Lesson Plan - Webquest: Building an Historic District

A Lesson Plan for Grade 8 Social Studies

By Jennifer Job, School of Education, UNC-Chapel Hill

Students will use historic overlay maps to design a historic district in a North Carolina town. Students will use the design to show understanding of important places within the town and how changes occur within the town.

This lesson plan is available as a formatted worksheet which can be printed and distributed. Download the worksheet by clicking the title: historic_district_k12.pdf


Detail from Gray's new map of Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina, 1882.

Time Required: One 90-minute class period

Materials and Resources:


Teacher Instructions:

  1. This lesson is meant to be accompanied by informative lessons on late 19th-century North Carolina.
  2. Give students the Webquest handout to work from.
  3. Students may work in pairs.
  4. The teacher may decide to assign specific areas of Oxford to work from or allow students to choose.

Assessment Activity: Webquests may be collected for assessment.


North Carolina Curriculum Alignment

5.01: Identify the role played by the agriculture, textile, tobacco, and furniture industries in North Carolina, and analyze their importance in the economic development of the state.

5.03: Describe the social, economic, and political impact of migration on North Carolina.

5.04: Identify technological advances, and evaluate their influence on the quality of life in North Carolina.