Northern Lights: The Stories of Minnesota's Past
Northern Lights Blog
Do you use the Northern Lights curriculum to bring Minnesota history to life for your students? Become part of our educator network. Use our blog to take part in the dialogue: ask fellow teachers for chapter lesson ideas, share your successful strategies, or give comments to the Society.
General Resources
- Historic Photographs of Minnesota
Minnesota Historical Society's online photo database - Minnesota Digital Library
Minnesota Reflections brings you more than 5,000 images shared by more than fifty cultural heritage organizations from across the state. - Minnesota: History of the Land
A documentary with 4 episodes which brings to life the stories of the people and landscape of Minnesota. Published by College of Natural Resources, University of Minnesota TPT Television - African American Stories in Minnesota
Learn how African Americans contributed to Minnesota history via tape recordings, role playing, maps, worksheets, etc in this curriculum kit - MN Jingo
A bingo type game. - Minnesota Jeopardy
A jeopardy game including categories in Minnesota history, people, geography, and symbols. Created by South Washington County Schools.
Chapter 6
- Night Flying
Woman
A book about a moving acount of the betrayal of Native Americans in Minnesota. - African
American Stories in Minnesota
See General Resources - Minnesota
State Parks: History Explorer Book
Fun activities and information on Minnesota history.
Chapter 7
- Night Flying Woman
A book about a moving acount of the betrayal of Native Americans in Minnesota - German Immigration to Minnesota
A History Day presentation on video - American Girl Books
Books depicting several different girls each living in a different time period in American history. For example, Kirsten was a Swedish immigrant who came to the Minnesota prairie in 1854. Published by American Girl, LLC.
Chapter 8
- Soldier's Heart
A book about a Minnesota man named Charlie who enlists in the 1st Minnesota volunteers during the Civil War at age 15 and learns the realities of war. - African American Stories in Minnesota
See General Resources
Chapter 9
- The Dakota Conflict
A video focused on the struggle for the Great Plains between the Dakota Indians and the European settlers. Published by Twin Cities Public Television, Inc. (1992) - German Immigration to Minnesota
A History Day presentation on video
Chapter 11
- Forest, Fields, and
Falls
Interactive website from the Minnesota Historical Society - If Trees Could Talk: A Curriculum in Environmental History
Produced by the Forest History Society in collaboration with Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, North Carolina State University, Project Learning Tree, and the North Carolina Forestry Association.
Chapter 12
- German Immigration to Minnesota
A History Day presentation on video
Chapter 13
- African American Stories in Minnesota
See General Resources - German Immigration to Minnesota
A History Day presentation on video - Cultivating the Wildflower: Indian Boarding Schools
A History Day senior group presentation on video. - If Trees Could Talk: A Curriculum in Environmental History
Produced by the Forest History Society in collaboration with Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, North Carolina State University, Project Learning Tree, and the North Carolina Forestry Association.
Chapter 14
- American Girl books
Chapter 18
- Duluth Lynchings Online Resource
Historical Documents relating to the June 15, 1920 lynchings in Duluth.
