Nebraska 150 Sesquicentennial Teacher Resource Site

Nebraska Sesquentennial

This website is to help guide you/your students with Nebraska Resources.

Virtual Capitol

Classrooms of students regularly visit the Nebraska State Capitol each year. The Virtual Capitol Tour is a computer website created by Nebraska Educational Television (NET) that provides the ability to explore the Capitol in amazing detail from any classroom with an internet connection. Using computer generated avatars, the Sower, buffalo and features of the Capitol come to life and help to tell the history of the state, understand state government and inspire students to be engaged citizens. Many schools around the state are too far away to visit the Capitol as part of a field-trip but with the Virtual Capitol Tour students can now experience the Capitol as if they were walking through the halls of the building. Educational research has found that to make a field-trip a lasting educational experience, it is important that students engage in lessons prior to and following the field-trip. Pre and post field-trip lessons have been developed and classroom tested by Nebraska teachers and are available on the website below.

Virtual Capitol Website

Virtual Capitol Lessons
Social Studies Lessons
Civic Participation: How to Become Good Citizens
The Civil War with Primary Documents
Classroom Government
The Gold Rush, 1849
Homestead Act: Free Land! Free Land!
Honoring Nebraskans for Their Service
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Public Service Panels at the Memorial Chamber
Native American Symbolism
The Blizzard of 1888

Economic Lessons
Building the Capitol with Capital Resources
Special Taxes
Memorializing Service
How the Unicameral Spends Taxpayers’ Money
Great Plains Homestead Economy and Technology
Factors of Production and the Homestead Act
Navigating Ag Resources in Nebraska
Banking in Early Nebraska
William Jennings Bryan

Nebraska Atlas

Classroom sets of the colorful Nebraska Student Atlas have been distributed by ESU’s across the state of Nebraska. The atlas is designed to be integrated into the 4th grade Nebraska Studies curriculum in order to enhance and improve the understanding of history, geography, civics, and economics concepts.

If your school has not received the 4th Grade student atlas’, please contact:
Deb Hericks
dhericks@esucc.org
402-597-4843

Frequently Asked Questions

Lessons
Teacher’s Guide to Atlas
Exercise 1: Compare & Contrast Nebraska
Exercise 2: Latitude and Longitude
Exercise 3: Measuring Nebraska
Exercise 4: Water, Water, Everywhere
Exercise 5: Nebraska Scavenger Hunt
Exercise 6: Population

Giganto Map

map

The Giganto Nebraska State Map is a wonderful resource that is available to teachers across the state. The map has interdisciplinary lessons that teach economics, history, geography civics, science and math. The maps are available for checkout at ESU #1, ESU #11, Gretna Public Schools, Millard Public Schools and Omaha Public Schools. In addition, Geographic Educators of Nebraska (GEON) has two maps available statewide.