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Adapting the Game Concentration
I love classroom games, and this plan deftly describes how you can use the game Concentration across the curriculum to reinforce skills. I wish I would have thought of this when I was teaching this age level. These kinds of games are...
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Lesson: Reflecting Social Status
More space, in this case, means more status. Kids consider the status assigned to Tlingits via house partition. They discuss a carved piece that shows household space partitioned by status. They then write their own clan stories and draw...
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Lesson: Storyboarding Revolution
Kids consider revolution as a basis for creativity, art, and storytelling. After reading an excerpt from the book, Persepolis, learners choose one event from any world revolution to write about. They storyboard the event focusing on...
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1912: The Election that Changed the Century
The presidential election of 1912 was a turning point in American politics. Whoever won would reshape the political spectrum. Learn about the key issues, each party's politics, and the four men who wanted to become president: William...
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Century of Progress: Homework Packet
An entire packet of reading passages, critical thinking questions, graphic organizers, and web links is here for the taking. Here is a 12 page activity focused on document analysis, reading comprehension, and critical thinking, related...
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Lesson: Unmonumental: War, Politics, and Protest
Get those upper graders thinking about the world, social conflict, and art as a catalyst for change. They'll uncover the meanings behind four abstract works, intended to spread awareness of the need for social change. Kids are then asked...
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Lesson: Communication, What's Valued, and the Written Word
Upper graders compare their cell phones to a lacquer box from the Japanese Edo Period. They consider how each is a form of communication and how the very nature of each object communicates social norms, ideology, and beliefs. A really...
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Lesson: Michael Blum: National Identity at a Distance
Immigration, refugees, and cultural change due to the movement of people around the globe is discussed. Learners examine the work of Michael Blum to gain an understanding of how national and cultural identities shift due to immigration....
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Lesson: Urban China: Contemporary China
The urbanization and consumerism of modern China is the hot topic up for critical analysis. Kids view a series of photographs that specifically describe Chinese modernization, urbanization, consumerism, and waste. They discuss each...
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The Importance of Initiation
The four-faced Hamat'sa mask is the inspiration for a instructional activity on ceremonial art and the process of initiation. The class examines images of the piece, then discusses how the mask represents ceremonial initiation. They get...
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Empowered Barbie
Students access prior knowledge of vocabulary on feminism and psychoanalytic theory, and gender schema. In this Empowered Barbie instructional activity, students recreate a Barbie doll. Students write a reflection on how they changed...
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The French Revolution
Plenty of events and attitudes incited the French Revolution. Your class will learn all about the causes, effects, and changes that took place during and after this war. Each slide is put together in an easy-to-follow fashion, with...
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Imperialism: Beginnings and Basic Structure
A great presentation awaits young historians as they delve into the causes, types, and motives for British Imperialism. Each slide provides clear information regarding new imperialism occurring from 1875-1948. Justifications for...
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Slavery Bound or Underground
Examine the role of slaves,, slave owners, and abolitionists during the Civil War with a study of the history of the Underground Railroad. Through the many links learners research the people involved and the heroes of the movement....
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Understanding Tiananmen Square
William Bell's Forbidden City is used as the basis of a study of China, Chinese culture and government, and especially of the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Class members select a topic for Internet research and then prepare a...
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Lesson Plan: Finding Your Path
Our art often reflects who we are as individuals and as part of a larger community. The painting Hopi Eagle Dancer reflects the history and culture of the artists who created it. Critical thinkers analyze the piece and then compose a...
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Lesson Plan: Carving Through History
Peek into the art and history of ancient Mexico by analyzing the artifact Stone Serpent Heads. Learners examine images of the piece, discuss its origin, history, and significance. They experience the carving process by creating similar...
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Lesson: Unmonumental: Yesterday's News
Upper graders are tasked with developing a social consciousness as they analyze the impact of the news media. They view a presentation depicting various media events in order to understand threshold moments in history. There are three...
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The Roots of Prohibition: Examining the Effort to Prohibit Alcohol in America
Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary class...
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Life in a Hurricane Zone
Students research the effects of living in a hurricane zone. In this hurricane zone lesson, students research the impact of natural disasters on humans and the environment, and write a press release describing the devastation of...
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Nationalism
What is Nationalism anyway? Don't worry, the answer to that question will be clear as day after viewing this handy presentation. It includes several examples of nationalism as it is seen in European history and two full case studies of...
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Dr. Seuss Takes on Charles Lindbergh
Students study the leaders of the isolationist movement within the United States and the causes of the isolationist movement, they recognize and compare the perceptions of both the isolationists within the US and those who took a more...
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What Can We Learn From the Past?
What would future archeologists learn from your scholars' personal belongings? Have them bring in a box of "primary sources" from their home. Discuss the difference between observations and inference, using some of your own items to...
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Civil Rights Video Essay
Students investigate a decade of American history when the civil rights movement was a focus of national attention. They create a video essay about a person or event that played an important role in shaping the civil rights movement.