Institute for Humane Education
Selling "Boy" and "Girl"
Monster trucks, action figures, and video games. Are these toys designed for boys or girls? Scholars work in small groups to find and categorize examples of boy and girl toys from catalogs. Next, learners analyze the two sets of pictures...
Curated OER
Splash & Splatter
Students research the work of Jackson Pollock, a 20th century painter. They experiment with splatter-painting methods and discover the meaning of field or action painting, terms used to describe Pollock's abstract work. Students apply...
Curated OER
Celebrate A People!
Learners explore African-American students literature as an integral building block in empowering all learners to a better awareness when reading and writing. They use as a productive Social Studies tool for overall understanding of the...
Curated OER
Royal Painting Workshop
Students study Emperor Akbar and his support of culture by examining an illustration from the Akbarnama. They explore Mughal illustration workshop practices and re-create those practices in their own version of an illustration for a...
Asian Art Museum
Create Your Own Samurai (Breastplate) Armor
Your class is going to love this activity. They get out their rulers, cardboard, and paints as they make Samurai breastplates. The simple art lesson lends itself to many different subjects such as, math/measurement, world history, and...
Advocates for Human Rights
Voices of Iraqi Refugees
The stated goal of this resource is to provide learners with basic facts about and build empathy for Iraqi refugees. To do so elementary classes develop a plan for how to welcome refugees to their classroom. Middle schoolers read...
Indian Land Tenure Foundation
A Leadership Chart
It's important for children to understand how they fit into their local or social community. They discuss leadership and who exemplifies a leader in their family, community, and school. Each child will create a quilt square by...
Curated OER
A Leopard Doesn’t Change Its Spots
First, introduce rank badges, which were used during the Qing Dynasty. Then, the class will work together to uncover the meaning of the images they see. They'll examine and research the meaning behind the symbols found on Leopard Rank...
Curated OER
Mexican Culture “La Raspa”
Here are three lessons that work together to engage learners in a cultural and musical exploration. In lesson one the listen to the Mexican folk song, "La Raspa" and discuss cultural context. In lesson two they dance along to both "La...
Curated OER
Hands are for Helping (Responsible Personal Conduct)
Youngster learn the importance of cooperation and sharing through a fun art project! Following a brief introductory discussion in which the class brainstorms how they can use their hands to share, youngster get divided into pairs to...
Curated OER
Faux Fossil Fun
Elementary schoolers investigate how fossils are created by reproducing the process of creating an impression and filling it with a hardening material. The art lessons from this source are just fantastic! The lesson plan is well-written...
Curated OER
The View From Here
Study the beauty of the landscape around you with an innovative art instructional activity. After discussing the foreground, background, and middle ground of landscape art, kids work on making their own piece of landscape art. The...
Lee & Low Books
First Come the Zebra Teacher’s Guide
Accompany a reading of First Come the Zebra written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch with a teacher's guide equipped with before reading, vocabulary, and after reading activities. Additional social studies,...
Curated OER
Presidential Picture
Students create miniature portraits of George Washington using a primary source image, watercolor pencils, colored pencils and white drawing paper. This Art lesson can be used as an introductory lesson on George Washington in a U.S....
Curated OER
I Like Me and I Like You
Learners use the book "I Like Me!" to create a context for investigating self-concept (how one feels about self). They have the objective of realizing their rights and responsibilities. Students work in small groups conducting interviews...
Teaching Tolerance
Musical Movement Showcase
Young performing artists create a song or choreograph a dance to illustrate a theme in a text they are reading. Step-by-step directions are included.
Teaching Tolerance
Fairness Fair
How can we create a more fair world? Chances are, class members have some ideas! After reading a text about fairness, individuals create skits around the ideas of fairness. Extend the learning and make their presentations a...
Teaching Tolerance
Identity Artifacts Museum
Who are you? It's a simple question, but younger learners have the opportunity to express their complex identities by making artifacts that represent parts of their identities. After engaging in the activity, they share who they are with...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What are Comfortable (Good) and Uncomfortable (Bad) Feelings?
Two puppets open a discussion about comfrotable and uncomfortable touches. Scholars add to the discussion information they remember from a previous lesson, then delve deep into three problem-solving safety rules, and explore...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving Placemats: A Community Service Project
Students complete a community service project to brighten the holidays. They work together at a food kitchen or shelter. They reflect on their experiences.
Curated OER
The American Revolution: A Play
No lesson accompanies this drama about the American Revolution. With 13 speaking roles, the short script could be used for a class production, a lesson on the parts of a play, or to supplement your social studies curriculum.
Curated OER
Numbers in Art
Students choose a number from one to twelve and tell a number story about it. They listen to the teacher read "Numbers in Art" by Lucy Micklethwait. Students choose three numbers from one to twelve and view works of art while looking for...
Curated OER
Art Museum Visit
Students engage in a lesson plan designed to be used before visiting The Orange County Museum of Art in California. They are exposed to works of art from a featured artist and recreate some of his work in the classroom. Students also...
Curated OER
Work
Students identify productive resources. In this economics instructional activity, students read the book Charlie Needs a Cloak and discuss productive resources the character used in the book. Students participate in a simulated factory...