Curated OER
What Happened?
Students read legends about volcanoes. They develop their own legend and shares them with the class. They practice their writing skills as well.
Curated OER
An American President in American Art
Learners discuss the life and death of both Elaine De Kooning and the president she painted, John Kennedy. They learn how Kooning chose to describe President Kennedy through abstract expressionism and why her choice of color and...
Curated OER
Rain Forest Reporters
Students work as magazine reporters to produce a print or multimedia magazine about rain forests.
Curated OER
Ancient China
Students research different dynasties that existed in China around different themes. They chart each dynasty for written assessment. Each chart has details that chronicles the gathered information.
Curated OER
"The Father of Lavish Advertising": P.T. Barnum
Students examine the life and work of P.T. Barnum. They discover his advertising techniques and business practices. They examine his use of people with disabilities for amusement.
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Lindenwald: Martin Van Buren
Students examine maps, readings, photos, drawings and political cartoons in order to describe the personality and character of Martin Van Buren as reflected by his lifestyle. They identify Van Buren's political views and political issues...
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Transportation in East Asia
Learners engage in research about the subject of transportation in Eastern Asia. The size of countries and population pose challenges that are studied and reflected upon in student writings from the information found.
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Rewrite, Revise, Recycle
Students examine different pieces of literature that have a similiar theme. They read an article about reusing ideas for television shows. They work together to create their own program proposals. They also create backstories for one of...
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Puttin' On the Hits
Students explore "summer songs." They compose a list of songs that they would put on a summer CD and write an essay that explains the images they would choose for the cover for this CD. They also create collages that represent their...
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Listen Up! Swinging with some Big Band Music
Students read about the music and life of Glenn Miller. They listen to Miller's "Jeep Jockey Jump" and analyze the piece for instrumentation, formal structure and stylistic characteristics.
National First Ladies' Library
History of Women in Sports
Learners examine online or hard copy timelines of athletics, discuss what they like and dislike about time tables they have reviewed, research in small groups history of basketball, baseball, gymnastics, or track and field, and create...
National First Ladies' Library
Writing (and Rewriting!) History
Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...
Curated OER
If the World Were a Village...
Your class members explore concept that the world is a large place, examine how statistics can be used to help in understanding the world and its people, and create illustrations or graphs of statistics found in the award-winning...
Curated OER
International Children's Book Day
Celebrate International Children's Book Day using this resource. Learners complete activities, such as reading a passage, sequencing, unscrambling sentences, writing questions, conducting surveys, and writing. Students complete twelve...
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Little House in the Census: Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder
How would you use census data from 1880-1900? Here are a set of ways you can incorporate the book Little House on the Prairie and US census data from that time period. Learners will research the validity or the book based on factual...
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Making a Pinhole Camera
Students participate in a number of activities in order to study the history of photography and to examine the workings of a pinhole camera.
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Writers of the 19th Century
Students are introduced to women authors during the 19th century. In groups, they read about the criticism they faced during this time period by the public and literary community. Using the internet, they research one author to...
National First Ladies' Library
Let's Make a World Series Almanac
Middle schoolers discuss the meaning of the word, almanac and then decide which statistics about the World Series they think should be included in the almanac, browsing some websites to get some idea of what statistics are available....
National First Ladies' Library
Michigan vs. Ohio State: A Serious Rivalry!
Middle schoolers discuss and research the pros and cons of school rivalries. In particular, they study the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. Through their research, they think about how media accounts of college football games can be shaped...
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The Media and Social Justice in the United States
Students investigate why the hip hop is sometimes called the CNN of black youth. They explore the political themes in American hip hop. Students examine the connection between art, media and social justice in hip hop.
National First Ladies' Library
Ragtime: The First "American" Music?
Learners investigate the concept of ragtime music and the times associated with it in American history. They conduct research using a variety of resources and listen to a sample before writing down some of the results of the information...
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Manga and Me
Upper elementary and middle school learners study Manga cartooning and create a Japanese character based on their own features and personalities. This style of cartooning is easily-accessible for most students. With a little practice,...
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Arkansas Architectural Styles
Students investigate the various architectural styles of Arkansas. They read a handout, complete a worksheet, view images of architectural styles, and take photos and write descriptions of five style elements they observe in their...
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A Village of Painters: Narrative Scrolls from West Bengal
Examine the process of making Indian patua-style narrative scrolls. Look closely at the images in the scrolls and have your young artists create an original patua painting. Using ink and watercolors, the class can illustrate their...