Curated OER
Olympic Challenge
Have your class research a country related to the Olympics. They participate in physical education activities included in the Presidential Physical Fitness Test and write about their country. This is a very interactive plan.
Curated OER
What Do Maps Show?
This teaching packet is for grades five through eight, and it is organized around geographic themes: location, place, relationships, movement, and regions. There are four full lessons that are complete with posters, weblinks, and...
Curated OER
The Presidents Song
Remember learning to spell “encyclopedia” by singing along with Jiminy Cricket? How about using a singing exercise to learn the names of the presidents? “The Presidents Song,” includes the names, in order, from Washington to Coolidge....
Curated OER
Social Activism In The United States
Students explore justice issues. In this social activism lesson, students watch "Social Activism in the United States," and then locate newspaper articles from the 1960's and 1970's about events during the era.
Curated OER
Judges in the Classroom Lesson Plan History Of The Bill Of Rights
Students study the Bill of Rights and the US Constitution. They investigate the authors of the Bill of Rights and play a game based on the research.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Five Themes of Geography
After learning the five themes of geography, learners take an Internet trip and categorize information found into one of the five themes. They answer five questions about the places explored. That is about all there is to this lesson; it...
Curated OER
Mapping the New World Lesson Plan
Students compare two maps of the same area from different time periods. In this American History lesson, students look at two maps of the English colonies from 1636 and 1651. They discuss why the maps changed and predict maps from the...
Newspaper Association of America
Using the Newspaper to Teach the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment
Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Successful Student: Just Checking
The final instructional activity in a skill-based series focuses on setting goals and making checklists. Class members discuss what it means to set realistic goals and practice making lists to manage their time effectively.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Opportunity Knocks, But It Costs, Too!
Sixth graders practice six steps to effective problem solving. Working with the school counselor, class members are presented with a scenario that requires them to make a decision. Individuals then write a reflection in which they...
Overcoming Obstacles
Getting Organized
If you've ever peeked inside a middle schooler's backpack, you know how valuable a lesson on organization can be. Help class members organize their binders, study habits, and schedules with a set of collaborative activities.
Benjamin Banneker Association
Celebrate Benjamin Banneker
Inventor, astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, clock maker. Learners celebrate the life of Benjamin Banneker by building creative analog clocks, making scale models, and solving problems related to surveying. The activities model the...
Curated OER
Greeks Around the World: A Case Study on Greek Diaspora
Students gain an understanding of the concept of Diaspora relating to Greeks. They use guided discovery to apply the geographic inquiry model to an examination of the reasons for Greek Diaspora.
Curated OER
What Do Maps Show?: Lesson 4 How to Read a Topographic Map
Students examine the use of topographic maps as two dimensional representations that show elevations and slopes with contour lines. They read maps of the Salt Lake City, Utah area and complete the associated worksheets that show map...
National Geographic
Mapping the Americas
Celebrate the geography of the Americas and develop map skills through a series of activities focused on the Western Hemisphere. Learners study everything from earthquakes and volcanoes of the Americas and the relationship...
Judicial Learning Center
Your 1st Amendment Rights
Why should classes care about the First Amendment? An engaging lesson serves as a powerful tool for answering just that. As all four cases in the lesson relate directly to freedom of expression in schools, young scholars explore the...
Curated OER
Columbus: Hero or Villain?
Learners explore Christopher Columbus's motives. In this character education lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding the life and actions of Christopher Columbus in order to write essays that his actions as the...
Curated OER
Our Classroom Constitution
Develop a system of classroom rules created by the kids, for the kids with this three-part instructional activity series on the US Constitution. After learning about the structure of the Constitution and the government it...
Bowland
Alien Invasion
Win the war of the worlds! Scholars solve a variety of problems related to an alien invasion. They determine where spaceships have landed on a coordinate map, devise a plan to avoid the aliens, observe the aliens, and break a code to...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
How Would You Feel? The Bravery of Civil Disobedience
As part of their study of the US Civil Rights Movement and the Montgomery bus boycott, class members read Dr. Martin Luther King's "Integrated Bus Suggestions." They then craft a short story about the first week of Montgomery...
Curated OER
Egyptian Relic: Ceramics Lesson
Egyptian artwork is inspiring in so many ways. Learners discover the world of Egyptian relics as they make a ceramic version of their own. Multiple resource links and full instructions make this a fun and easy-to-incorporate art project...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Writing a Diplomatic Toast
Here's to you! Using a role-playing activity and primary source analysis, learners discover the importance of diplomacy. Impersonating a diplomat from a great empire, they write a toast to another empire, analyzing the strengths and...
Judicial Learning Center
Do You Know Your Bill of Rights?
The Bill of Rights is much more than an important piece of paper! The rights cover everything from freedom of speech to the right to remain silent if arrested. Scholars find out their own rights by answering the questions in the form of...
PBS
Sitting Bull: Spiritual Leader and Military Leader
Sitting Bull was not expected to be a great warrior. Yet, he led the Lakota people and other tribes to several pivotal victories against the United States government when federal troops threatened their land. Using primary sources, such...