National Endowment for the Humanities
On This Day With Lewis and Clark
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Cultural Change
High schoolers research the passage of the 19th Amendment as an illustration of the mutual influence between political ideas and cultural attitudes. They also read the Seneca Falls Declaration and explore the cultural shifts it both...
Curated OER
Why Do We Remember Revere? Paul Revere's Ride in History and Literature
Students examine primary documents regarding Paul Revere's ride and its role in the Revolutionary War. They consider how Revere's role has been written about by Longfellow and others and discuss the discrepancies between accounts.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
High schoolers read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Not 'Indians,' Many Tribes: Native American Diversity
Learners explore what they thought they knew about "Indians." They examine the Hopi, Abeneki and Kwatiutl tribes in a game-like activity using archival documents.
Curated OER
A Look Through My Antonia's Eyes
Thoroughly delve into My Antonia by Willa Cather with a plethora of activities. Engage scholars with videos and web sites in this week-long unit that explains the historical context and creates pioneers in the field of research. An...
Curated OER
Active Reading with American History
Explore connections within and between informational texts with this lesson about encyclopedia articles. Middle schoolers write encyclopedia articles focusing on topics in American history. They discuss how to determine credibility...
Curated OER
Scatter-Brained
Seventh graders graph ordered pairs on a coordinate plane. They create a scatterplot. Additionally, they determine the line of best fit and investigate the slope of the line. Multiple resources are provided. An excellent resource!
Curated OER
The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
Learners analyze documents, cartoons, speeches and articles about Joseph McCarthy and his crusade against "Un-American" activities. They guide their research with a worksheet and participate in class discussions about their findings.
Curated OER
Health: Overweight Youth
Investigate the primary causes for the increase in overweight youth and discover its impact on the health care system. After watching segments from the Bill Moyers Now program, your students develop campaigns to implement in school that...
Curated OER
Getting Well
Scholars share ideas about health topics relevant to teens. They read posts on Well, the Times health blog, and produce their own health blog featuring teen health issues. In addition, they read and discuss the article "Well: A Times...
Curated OER
A Lens into the Past
Explore the history of immigration through photographs. Scholars will view and discuss photographs depicting the culture and lifestyle of late 19th and early 20th century immigrants. They take pictures of current examples of culture in...
Curated OER
Respect
Investigate "respect" with your class. They will participate in a think/share activity in which they complete sentence starters about their personal experience with "respect." Then they view a video clip in which Holocaust survivors...
Curated OER
War Literature
Working in groups, young historians review a war poem written by Stephen Crane. After reviewing the poem, they present an oral interpretation of the poem and hold a panel discussion about their analysis. The panel is made up of five or...
Curated OER
The Exploration of the Writer, His Louisiana History And the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman By Ernest J. Faines
Learners identify the significance of the author's experiences on his written work; describe the hardships faced by slaves and plantation owners once the caves were set free; explain the role of the Seceses and why they were a threat to...
Curated OER
Fractions, Decimals, and Percents Got You Down? "Tri" This!
Have your class design their own mathematical study aids. Learners collaborate in groups on the design of tri-fold presentation describing the relationships between mathematical computations. Then, they write a business letter to the...
Curated OER
The First World War
Students examine the process and effects of World War I on different segments of the population, beyond the political, diplomatic and military framework of the war. They analyze the memoirs of soldiers, read poetry of the time, and...
Curated OER
Global Health Issues
Examine global health issues and the philanthropic efforts of Bill Gates. Working in groups, your class will research selected diseases focusing on symptoms, transmission, and prevention. They also conclude by writing grant proposals to...
Curated OER
Second Sun
Explore the elements of newspaper from the view of the front page. Young analysts create a front page of a newspaper geared toward teen readers. They use their inference skills to determine why some front pages are more eye-catching than...
Curated OER
Bombs Away!
Examine the different perspectives on the future of United States Navy bombing exercises taking place on Vieques, Puerto Rico with this lesson from The New York Times. Here, young learners read "Islanders to Vote on Vieques Bomb Drills,"...
Curated OER
Teaching Controversial Science Issues Through Law Related Education
Discuss the differences in dialogue and debate when considering a controversial topic. Your class can work in small groups to complete a guided discussion of this controversial topic and then participate in a simulation of the Scopes...
Curated OER
News or Propaganda?
What is considered news vs. propaganda? Learners will discuss objectivity and press responsibility while exploring these two concepts. They work in small groups to explore the article in-depth, guided by reading comprehension and...
Curated OER
Write On!
Help empower your class by learning about the editorial section of the newspaper. They will have the option to also write to a politician. The goal is to teach students how to speak-up and express their opinions on important issues....
Curated OER
Country's Music
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...