Smithsonian Institution
Students’ Response to 9/11—A Documentary Report
Young historians research the devastating attacks of 9/11 and use that information to script their own documentaries. The follow-up activity includes recording the documentary and conducting classmate interviews,
Museum of the Moving Image
Evaluating Information: Focus on the 2008 Election
Just how true is the information contained in political ads? Determining the veracity of campaign ads from the 2008 presidential race is the focus of a instructional activity that introduces class members to several fact-checking resources.
Student Handouts
Get to Know Me Sheet
Your students will be eager to fill you in on who they are and what they're all about with this great mad-lib-style introduction worksheet.
Curated OER
Mind Over Magazines
Young scholars watch the video "Behind Closed Doors" and discuss their reactions. They, in groups, review popular magazines and identify any unrealistic body images that are presented and then explore how these images promote a negative...
Curated OER
What's Up?
Students examine the vocabulary and objects associated with objects in the sky and weather. They observe the sky outside of their classroom and create a list of things in the sky. Students then analyze a poster, read and discuss key...
NASA
NASA
Everything you have ever wanted to know about our solar system, space exploration, and more can be found here. Be prepared to clear your schedule; you will be sucked into the app like a star into a black hole.
Curated OER
Running On Empty
Students research causes of rising gasoline prices. They collect data on fluctuating gasoline prices and analyze the data using Excel. They write comparative essays supporting their results and create PowerPoint presentations to present...
Curated OER
Images, Empathy, and the Humanitarian Impulse
Students study humanitarian intervention and its role in society. For this politics lesson students view a video on Darfur and discuss what they learned.
University of Wisconsin
Getting the Word Out
An appropriate way to celebrate and conclude the construction of a rain garden is to share it with the community. Small groups collaborate to design an outreach product such as a PowerPoint presentation, brochure, or poster, to draw...
PBS
Blow the Roof Off!
Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics from making...
Curated OER
Punctuation
Should that pause in your sentence be long, short, or somewhere in between? Practice using commas and semicolons with a series of grammar activities. High schoolers read a series of sentences and paragraphs and decide where they should...
Curated OER
This Is Your Brain on Pot
Students explore the causes and effects of marijuana addiction and research how THC affects different areas of the brain. They synthesize their knowledge by creating print advertisements that inform teenagers about the physiologic danger...
Curated OER
Values and Images Reflected in TV Commercials
Students view commercials from American and Latin American cultures and discuss the values and selling strategies used in each commercial.
Hot Docs
Docs for School: Viewing and Teaching Guide
Teaching documentary in your class? Inform your instruction with a guide meant to support teachers as they begin with documentary. The resource includes information on what a documentary is as well as documentary modes, elements, and...
Perfection Learning
Prefixes, Suffixes, and Root Words/Base Words
Get your class on track with their affixes by covering prefixes, suffixes, and root words in depth. This short three-lesson unit includes vocabulary lists to study, detailed plan procedures, and some accompanying worksheets.
Curated OER
Stretching the Truth
Sixth graders visualize different percentages as parts of a whole on visual images. They observe alterations of photographs, and models of circles, squares and sets. This incredibly detailed, eight-page plan leads you through everything...
Curated OER
The First World War
Students examine the process and effects of World War I on different segments of the population, beyond the political, diplomatic and military framework of the war. They analyze the memoirs of soldiers, read poetry of the time, and...
Curated OER
Maus Lesson Plan
The artistic choices Art Spiegelman made in his graphic novel, Maus, are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare classic comic book forms with Spiegelman’s panels and frames. Directed to specific pages and guided by a...
Curated OER
Music and Emotion
Young scholars identify the various emotions created by different types of music. They Identify role of music in creating various emotions for film and television . They observe and practice various ways of playing percussion...
Curated OER
Dear Miss Florence: Writing Letters To the Boardinghouse for Artists
Imagine being one of the painters in 1910 at the Lyme Art Colony in Connecticut. Using the Florence Griswold Museum's on-line resources to gather information about the daily life of artists at the boardinghouse, learners write a letter...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
I Need a Superhero
Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey focusing...
Curated OER
Food Advertising Tricks
Young scholars recognize techniques used to make food look appealing on television and in advertising, and explore the separate elements that compose media messages and products.
Curated OER
News Journalism Across the Media: Introduction
Although students are aware of news as information that influences their perceptions of the world, they are often unaware of the various ways to present that information. Encourage them to investigate, discuss, analyze and make valuable...