Curated OER
Pass the Poetry
Students read various poems daily. For this poetry lesson, students are exposed to poetry each day in a variety of ways. There are several ideas on how to incorporate poetry into the classroom on a daily basis as well as a list of...
Curated OER
Classroom Planetarium
Students work in groups to create the planets of the solar system. In this planets lesson, students create a hanging solar system taking into account the size, shape and position of the planets. Students discuss the gravity on each...
TPS Journal
Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event.
Curated OER
Learning Life Lessons through Fables
Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Space Travel Guide
Looking to take a trip? Why not go to space? Here, scholars take on the role as travel agent to create a guide to their favorite planet including travel tips and sightseeing recommendations.
Curated OER
Immigration History Firsthand
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this immigration lesson, students conduct research regarding Ellis Island and the American immigrant experience. Students use...
Curated OER
Forest Ecosystem
Students take a field trip and explore a temperate rainforest. In this rainforest lesson plan, students discuss many items they see on their journey and experiment with different tree leaves.
Curated OER
Childhood Lost: Child Labor in the United States, 1830-1930
Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...
Curated OER
Compare Two Versions: Folk Tales, Sequencing, and Summary
Compare two versions of "The Three Little Pigs" (traditional and Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, told from the wolf's point of view). As your 4th graders recount the familiar version of the story, emphasize the...
Curated OER
My Money
Young scholars identify and interpret the relationships between various components of currency, discusses the uses of money, and provides advanced lessons on making change. They also identify the various ways that money is used and how...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Twinning At-Risk Students
Students at-risk in high school and primary grades pair up to read and write together. They create books modeled after authors and illustrators. They hold a parents' day to display their completed books.
Curated OER
THE TRAVELS OF BABAR: An Adventure in Scales
Learners locate and identify the seven continents. They use longitude and latitude in establishing a location. Students enhance the knowledge of geographical location with cultures. Individuals or small groups research multiple aspects...
Curated OER
Ancient Egypt Alphabet Book
Students research Ancient Egypt using a specific letter of the alphabet as a guide. In this Ancient Egypt lesson, students independently research their assigned topic using ProQuest or other research software. Once students have...
Curated OER
Exploring The Columbian Exposition
Fourth graders listen to a read aloud of a book that provides background information on the Columbian Exposition. They research the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition and the city of Chicago at the turn of the century and create a...
Curated OER
Plants, Animals and Our Environment
Students draw and label the basic needs of animals. They draw and label the basic needs of plants. Students understand the basic needs of plants and animals are not only the same, but are interrelated. They know that the environment...
Curated OER
Trash! How Cities Work: Dealing with Garbage in the US and India
Students identify how different cultures deal with the challenge of trash. Read an excerpt from a chapter book based on real life written from the Southern Indian perspective. Describe the life of a street child in Southern India....
Curated OER
A Yuccy Situation
Students examine the concept of nuclear waste storage. For this interdisciplinary lesson, students research Yucca Mountain in order to compare and contrast opposing views regarding the nuclear waste site there. Students compose a letter...
National First Ladies' Library
Where's Amelia?
Learners examine the life and accomplishments of Amelia Earhart and her status as a role model for women. After researching Earhart, they select another person they think is courageous and write a dialog between the two heroes as if they...
National First Ladies' Library
How a Bill Becomes a Law
High schoolers engage in the democratic process and to learn how a bill become a law. Then they write a bill they would like as law in their classroom. Young scholars also form committees that will review the list of bills to determine...
Curated OER
Let the Phone Get Them Talking! Using the Yellow Pages as a Teaching Resource
Students categorize information in the Yellow Pages. In this Let the Phone Book Get Them Talking! lesson, students find pictures in the Yellow Pages and thus gain a better understanding of how the book is organized. Students locate local...
Curated OER
Native Americans in Arkansas: The Quapaw
The Quapaw Indians of Arkansas are the focus of this American history lesson. Learners discover many aspects of the Quapaw culture, such as their dwellings, social organization, food, and how the tribe was eventually driven out of...
Curated OER
The Extinction and Rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
An incredibly thorough, and well-designed lesson plan teaches youngsters about the presumed extinction and rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas. Learners discuss the environmental factors that led to the birds...
Curated OER
Teaching Justice: Schooling and the Four Waves of U.S. Immigration
U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Over the course of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on...