Lesson Plan
Curated OER

9/11: A Nation Remembers

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students take a closer look at 9/11 memorials. In this public memorials lesson, students prepare for a visit to the National Constitution Center by analyzing photographs taken by Jonathan Hyman. After students visit the exhibit, they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American and Patriotic Symbols

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the concept of symbolism. Many students know what the different patriotic symbols are, but they do not know why these things symbolize patriotism. They identify classic American symbols, explain why they are symbols and...
Lesson Plan
Federal Reserve Bank

U.S. Income Inequality: It's Not So Bad

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What is the difference between a flat tax, progressive tax, tax deduction and transfer payments? Pupils examine the ability-to-pay principle of taxation through discussion, problem solving, and a variety of worksheets on topics from US...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ship of Gold

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore American values. In this American history lesson, students read passages from Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea. Students collaborate to conduct research in order to build a timeline of the events surrounding the sinking...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sparking History

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students create exhibits about patriotic symbols for a living museum. They write reflective essays exploring the themes and symbols of independence and their influences on social responsibility.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Romans of the New World

For Students 8th - 11th
Who were the Iroquois, and how did they compare with the Romans? Attached is a three-page article and a set of accompanying questions. Only four questions are included, but you could require your readers to write two or three...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Music Styles: Blues - Lesson 2

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics of blues music. They compare and analyze two versions of the same 12-bar blues song. They read and identify notation symbols for rhythm and tempo.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for the Classroom: Canada Toons out as NHL Ices Season

For Students 8th - 12th
In this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about the 2004-2005 cancelled National Hockey League season. Students then respond to 4 talking point questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folk Art: Bird of Paradise Quilt Top

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students examine a "Bird of Paradise Quilt Top" to discover what the themes and patterns tell about mid-nineteenth-century America.  In this American Folk Art lesson plan, students discuss the possible creator of the quilt and the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Art of Social Protest

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars investigate how art and music define and unify a social movement. They decide how art and music can act as symbols of protest. They view both contemporary and historical examples of art as a tool for protest and design an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

From the Rise of the Absolute Monarchy to Democracy on the American Frontier

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use a teacher-made museum guide with questions that allow them to analyze and compare the patron art of seventeenth-century France with portraits of later periods at the Joslyn Art Museum. Students also read The Little Prince...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cultural Logo Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners create a logo design to express their own identity. For this logo design lesson, students list ten words to describe who they are and choose two of them to use in a logo. Learners draw images and choose various forms of...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for the Classroom: Berryman, Roosevelt, and the Teddy Bear

For Students 8th - 12th
Do your historians know the story behind the teddy bear? Background information clues learners in to the context of a political cartoon, which depicts Teddy Roosevelt on his famous hunting trip. They will read about renown cartoonist...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons in the Classroom: Doves, Flags, and Bombs

For Students 9th - 11th
A political cartoon is timely and thought-provoking. Learners analyze the symbolism found in the cartoon as it relates to current tensions between North and South Korea. Three in-depth analysis questions guide and stimulate class...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for the Classroom: Invasion of the Superdelegates

For Students 9th - 12th
What are superdelegates? Use this political cartoon analysis handout to explore this informal term with your scholars. Background information gives brief context to help high schoolers examine the featured cartoon, and three talking...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for the Classroom: Shine the Light on Your Government

For Students 9th - 12th
What don't we know about our government? Explore the concept of transparency and freedom of information throught this analysis handout, in which scholars examine 2 political cartoons. Background information provides context, explaining...
Lesson Plan
PBS

The Sixties: Dylan Plugs in and Sells Out

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes

For Teachers 9th - 12th
A carefully crafted three-day instructional activity integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

What Is El Niño?

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students access information at remote sites using telecommunications, identify impacts by reviewing past El Ni??o events, make and use scale drawings, maps, and maps symbols to find locations and describe relationships.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In The Words of Abraham Lincoln...

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the words of Abraham Lincoln. In this Abraham Lincoln instructional activity, students analyze segments of "The Gettysburg Address," his annual address to Congress in 1862, and his letter to Mrs. Bixby. Students conduct...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Political Cartoons Illustrating Progressivism and the Election of 1912

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study a current political cartoon to introduce the ideas of symbolism, humor, exaggeration, and caricature in editorial cartoons. They study cartoons from the past to gain an understanding of the culture of 1912.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Love It or Leave It?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students identify flags by country, then research the symbolism and history of those flags in preparation for writing and delivering oral presentations. For homework, they write essays reflecting on the relationship between flags,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Immigrating to America

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students study the American immigration experience. In this Ellis Island lesson, students research primary documents from the immigration station, take a tour of the station, and then prepare and perform dramatic presentations based on...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for the Classroom: Defining the Separation of Power

For Students 8th - 12th
For this current events worksheet, students analyze a political cartoon about the separation of powers in the American government and respond to 3 talking point questions.