Student Activity Guide
Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story
The Student Activity Guide provides educators with a comprehensive set of resources to support instruction using Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story. Aligned to all twelve chapters, these materials include primary source activities, interactive whiteboard files, and the complete collection of student assessments. Designed to meet or exceed Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Social Studies Standards for grades 3–5, the guide offers flexible tools to enhance the teaching of Wisconsin history.
Features of the Guide
Primary Sources at Your Fingertips
Students will see fascinating excerpts from letters, journals, and autobiographies as well as pictures, maps, and other documents presented in small, easy-to-teach chunks.
Activities for Every Learning Style
Cross-curricular activities make the textbook material accessible to all learners. These include drawing, hands-on work, modeling, simulation, computer/Internet, map-work, drama, games, and music.
Chapter Based Assessments
This section includes the complete collection of assessments originally published in the Student Activity Guide for Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story.
All assessments are provided as Microsoft Word documents, allowing teachers to easily edit, adapt, and customize them to meet the needs of their individual classrooms.
Assessment Downloads
Chapter 1: Connecting to Our State's Story
Chapter 2: Wisconsin: A Place with a Past
Chapter 3: Wisconsin's First People
Chapter 4: Fur Trade Era: Exploration and Exchange in Wisconsin
Chapter 5: From Indian Lands to Territory to Statehood
Chapter 6: Coming to Wisconsin: Immigration and Settlement
Chapter 7: Wisconsin and the Civil War
Chapter 8: Lead, Soil, and Saw Dust, 1820-1914
Chapter 9: Transportation and Industry Change Wisconsin
Chapter 10: Good Times, Hard Times, and Better Times
Interactive Whiteboard Activities
This section provides interactive whiteboard resources aligned to each chapter of Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story, designed to support engaging and flexible instruction in Wisconsin history
The files were created using SMART Notebook 11 software and work best with SMART interactive whiteboard hardware. They can also be imported into Promethean ActivInspire systems by selecting File, then Import, and choosing SMART Notebook File. These resources are intended to add versatility to your lessons.
Special Thanks
Access to the Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story interactive whiteboard content and activities was made possible through a generous grant from the Jane Bradley Pettit Foundation, with additional support from the Herzfeld Foundation.
Accessing Interactive Whiteboard Files
To view or download these documents, you need a login and password. Login information is provided to school districts that have purchased a classroom set. Please contact us for your login and password.
See tips for Using Your Interactive Whiteboard Activities.
Whiteboard Activities Downloads
Chapter 1 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 10.8 MB) Connecting to Our State's Story
Chapter 2 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 12 MB) Materials for Chapter 2 - Wisconsin: A Place with a Past
Chapter 3 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 161 MB) Materials for Chapter 3 - Wisconsin's First People
Chapter 4 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 11 MB) Materials for Chapter 4 - The Fur Trade Era: Exploration and Exchange in Wisconsin
Chapter 5 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 22 MB) Materials for Chapter 5 - From Indian Lands to Territory to Statehood
Chapter 6 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 143 MB) Materials for Chapter 6 - Coming to Wisconsin: Immigration and Settlement
Chapter 7 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 9 MB) Materials for Chapter 7 - Wisconsin and the Civil War
Chapter 8 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 345 MB) Materials for Chapter 8 - Lead, Soil, and Saw Dust, 1820-1914
Chapter 9 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 164 MB) Materials for Chapter 9 - Transportation and Industry Change Wisconsin
Chapter 10 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 198 MB) Materials for Chapter 10 - Good Times, Hard Times, and Better Times
Chapter 11 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 132 MB) Materials for Chapter 11 - New Opportunities, New Challenges
Chapter 12 SMART Notebook Activities
(.notebook format, 1.7 MB) Materials for Chapter 12 - A Place with a Future
Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story
Discover the events and people that shaped our past—from the retreat of the glaciers 10,000 years ago; to the Menominee, Ho-Chunk, and Ojibwe peoples who have lived here for countless generations; to the immigrants from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America who have settled here—and the stories that make Wisconsin what it is today. Share the many ways that primary sources—personal objects, photos, documents, and more—help illuminate our state’s history.
English and Español versions available in print and digital format.
Explore the Textbook
