University of Chicago
Comparing Modern and Ancient Ideas of Ethnicity and Identity
Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...
Curated OER
Understanding Other People's Decisions
Students analyze people's choices from different points of view. They read different scenarios and explain how they would react personally in that situation. Then they analyze what they would do in another character's position and...
Curated OER
Songs of America
Combine your lesson plan on patriotism with a lesson plan on comparing and contrasting. Focusing on The Star Spangled Banner, Take Me Out to the Ballgame, and The Old Folks at Home, this lesson plan prompts learners to compare and...
Scholastic
The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Practice sequencing events using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem about the famous revolutionary hero. Learners read Revere's own account of the event, and compare/contrast the two texts using a t-chart. Finally, they imagine...
Curated OER
Smaller Than One
Sixth graders practice converting a fraction into a decimal and a percent. They explain relationships among rational numbers. They order and compare whole numbers, fractions (including mixed numbers), and decimals using a variety of...
Scholastic
Pilgrim and Wampanoag Daily Life for Grades 6–8
Two slide shows, viewed side-by-side, permit middle schoolers to compare and contrast the lives of the Pilgrims of the Plimoth colony and the Wampanoags. Four videos take learners on virtual field trips to the Plymouth plantation. And an...
Curated OER
Reading Primary Source Documents: Comparing Sources
Students analyze and compare various primary source documents. They formulate historical questions based on the documents.
C-SPAN
14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause
Two Supreme Court cases, Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education take center stage in a lesson plan about the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Class members research both cases to compare and contrast the rulings.
Scholastic
Dear Miss Breed
This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will partake in...
West Virginia Department of Education
The Debate - John Brown: Martyr or Madman?
Did he die for a cause, or was he crazy? Although the resource discusses John Brown and West Virginia history, many historical figures have the same reputation. Teach learners about different perspectives and highlight the importance of...
Academy of American Poets
On Marilyn Nelson's Poem “1905”
Marilyn Nelson's poem, "1905," asks young scholars to compare and contrast George Washington Carver and Albert Einstein. After studying images of the two scientists and listing their observations, class members listen to several readings...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
European Explorers
To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...
Curated OER
Water: From Neglect to Respect
The goal of this collection of lessons is to make middle schoolers more aware of the ways in which they are dependent upon water to maintain their standard of living. Learners compare water use in Lesotho to water use in the United...
Curated OER
How Big is Big?
Geography learners compare and contrast population densities throughout the world. Using maps, they estimate the relative size of the world's regions and populations. They develop analogies to discover the world they live in and...
Smithsonian Institution
Affirmation, Assimilation, and Acculturation: Middle School
Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...
Curated OER
What's Mongolia Really Like?
Students discover the people of Mongolia. For this social studies lesson, students look at the Mongolian nomadic culture by reading a letter written by a member of the Peace Corps. They describe the different types of communities found...
iCivics
The "Federal" in Federalism
How are states in the United States related to each other? Does the government bind them together? Do states have different governments? After reading about federal power as a whole group, your class members will participate in a...
Curated OER
Olympic records through time
Learners compare the records of gold medal Olympic winners for the last 100 years and decide if we are faster, stronger than in the past.
Curated OER
A Day In The Life: The Story of a Child Worker in Agriculture."
Young scholars watch a Flash presentation on students working in agriculture in this lesson which is part of a unit. They compare and contrast the experience to their own. Unit links are on this lesson page.
Curated OER
Day Five - Bible A Noble Cause - Thessalonica
Students analyze, compare and contrast success and failure inside the kingdom and outside the kingdom. In this Bible study instructional activity students read Act 17:1, plays games, engage in discussions and complete a written...
Curated OER
The Iceberg
Students consider Mongolian and American cultural features. In this global studies lesson, students compare an iceberg to cultural features as they brainstorm and discuss visible and invisible cultural features.
Curated OER
Do We Still Need the Electoral College?
One of the most confusing aspects of any presidential election year is the role of the Electoral College. Learners read a bit about how the Electoral College works and then they hold a mock election in their classroom. They'll redraw a...
Curated OER
Culture Is Like an Iceberg
Pupils examine cultural traditions. In this culture lesson, students compare invisible and visible features of culture as they complete an iceberg-themed worksheet.
Curated OER
2.0 "Water Is Life" Global Water Awareness Mini-Unit (Grades3-5)
Students study the amount of potable water on the Earth. In this water lesson plan, students examine the amount of potable water as compared to all the water on the Earth. They discuss why many parts of the world do not have access to...