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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 9: The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller

For Teachers 5th Standards
A novel study examines The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller. Fifth graders participate in daily readings, discussions, and assignments following an "ask, explore, imagine, observe, and understand" routine. A final performance...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 8: Native Americans

For Teachers 5th Standards
Over five weeks, fifth graders listen to and discuss reading passages that explore the connection between Native Americans and nature. Following daily readings, scholars practice word work, including prefixes, root words, suffixes,...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 7: Poetry

For Teachers 5th Standards
Over the course of a 12-lesson language arts unit, young scholars analyze a variety of poems taking a close look at figurative language and tone. They learn to compare and contrast, improve comprehension, and identify settings. To...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 6: The Reformation

For Teachers 5th Standards
Over three weeks, fifth graders read about and discuss the Reformation which saw religion and politics shift across Europe. Following daily readings, young scholars practice spelling, grammar, and morphology skills such as prefixes,...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 5: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 4: The Renaissance

For Teachers 5th Standards
The Renaissance is the theme of a five-week unit designed to boost reading comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and expository writing skills. Scholars listen to and discuss daily readings and engage in skills practice activities...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 3: Adventures of Don Quixote

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders explore the Adventures of Don Quixote in a four-week language arts unit. Scholars listen to and discuss a new chapter each day as well as examine vocabulary and practice word work including suffixes, subject-verb agreement,...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 2: Early American Civilizations

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders explore early American civilizations in a four-week ELA unit. Every lesson offers an opportunity to read and discuss a selected passage followed by word work that covers vocabulary, grammar, and morphology. Learners write...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 1: Contemporary Fiction - They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid’s Poems by David Bowles

For Teachers 5th Standards
They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Women’s Rights: What Does It Mean to Be Equal?

For Teachers 7th
A guided-inquiry lesson asks seventh graders to research the compelling question, "What does it mean to be equal?" Guided by three supporting questions, researchers complete three formative performance tasks and gather evidence from...
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

A History of the United States

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
This 262-page Core Knowledge teacher guide presents an overview of the two-volume History of the United States program designed for middle schoolers. The guide includes information about the learning strategies used, a pacing guide, the...
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eBook
Core Knowledge Foundation

Volume 2 - A History of the United States: Modern Times—Late 1800s to the 2000s

For Students 7th - 8th Standards
The second volume of the Core Knowledge History of the United States ebook begins by asking young scholars to consider the impact immigration, industrialization, and urbanization had on the United States in the late 1800s. The text ends...
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eBook
Core Knowledge Foundation

Volume 1 - A History of the United States: Precolonial to the 1800s

For Students 7th - 8th Standards
Volume One of the 299-page Core Knowledge History of the United States covers events from the Precolonial Period to the 1800s.
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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

The Civil War

For Teachers 5th Standards
A unit covers many aspects of the Civil War. Over six weeks, fifth graders delve deep into the history of slavery, the Civil War—before, during, and after—Abraham Lincoln, women's contributions, the Emancipation Proclamation, and...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?

For Teachers 7th Standards
"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
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Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

Celebrity Social Responsibility: Does Celebrity Require Social Responsibility?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Is much required of those to whom much is given? That's the central question asked of middle schoolers in this lesson. Scholars consider the actions of Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Colin Kaepernick, Lady Gaga, and others who have taken...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

OPTIC - A Reading Strategy Recipe: Visual Literacy

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A visual literary lesson provides learners with OPTIC (Observations, Predictions, Themes, Inferences, Conclusions), a reading strategy to help them understand and interpret visual and written texts. Scholars practice the strategy with a...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Changemakers Lesson Plans

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Teens and tweens are invited to become changemakers in a five-lesson unit, asking them to investigate and share what they have learned about exemplary, contemporary Native Americans. They gather facts about their research subject, record...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Impact of the U.S. Expansion on Indigenous People and Stereotypes About Native American People

For Teachers 4th - 5th Standards
The 2004 U.S. bicentennial sparks a discussion about its meaning and importance to United States history. Readings, maps, tables, and reflective writing prompt small groups to explore the westward expansion, Lewis and Clark, and how...
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Lesson Plan
1
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Anti-Defamation League

The Revealers: Discussion Guide for Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Suspense! Rebellion! Cyberbullying! No wonder Doug Wilhelm's novel The Revealers appeals to middle schoolers. Instructors new to using the novel and experienced veterans will find this discussion guide invaluable. Discussion questions,...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Anti-Bias Mini-Film Festival

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Imagine a resource that provides all the materials you need to organize a film festival. Imagination becomes a reality with a five-star resource that has done all the work for you. Eight different award-winning short films are featured...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

8 Ideas for Teaching National Hispanic Heritage Month

For Teachers K - 12th Standards
Here are eight ideas to celebrate National Hispanic Month! Scholars have the opportunity to read and discuss literature, include people and events in history, examine art, watch and discuss films, listen to and dance to music, explore...
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Dolls Are Us

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Representation matters! A lesson examines the looks of dolls and discusses whether the design is inclusive or not. Scholars create a paper doll representing a characteristic about themselves or highlights another diverse quality....
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Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

Who Am I? Identity Poems

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
A lesson celebrating identity begins with a something-about-me activity, then moves on to writing favorite words. Class members then brainstorm metaphors and comparisons and read a poem to inspire their poetic abilities. Scholars craft...