of California ranging from the first peoples to the turn of the century and covers the topics of the Missions, the discovery of gold, the towns and the cities.