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Lesson Plan
Little Kids Rock

The Latin Rhythms of “Despacito”

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
When you hear the first few beats of "Despacito," the unrivaled Latin pop hit of 2017, you can't keep your feet from moving! A music analysis lesson plan examines the intoxicating hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and introduces the...
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Unit Plan
Odell Education

Building Evidence-Based Arguments: "Cuplae poena par esto: Let the punishment fit the crime."

For Teachers 11th Standards
Should a criminal's punishment match the crime? An argumentative writing plan explores this question as class members investigate a variety of mixed-medium sources by experts in the field, form evidence-based claims, and support them...
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Unit Plan
Bill of Rights Institute

Preserving the Bill of Rights

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Consider how America's founding fathers and their experiences contributed to the rights we all enjoy today. A collection of reading, writing, and collaborative exercises prompt high schoolers to think about the ways their current lives...
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Lesson Plan
NPR

Civil Rights of Japanese-American Internees

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...
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Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

Historical Detective: Edward Alexander Bouchet and the Washington-Du Bois Debate over African-American Education

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Young scientists meet Edward Alexander Bouchet who, in 1876, was the first African American to receive a PhD in Physics. This two-part lesson first looks at the debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois about the type of...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Gettysburg Address: Abraham Lincoln's Greatest Speech

For Teachers 4th - 12th Standards
Most Americans have heard of the Gettysburg Address, but may not know what it means and why is it so important. Following guidance and scaffolded prompts, scholars analyze the short document that left an undeniable impact on the American...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Joshua Chamberlain Lesson Plan

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
While Joshua Chamberlain's name is not as iconic as Abraham Lincoln or Robert E. Lee, he still played a pivotal role in the military engagements of the Civil War. Using two secondary sources—including one that draws heavily from his...
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Unit Plan
Odell Education

Reading Closely for Textual Details: "And I am willing to lay down all my joys in this life..."

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Look closely, some details are hidden! Scholars learn how to find attributes by first examining characteristics in illustrations and then move to locating details in text with close reading. The teacher models good practices for...
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Unit Plan
Odell Education

Reading Closely for Textual Details: "We, as a people, will get to the promised land!"

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Take another look—there are probably more details than readers realize. Scholars analyze nine texts in a five-part unit that contains 21 activities to find textual details. Activities include close reading, independent reading,...
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Unit Plan
Odell Education

Making Evidence-Based Claims: "The Souls of Black Folk" by W.E.B. Du Bois

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Scholars dig deep into the text of W.E.B. Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk and analyze his position that black people must be aware of how they see themselves as well as how the world sees them. The instructor and readers work through the...
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Lesson Plan
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Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary

Franklin’s Philadelphia: Another Point of View

For Teachers 12th - Higher Ed Standards
The impressive story of Benjamin Franklin, including his rise from a printer’s apprentice to a statesman, color upper-level scholars’ understanding of the possibilities of life in colonial Philadelphia. But not everyone had the...
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Lesson Plan
Newseum

Decoding an Editorial Cartoon

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What advantages do political cartoons have over written editorials? Scholars discuss the topic by exploring editorial cartoons. Working in small groups, pupils analyze an Uncle Sam cartoon and complete a worksheet. As a fun extension,...
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Lesson Plan
Ford's Theatre

A Comparison of Lincoln’s Inaugural Addresses

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Speech, speech! Analyzing speeches is no easy task. High schoolers learn the important process of annotation as they work together to analyze Lincoln's inaugural address. Then groups of four work to annotate a second speech at a more...
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Lesson Plan
College Board

Reading—Synthesis and Paired Passages

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Good readers make connections between texts. The SAT regularly assesses the ability to make those connections using paired reading passages, a topic discussed in an official SAT practice lesson plan on synthesis. During the lesson,...
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Lesson Plan
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Social Media Toolbox

Social Media Survey

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Survey says ... social media is here to stay! How do the pupils in your school use social media? Using instructional activity four from a 16-part series, The Social Media Toolbox, learners study surveys and create their own. The resource...
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Lesson Plan
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Social Media Toolbox

Social Media Usage

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Is there a difference in the way organizations present news via social media and in print? The third in a series of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox explores news outlets and their delivery methods. Groups follow a story for a...
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Unit Plan
American Bar Association

News Literacy Model Curriculum in Social Studies

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...
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Lesson Plan
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution

Lesson 3: What Makes Attitudes Towards Education Change over Time?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...
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Lesson Plan
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Daughters of the American Revolution

Lesson 2: How Do We Determine the Value of Education?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Have women always had the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts? Young historians read an 1819 essay by Emma Willard on the state of female education in the 19th century before discussing their views regarding women's...
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Lesson Plan
Daughters of the American Revolution

Lesson 1: How Do Society’s Expectations Influence Education?

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
The history of women's education can be traced back to the delicate stitching of student samplers from the 19th century. Modern-day pupils examine and analyze four primary sources, three of which are images of embroidered samplers, which...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Evolution of the Presidency: Theodore Roosevelt to Franklin D. Roosevelt

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
How much power should a president be allowed to exert? Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt exercised their power according to their interpretations of the United States Constitution, and these interpretations affected the...
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Worksheet
Read Works

Columbus Reports on His First Voyage, 1493

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
What did Christopher Columbus have to say about his exploration of the Caribbean? Young historians have a chance to examine Columbus' own words about his voyage to Cuba and Santo Domingo. After reading Columbus' report, pupils respond to...
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Assessment
Fluence Learning

Writing About Informational Text: Political Parties

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
To demonstrate their ability to craft an analysis of informational text, class members read excerpts from James Madison's "The Federalist No. 10," from George Washington's Farewell Address, and from Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Immigration: Stories, Struggles and Debates

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Considering including Tatyana Kleyn's Immigration: The Ultimate Teen Guide as part of your course? Check out this curriculum guide designed for use with her book. The activities help learners understand the complexity of the immigration...