Curated OER
Memorial Day Shoebox Parade
Learners examine the history of U.S. conflict and Memorial Day. They conduct research, develop a timeline of U.S. conflict, and create a shoebox Memorial Day parade to commemorate veterans and soldiers.
Curated OER
What They Left Behind: Early Multi-National Influences in the United States
Students research the impact of European voyages of discovery and colonial influence on different aspects of American culture. They access a number of online sources and reference maps to trace the influences of England, France, Holland,...
Polk Bros Foundation
American Presidents
Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...
Curated OER
Asian Americans: Where Do They Come From?
Students identify 15 places (14 countries plus Hawaii) from which large populations of Asian Americans originate. They create a graph to help themselves visualize the places from which large populations of Asian Americans originate. Then...
Curated OER
Understanding Genres
Young scholars identify genres of literature. In this literature instructional activity, students read definitions of the various genres. Young scholars choose books and list clues in the texts that help them identify the appropriate genre.
Education World
Black History Month Rap
Young scholars write a rap or hip-hop lyric about the life of a famous Black American. They explore famous Black Americans in history and explore how the rap form compares to other forms of poetic expression.
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Have your class conduct research to learn all they can about simple machines. They use the web, take notes from a video, write a script, then make a film describing various simple machines found in real life. These videos are then...
Curated OER
Pet Pellets
Students create and design advertising for a tempting new pet food! They create an imaginary pet food, analyze and identify types of propaganda and design packaging and advertising for the pet food.
Curated OER
Masks
Students examine traditional masks from Southwest Indian groups and create their own mask based on Internet research. They share their mask with the members of their class.
Curated OER
Reporting Live from the Twentieth Century
Students create a news story on one of the top 100 news stories of the 20th century.choose one past news event. They write a news story about that event, and provide a continuation of the story based on their research.
Curated OER
Multiple Perspectives: Newspaper Stories and Editorials
Newspapers are the perfect medium through which to explore different perspectives in informational text. After researching the fur trade and resultant colonization, groups write a newspaper, including an editorial page, selecting one of...
Curated OER
Primary Sources and Protagonists: A Native American Literature Unit
Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...
Curated OER
From Brainstorm to Published Paper
Students investigate a topic through research, observation, and experimentation. They prepare a short science report and publish it online. Students reflect on the role of science reports in the larger scientific community.
Curated OER
Monster Descriptions
Monsters take center stage! Elementary schoolers are assigned to write a descriptive paragraph by a toy company to help in designing a new monster for their toy line. One student composes the paragraph, another uses that to create a...
Curated OER
Sly Book Channel
Create a commercial for a favorite book and broadcast this pitch on the Sly Book Channel! Learners practice retelling, summarizing, comparing/contrasting, and evaluation skills as they prepare their scripts. The approved scripts are then...
Curated OER
Primary Sources and Personal Artifacts
Connect historical text to primary sources. Researchers observe and discuss primary sources. Then, historians bring in their own personal artifacts and connect them back to their history.
Curated OER
Presidential Trading Cards
Students use the internet to gather information about Presidents of the United States and create a trading card for one of them. They create a brochure with the president's information and accomplishments.
Curated OER
Great North
Students view a video about the Arctic Circle, North Pole and Northern Europe. They locate areas using a map. They create a drawing of the countries where the Inuit live.
Curated OER
Ge-Oh Boy, Oh Boy
Students listen to the book, Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt and discuss the art of quilting. They examine various symmetrical sewing designs, and identify reflection pieces, slides, and flips.
Curated OER
What's So Bad or Good About Conflict?
Students investigate how conflict can be positive or negative. They discuss the concept of conflict while making a class web of their ideas. They design a class bulletin board that includes a thought written by each student after the...
Curated OER
The Building Blocks of the Nation
Young scholars research, document, use the Internet, and employ varied computer skills, along with oral communication skills to discover people who have "made history" in Michigan, women in the United States, people who contributed to...
Curated OER
The African American Inventor
Students study various African American inventors and their contributions. They select their favorite invention and work in groups to research a specific African American inventor. After conducting their research, they share their...
Curated OER
Nonprofit and Profit Careers
Students examine the difference between profit and nonprofit organizations. They identify careers that are available in each sector as well. They develop their own questions and interview people who are in those careers.