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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Runaway Slaves: From the Revolution to the New Republic

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Who were the enslaved people in colonial America? Using ads from enslavers looking to recapture escaped people, young historians put faces and identities to them. Primary sources, such as wanted ads, help scholars reconstruct who these...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Colonial Tea Parties

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Most people know of the Boston Tea Party, but it was only one of similar protests throughout the colonies. Using a case study from Maryland, learners explore primary sources, including images and newspaper accounts of similar tea...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Native American Gender Roles in Maryland

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Toss gender roles out the window—some societies lived in a world where women not only possessed the family wealth but also were the farmers and butchers. Many Native American societies had more gender equity than European societies....
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Unit Plan
National University

Diversity and Inclusion

For Teachers 4th
Diversity and inclusion are the focus of a four-activity social and emotional learning unit designed for fourth graders. In the first activity, peers get to know one another by sharing an item that means something to them. Activity two...
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Activity
PBS

Out and About

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Field guides are a like a window into an ecosystem. Young scientists collaborate to create their own field guides by recording observations from a local ecosystem. Ideally, they collect information over time to create a more complete...
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Activity
PBS

Bogged Down

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Enjoy a hands-on lesson that will certainly hold water with your classes. Young scientists design an experiment to determine the materials that absorb water the best. They test both man-made and nature-made materials and conduct...
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Activity
PBS

House Warming

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Things should heat up during a hands-on lesson exploring solar energy. An enlightening activity challenges young scientists to design a structure that collects solar energy efficiently. They keep track of temperature data over time and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Creating a Graphic Novelette and Peer Critique: Sections 2, 3, and 4

For Teachers 5th Standards
Let's get creative! With the fun resource, pupils continue working on their graphic novelettes about an invention, adding text and images to each section. When finished, they engage in a peer critique process, giving and receiving...
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Lesson Plan
Bonneville

Simple Solar Tracker

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Let the solar cells fight each other for supremacy! Given a functional solar tracker that moves toward light, groups copy the design to build their own devices. They use two sets of solar cells that have reverse polarization, so that the...
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Lesson Plan
Bonneville

Solar Tracker Challenge

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Follow the light—not with one's eyes—but with a special solar tracker. Future engineers design and build a device that tracks light. They must build circuits in which solar cells rotate to receive equal amounts of light.
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Activity
PBS

Sink or Swim?

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
What's with all the numbers on plastic products? Learners complete an in-depth analysis of the physical properties of the different plastic types. They connect the properties of the plastics to uses and test their observation skills by...
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Activity
PBS

Plants Count

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Changes to habitats mean changes to resources. Groups examine aerial maps to predict areas of low and high plant resources. After formulating a plan, they visit the areas to collect data about the plant resources and then share their...
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Activity
PBS

Light Bulb Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Efficiency equals money where homes are concerned. A comparative lesson asks learners to measure heat output of incandescent and compact fluorescent light bulbs. They follow their investigation with calculating the cost of using the two...
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Activity
PBS

Going Green

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Trash is where it's at! Using bags of garbage collected from the school, learners sort the contents into categories based on type of material and collect data on the results. The data may include weight, volume, and/or percent of the trash.
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Activity
PBS

Color Code

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Don't let your brain play tricks on you! Learners test brain reaction rates while it is receiving multiple stimuli. They time each other reading a set of color words written in different colors and again when they are written in black....
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Activity
PBS

Breaking Point

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Leaf toughness can add to its herbivore appeal. Learns design an experiment to quantify leaf toughness and then perform their procedures. They follow the experiment with a set of questions that ask them to think about how leaf toughness...
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Activity
PBS

Blowin’ in the Wind

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Wind energy is making a comeback recently, and classes will want to take part! A hands-on lesson asks groups to build their own windmill that will lift a cup with varying weight. They use their windmill designs to experiment with angles,...
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Activity
PBS

Bird is the Word

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Tracking area birds can tell a lot about an ecosystem. Learners use that understanding as motivation to observe and record bird populations in their area. They use journaling to store their information and ultimately choose one bird as...
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Activity
PBS

All Tangled Up

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
It is a tangled web the ecosystem weaves. Learners begin an activity on ecosystem interactions by building a food chain and then a food web with yarn as a group. To finish, they research local environmental changes that may impact the...
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Activity
PBS

Super Sleuths

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
There's no such thing as the perfect crime! Your class of sleuths are ready to investigate the trace evidence at a crime scene and compare it to a list of suspects. They use their investigative skills to record physical properties of the...
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Activity
PBS

Print Hints

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
It would be a crime not to give the lesson a chance! An inquiry-based lesson has pupils assume the role of crime scene investigators as they make observations about shoe prints. They look for patterns in the prints such as distance and...
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Activity
PBS

No Slip Grip

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
The force will be with you during an inquiry-based lesson focused on friction. Young scientists explore the effect of different surfaces on friction. They use rubber bands to measure the amount of force needed to move an object on the...
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Activity
PBS

Insulation Station

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
It's all about the material. Learners experiment with different substances as they try to keep an ice cube from melting. They draw conclusions by answering a set of questions about the types and amount of material that had the best result.
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Activity
PBS

Twirling in the Breeze

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Blow classes away with a hands-on lesson investigating wind speed. Learners use common materials to design and construct anemometers. They then test their anemometers and collect data on the wind speed created by a fan.