Facing History and Ourselves
Social Media and Ferguson
How can social media help or hinder civil dialogue? How can information shared on social media be verified? As the investigation of media reports of the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown continues, class members read news...
Curated OER
The Ballad Of Captain Super
Engaging and fun, this lesson plan is a good way to reinforce context clues with this lesson plan, in which middle schoolers investigate literary puzzles. They apply critical thinking skills to codes in order to solve them. They use a...
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Explore José Martí's Poems
Explore Cuba and its fight for independence through José Martí's poems "Dos patrias" and "Yo soy un hombre sincero." Identify common themes and touch on various concepts (a list is provided here). Resources and additional activities are...
Facing History and Ourselves
Socratic Seminar
New to the socratic seminar format? Check out a resource that not only provides the rationale for the procedure and step-by-step directions, but also provides a list of suggested topics, rules and model statements.
Curated OER
The Gift of the Magi
Test the true meaning of giving - and irony - with this lesson about "The Gift of the Magi." Using textual analysis, details, and text organization, middle schoolers make predictions about future events in the story and determine the...
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Indianapolis 500 Unit-Science
Fourth graders access prior knowledge of simple machines to build a car. In this car design instructional activity, 4th graders create and race their cars. Students evaluate what was good and bad about their designs. Each car will...
Facing History and Ourselves
What Makes Memphis a Community?
Sixth graders explore the community identity of Memphis, Tennessee. After examining primary and secondary sources, class members describe the city and its attributes that make it a unique community.
Curated OER
Defining (Gay) Marriage
Students explore current events by researching the topic of gay marriage. For this equal rights lesson, students define the term "marriage" and read pro and anti-gay marriage opinions and articles. Students participate in an class...
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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Ninth graders read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." As they read the story, 9th graders list characters on a chart, define the characters as dynamic or static, make predictions of each character and justify their reasoning. Students...
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10 by 10 Tessellations
Fifth graders, with a partner, create tessellation patterns by playing 10 by 10 Tessellations. They need to use critical thinking skills to decide if pattern block plane figures tessellate and how each block best fits into the pattern.
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Colores del mundo
Young scholars are introduced to the names of colors in Spanish. After being shown artifacts, they identify and write the color of each object. They also create a coloring sheet in which they trade with their classmates when needed.
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Pastel Number Design and Number Sentencing
First graders discover artists who used numerals in their artwork. Using chalk pastels, they experiment with what the medium can do to a new piece of art. They review warm and cool colors, the concept of overlapping and how to use...
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Plants
Student identify the characteristics of plants. Through hands-on demonstration, they create a model of plant parts. Students differentiate between the major divisions of the plant kingdom with a particular emphasis on the vascular and...
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Plot Structure
Ninth graders review the parts of a plot sequence for a short story. They think of a famous Disney movie and plot the events of the movie in the correct plot sequence. They do the same for a comic strip, labeling the exposition, rising...
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The Imperialist Vision
Students explore imperialism and why the United States became an imperial power. After reading from their textbook and answering questions, students compare and contrast two political cartoons. They create a bubble map of events...
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Visual Arts- 3D Self-Sculpture
Students construct three dimensional self-portraits. In this visual arts lesson, students use clay to create a self-portrait. Students make the clay and discuss their self-portrait.
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Plein Air Drawing and Painting
Students plein air drawing. In this drawing skills lesson, students follow the provided steps that require them select natural objects and utilize plein air skills to complete their drawings.