Curated OER
Homophobia: What is It? What Can We Do About It?
A two-part lesson focuses on the sensitive issues of homophobia, discrimination, sexuality, and gender. Middle schoolers discuss individual and institutional discrimination, personal rights, homosexuality, and bullying.
Virginia Department of Education
World History and Geography to 1500 A.D.
Here's a great resource for your curriculum library. The 240-page packet, organized into units by topics, includes sample lesson plans, links to primary and secondary source documents, worksheets, activities, and sample assessments.
PBS
Civic Engagement and How Students Can Get Involved
There is no age limit on civic engagement. Even if your pupils are not old enough to vote, they are old enough to get involved. Show them how with a PBS lesson that underscores the importance of civic participation and models ways young...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Rosa Parks: A Quest for Equal Protection Under the Law
Teach young historians about the historical legacy of Rosa Parks with a multi-faceted lesson plan. Pupils follow stations and use journals to explore prominent events, analyze primary resource documents, and engage in interesting...
Curated OER
Chinese Dragon Drum Lesson Plan
Students research the significance of drums and the color red in Chinese culture. They make a replica of a Chinese drum using construction paper and art materials. They examine pictures of Chinese drums before decorating the ones which...
Curated OER
Faces in the Crowd Lesson Plan
Students examine the faces of other students in the classroom and the community. They determine the similarities and the differences in hair texture and color, skin tones, shapes of noses, and eyes. Using a glue mixture, they paint the...
Curated OER
Menorah Banner Lesson Plan
Students investigate Chanukah, the Jewish Festival of Lights and examine the role of the Menorah during the celebration. They determine how dreidel, latkes, and the daily lighting of the Menorah are special to Jewish families. Finally,...
Curated OER
Mongolian Herders' Homes Lesson Plan
Students investigate the lives and homes of Mongolian nomadic herders. They determine how the climate, available building supplies, and cultural traditions influence how the homes are built. Using art supplies, they make a replica of a...
Social Media Toolbox
Why Social Media?
Is social media the best way to convey news in your school? Young journalists dig deep into the social media question in the second of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox. After learning about the relationship between social media...
Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust
That’s Not Fair!
As part of a series of critical thinking exercises, kids consider issues of social justice, especially the factors that must be considered when trying to balance conflicting rights and freedoms.
Civil War Trust
Transcribing Civil War History
Primary sources are valuable for understanding the context of historical events, but the diction and dialect in these documents can be difficult to understand. Middle and high schoolers participation in a transcription process in which...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Chief Executives Compared: The Federalist Papers
Delve into the responsibilities of the president by looking at President Hamilton's opinion of the presidential office in his own words. The second in a three-part series, the resource also offers an interesting compare-and-contrast...
Civil War Trust
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address may have been four score and seven years ago, but its message is still as relevant today. Young historians explore the context of the famous speech, as well as its central theme and argument, before discussing the...
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
Honoring All Who Served Veterans Day
November 11th, Veterans Day, is a holiday set aside to honor all those who have served in the military. Here's a resource packed with ideas, activities, projects, and materials that will provide inspiration for ways to celebrate those...
Echoes & Reflections
Contemporary Antisemitism
Despite the recognized atrocities of the Holocaust, anti-semitism continues. The 11th and final installment of the Teaching the Holocaust series explores the long-term effects of the Holocaust on modern anti-semitism, asking pupils to...
Teaching Tolerance
In Our Own Words: A Story Book with a Purpose
Academics turn into storytellers in an engaging activity on activism. The activity focuses on promoting social change in local communities with stories. Young historians plan a storybook to target a specific audience and social issue and...
Scholastic
Abraham Lincoln: A Time Line Research Project
Though Abraham Lincoln's life was tragically cut short, it was filled with accomplishments and inspiring moments that continue to influence American democracy. Explore the ways the 16th president of the United States made his way from a...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Day for the Constitution
The "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day" law requires schools receiving any federal funding to provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution. The lesson plans, materials, videos, questions, and activities...
TCI
Celebrating Our Constitution
School House Rock's "Preamble" launches a study of the Preamble of the US Constitution and the relevance of this 200 year-old document today.
Federal Reserve Bank
Journey to Jo’burg: A South African Story
How did South African apartheid affect the ability of people of color to increase their human capital? Here is a rich lesson in which learners come to understand the relationship between investment in human capital and income, while also...
Spartan Guides
Infographics Lesson
An infographic is fantastic way for learners to illustrate their understanding of content, express themselves creatively, and teach others in a manner that is both engaging and informative. While originally designed for a lesson on...
National Park Service
Teaching with Historic Places: Discover the Jackie Robinson Ballpark
Can sports and popular culture change public opinion? That's the essential question asked by a lesson plan that looks at the role Jackie Robinson's appearance at City Island Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Florida played in the desegregation...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan #2 (Cooperative Group Lesson Plan)
Students define responsibility, list steps of choice making, and solve problems. They create decision making scenarios in cooperative group settings.
Echoes & Reflections
Rescuers and Non-Jewish Resistance
What does it mean to be a rescuer during the time of the Holocaust? Learners consider the role of those who resisted the Nazi invasions, including hiding Jewish people, throughout Europe. Activities include listening to the testimony of...