John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Red States/Blue States: Mapping the Presidential Election
Young historians investigate how voting patterns have changed by comparing the outcome of the 1960 election to the outcome of the recent election. A creative final assessment has participants making a news show wherein they provide...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Clotilde, The Last Slave Ship
The Clotilde was the last known ship to bring slaves from Africa to the United States - good riddance! Dive into the details of the ship, its cargo, origin, and route, and learn about the future of the Africans on board with a...
Learning to Give
Why Volunteer?
Inspire scholars to volunteer their time to make a positive change in their community. With help from research, a public speaker, and reflection, learners define and asses what it takes to be a volunteer in a business, non-profit,...
Giraffe Heroes Project
It’s Up to Us
The Giraffe Heroes Program is designed for teens willing to stick their necks out to make a difference, and to create community service projects that tackle real world problems. The resource guides teens to choose an issue, design a...
Washington University in St. Louis
Teaching Jazz as American Culture
Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...
National Wildlife Federation
Master P in the House: An All School Energy and Climate Change Plan
A person in the US uses 20 times more energy than a person in India—that's a drastic difference! The final lesson in the 12-part series goes back to the initial energy audits, analyzes which room showed the most conservation of energy,...
National Wildlife Federation
Yesterday: Our Energy Needs Over Time
How has our relationship to energy changed over time? An engaging exploration challenges learners to create a timeline showing human energy needs and uses over time. Scholars review what timelines are, choose a 50-year period in history...
National Wildlife Federation
It's All in the Name: Weather Versus Climate
What goes up when rain comes down? An umbrella! Activity eight in the series of 12 explores weather and climate. In pairs, participants analyze maps, watch a short video, create a weather forecast, and complete a reading to determine the...
National Wildlife Federation
By Air, Land, or Sea: The Formation and Location of Our Natural Resources
Coal forms from the ancient remains of plants that were alive on Earth before the dinosaurs! Scholars use their t-charts from the previous lesson over resources and research to determine if their information is correct. Through analysis...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Recent Weather Patterns
Decide whether weather is changing! A two-part activity first challenges classes to review the differences between weather and climate. Once finished, individuals then analyze historical data to determine if climate change is happening...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
It is unknown if cloud cover increases in response to carbon dioxide levels changing, helping climate change slow down, or if cloud cover decreases, allowing Earth to warm faster. Part four in the series of five lessons has classes...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Personal Choices and the Planet
The last activity in the series of four has individuals determine steps they can take to reduce their carbon footprints and then analyze their schools' recycling programs. Through a sustainability audit, they identify how and where their...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Natural and Human Causes
Part three in the series of seven has pupils discussing the different greenhouses gases, learning about the carbon cycle, and then watching a short video about the carbon cycle. Based on their knowledge, individuals complete a greenhouse...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Impacts on Ecosystem Services
The fourth activity in a series of five has classes participate in a jigsaw to learn about global impacts of climate change and then share their new information with a home group. Groups then research impacts of climate change (droughts,...
Curated OER
Educating Children about Autism in an Inclusive Classroom
How do we meet the needs of learners with autism? Find out with an in-depth study that offers a thorough explanation of autism—what it is and how unique every individual's case may be, nine lesson plans spanning from kindergarten to 12th...
Teach Engineering
Air Pollution in the Pacific Northwest
Scholars investigate levels of nitrogen dioxide in the Pacific Northwest by examining the role of nitrogen in air pollution and how remote sensing can be used to measure nitrogen levels. An Excel spreadsheet calculates the difference...
Curriculum Corner
May Writing Ideas
From Cinco de Mayo to Endangered Species day to National Hamburger Month, May is full of ideas to write about. Give young writers prompts that have everything to do with the month of May. Topics include writing a story, conducting...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Impacts of Climate Change
Scholars become experts on the eight major impacts of climate change through a jigsaw and grand conversation. They then research and present what they learned about effects specific to their region.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Greenhouse Gas Emissions — Natural and Human Causes
What impact do humans have on greenhouse gas emissions? What are the natural causes of these gasses? Thanks to the carbon cycle, carbon dioxide eats away at the earth's atmosphere with the intensified help of humans. Young scientists...
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Don't Mess with Mercury (Lesson B)
At one point, people thought mercury was therapeutic for humans, but now we know it is highly toxic. The second of three activities covering mercury focuses on its health hazards if humans are exposed. Pairs research and answer questions...
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Don't Mess with Mercury (Lesson A)
Mercury is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature. Teach your class this and many more interesting mercury facts by assigning an engaging task. A public relations activity, the exercise informs pupils of the hazards of...
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Don't Mess with Mercury (Lesson C)
The health effects of mercury exposure if the focus of the first of three activities about the properties of metals. Pairs research mercury to write, prepare, and share posters, articles, or PSAs with the class.
Tennessee State Museum
Understanding Women’s Suffrage: Tennessee’s Perfect 36
Tennessee was the pivotal state in ratifying women's suffrage in 1920, with its vote coming down to one man: Harry Burn, a 24-year old state representative who changed his nay to an aye on the advice of his mother. Learn more about...
World Intellectual Property Organization
Learn from the Past, Create the Future: Inventions and Patents
3D printers, selfie sticks, smart watches. GPS, self-driving cars, YouTube. Imagine life without inventions. Believe it or not, these items were all invented in the last 10 years. Inventions, and the inventors responsible for them, are...