Lesson Plans

With Tenement Museum resources, students become historians. Using our teacher-designed, teacher-tested lesson plans, students engage in inquiry and learn to use critical thinking to interpret objects, oral histories, and primary sources, while making history relevant to today. Our classroom resources support multi-state History-Social Studies and English Language Arts curricula and can be used with or without a museum visit.

We currently offer four kinds of resources for teachers, including unit plans, lesson plans, and family stories. Whichever resource you select, you will find primary sources such as video stories, oral histories, documents, and photos in each. Educators can sort by grade level, unit plan, lesson plan, family stories, or primary source type below.

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All Grades

Listen Closely to an Oral History

Teach using an oral history from the child of Italian immigrants in the 1930s.

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All Grades

View 1980s Garment Factory Footage

Teach about community action through a 1980’s video of a Chinatown garment factory.

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All Grades

Respond to an Oral History

Students chart parts of their identity before listening to an oral history from the...

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All Grades

Inspect an 1870s Charity Ledger

Students learn about a German community that worked together through an 1870’s Charity...

LessonPlans_AnalyzeAVideoInterview
All Grades

Analyze A Video Interview

Students consider what it means to be American through media seen by a 1950’s refugee...

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All Grades

Examine a 1910 Census

Teach students about labor movements with the 1910 census and a 16-year old...

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All Grades

Think Deeply About Family Interviews

Teach students about how a Puerto Rican family made a difference with their oral histories.

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All Grades

The Gumpertz Family Story

Learn about the Gumpertzes, a German American family who lived in 97 Orchard Street in the...

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All Grades

The Levine Family Story

Learn about the Levine family, a Jewish American family who lived in 97 Orchard Street...

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All Grades

The Confino Family Story

Learn about the Confino family, Greek Jewish immigrants who lived in 97 Orchard Street...

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All Grades

The Moore Family Story

Learn about the Moores, an Irish American family who lived in 97 Orchard Street in the...

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All Grades

The Rogarshevsky Family Story

Learn about the Rogarshevsky’s, a Jewish American family who lived in 97 Orchard...

Tools for Educators

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