- Lesson Plan (28)
- Distance Learning (10)
- Student Activities (8)
- Guest Speakers (5)
- Field Trips (4)
- Teacher Reference Materials (3)
- Other Education Materials (2)
- Primary Sources (1)
- Catoctin Mountain Park (5)
- Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site (5)
- Homestead National Historical Park (5)
- Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument (4)
- Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (3)
- Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (3)
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial (3)
- Fort Necessity National Battlefield (2)
- Grand Canyon National Park (2)
- Show More ...
- Social Studies (40)
- Literacy and Language Arts (15)
- Science (7)
- Math (5)
Showing 52 results for blacksmith shop ...
Winter Adaptations in the Black Hills
- Type: Student Activities ... Teacher Reference Materials ... Other Education Materials
- Grade Levels: Lower Elementary: Pre-Kindergarten through Second Grade
Black Hills Fire Ecology
Black Resistance through Election Day
Who Was a Blacksmith?
- Type: Lesson Plan
- Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

The blacksmith was an essential member of a 19th century community. Before there were factories to make iron tools and objects, the blacksmith filled this role. To become a blacksmith involved years as an apprentice and hard work learning the skills needed to build, fix or repair things made from iron. Blacksmiths worked on the metal rims for wheels on wagons, tools, and other items used in homes or on equipment. After 1900, the profession of blacksmithing declined as factories filled this need.
Black Valor During the Spanish-American War
- Type: Guest Speakers
- Grade Levels: Adult Education

The Buffalo Soldiers were called to action during the Spanish-American War. At the start of the five-month war the men of these Buffalo Soldier units were labelled as heroes and praised for their sacrifices. However, at the war's end, the men's reputation had turned with negative press and gross insinuations. What changed? What happened that they were cut out of the picture with the Rough Riders?
Black Homesteaders in Nebraska: Audacious Dreams (3rd - 5th)
- Type: Distance Learning
- Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade

The Homestead Act of 1862 provided African Americans with the prospect of farm ownership. In Nebraska, Black homesteaders built successful farms from eastern tallgrass prairies to the arid Sandhills in the west and the intentional community of DeWitty, NE. Students will explore how Nebraska’s Black homesteaders persevered.
Black Homesteaders in Nebraska: Audacious Dreams (6th - 8th)
- Type: Distance Learning
- Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

The Homestead Act of 1862 provided African Americans with the prospect of farm ownership. In Nebraska, Black homesteaders built successful farms from eastern tallgrass prairies to the arid Sandhills in the west and the intentional community of DeWitty, NE. Students will explore how Nebraska’s Black homesteaders persevered.
Chemistry of the Blacksmith's Forge
- Type: Student Activities
- Grade Levels: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade
Black Homesteaders on the Great Plains: Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (Adult)
Breaking into the Army Nurse Corps: How Black Nurses Demanded to Serve
- Type: Guest Speakers
- Grade Levels: Adult Education

How did African American women break into the Army Nurse Corps? The nurses of the Army Nurse Corps were an essential part of the war effort. The African American nurses fought to serve their country and to be there for the Black soldiers they treated. Though hurdles were laid in their way, these women succeeded in enlisting in the Army. Many Black nurses went on to serve around the world and perform ground-breaking research.
Black Homesteaders on the Great Plains: Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (9th - 12th)
- Type: Distance Learning
- Grade Levels: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade

The call of free land offered Black Americans a welcome reprieve from a cycle of poverty driven by sharecropping and racialized violence in the South. The Homestead Act of 1862 helped at least 3400 Black farmers build homes across the Great Plains. Homesteading attracted groundbreaking independent Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and agronomist and inventor George Washington Carver.
Black Homesteaders on the Great Plains: Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (6th - 8th)
- Type: Distance Learning
- Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

The call of free land offered Black Americans a welcome reprieve from a cycle of poverty driven by sharecropping and racialized violence in the South. The Homestead Act of 1862 helped at least 3400 Black farmers build homes across the Great Plains. Homesteading attracted groundbreaking independent Black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and agronomist and inventor George Washington Carver.
The Blacksmith in Society: Lesson 4 - The Price of Freedom
- Type: Lesson Plan
- Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
To show students how slaves were utilized and marketed to meet the economic needs of the slave owner. To acquaint students with strategies slaves utilized to gain freedom, i.e., purchase of their time, purchase of family members or self, escape or manumission. To demonstrate the earning potential of a typical 19th century blacksmith. To introduce documentation, written by slaves, describing the working conditions and life-styles of slaves.
The Blacksmith in Society Lesson Plan #5 - Revitalizing the Spirit
- Type: Lesson Plan
- Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
To illustrate how the use, conservation or depletion of natural resources affects an area. To show how people "return to nature" hoping to find inspiration that will help them cope with the stresses of their everyday lives. To tell how Franklin Roosevelt's economic recovery programs jumpstarted the American economy and left a legacy for future generations.
The Blacksmith in Society Lesson Plan #5 - Revitalizing the Spirit
- Type: Lesson Plan
- Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
To illustrate how the use, conservation or depletion of natural resources affects an area. To show how people "return to nature" hoping to find inspiration that will help them cope with the stresses of their everyday lives. To tell how Franklin Roosevelt's economic recovery programs jumpstarted the American economy and left a legacy for future generations.
The Blacksmith in Society: Lesson 1- Economic Incentives for Industrial Development
The Blacksmith in Society: Lesson 4 - The Price of Freedom Grades 6-8
- Type: Lesson Plan
- Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
To show students how slaves were utilized and marketed to meet the economic needs of the slave owner. To acquaint students with strategies slaves utilized to gain freedom, i.e., purchase of their time, purchase of family members or self, escape or manumission. To demonstrate the earning potential of a typical 19th century blacksmith. To introduce documentation, written by slaves, describing the working conditions and life-styles of slaves.
Lessons Learned In West Branch
- Type: Field Trips ... Student Activities
- Grade Levels: Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
From Iowa To The World
- Type: Field Trips ... Student Activities
- Grade Levels: Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade

How did daily life of a rural community in the 1870s and 1880s compare to our own daily lives? Did events of Herbert Hoover's childhood motivate his career in public service? What did Herbert Hoover do to be recognized as a good citizen of the world? A visit to historic buildings from President Hoover's childhood helps answer these questions.
Skills and Survival
- Type: Lesson Plan
- Grade Levels: High School: Ninth Grade through Twelfth Grade

By 1900, the cowboy’s world was changing. Gone were the days of trailing cattle as homesteaders claimed the vast public lands. Cowboys were confined to fenced-in ranches, where they were expected to do additional tasks to keep the ranch going. This lesson invites students to explore how cowboys used Grant-Kohrs Ranch’s repair shop to learn new skills and how learning helped them overcome change.