Education Resources For the Classroom

Below are freely available lesson plans and other education resources you can incorporate in your curriculum to get your students involved with local history and cultural heritage. Contact the Archives if you have any questions, or contact the creators directly through the links provided below.

Hear, Here is an oral history project that offers educators a unique opportunity to engage students with place-based, first-person narratives about the city of La Crosse and its community.

Each Hear, Here story is about 1-6 minutes long and gives a glimpse into local history.

The Widening the Circle Education Conference has been held annually in La Crosse since 2004. It is meant to provide resources to educators and future educators on Indigenous and Hmoob history education. To learn more about the conference and upcoming dates, visit the Cia Siab, Inc. website.

Since 2010, Widening the Circle has expanded their programming to include year-round outreach activities, such as:

• Native American and Hmong traditional organic gardens
• wild rice and cultural camps
• youth programs
• visiting organizations, schools, and institutions to help develop curriculum and do trainings

They also provide resources for educators creating their own lesson plans that incorporate Indigenous and Hmoob history.

Recommended resources:

• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's Bibliography for American Indian Studies, which includes resources about education, as well as teaching materials for grades K-12 and beyond.
• Wisconsin First Nations' site for Ho-Chunk History curriculum (created by Paul Rykken) for Black River Falls, which can be adapted for other schools occupying Ho-Chunk land.
• Hmong Studies Journal's Bibliography of resources about Hmoob history and culture.