National Endowment for the Humanities
Walt Whitman to Langston Hughes: Poems for a Democracy
Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...
Curated OER
Candles in the Dark
Learners analyze and apply their personal responses through poetry and film to a challenging and disturbing event-the Holocaust. They use a digital video camera to film each student reading their poem.
Curated OER
Northwest coast Button Blanket Art
Students explore artistic design by viewing video clips on the Internet. In this blanket making instructional activity, students view tutorial videos in which they discover the creative process in button blanket designing. Students...
Curated OER
Puerto Rico: The 51st State?
Learners explore Puerto Rico. In this Puerto Rico current events lesson, students conduct a Webquest to answer questions about Puerto Rico's culture. Learners discuss whether Puerto Rico is a country or a state, and defend their...
Curated OER
Parts of a Computer
Students identify parts of a computer. They categorize parts of a computer by function: input, output, process, and storage. They explain how the parts work together and simulate the process a computer uses to execute a command.
Curated OER
Prairie Scales and Prairie Smoothies
Sixth graders explore the animals that live on the prairie and identify differences between amphibians and reptiles and the adaptations each have made to live on the prairie.
Curated OER
Finding and Authenticating Online Information on Global Development Issues
Students discover how to find authoritative resources. In this research skills instructional activity, students examine strategies for using the Internet effectively to research global development issues.
Curated OER
Brazilian Animals
Students research the animals of Brazil. In this animal science lesson, students locate Brazil on a map and discuss the types of animals that can live in its tropical climate. They research a Brazilian Carnaval and see the roll the...
Curated OER
Immigration Unit
Third graders develop an appreciate for the various cultures that are present in their local community. Through reading and research, they explain how various culture came to live in their area. At the conclusion of the unit, 3rd...
Curated OER
Finding Our Place in Time
Students utilize interviewing skills of an historian to research the time period of the 1970's. They use prior knowledge of the 1960's to explain the mood of the country in the 1970's.
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Learners are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
Curated OER
West Indies and The Caribbean: Sugar & Slavery
Students study the state of the world before the slave trade. They explain the geography and economics of the slave trade. They explore primary sources and how historians use these sources to create historical interpretations.
Curated OER
Whose Water is It?
Students study water quality and water quantity issues in their community. They will examine state water laws, learn about current issues relating to water use and water scarcity in their region and the state, investigate and role play...
Curated OER
My Hero Learning Circle
Students participate in a collaboration activity. In this My Hero Project lesson, students discover what a hero is to someone halfway around the world and themselves. Over the 16-week session, circles, made up of between 6-9 classes from...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Images of Faulkner and the South
Learners research one aspect of the life of Faulkner and the culture of the South. In this As I Lay Dying instructional activity, learners explore a webpage on Faulkner and write a summary. Learners analyze the images and consider the...
Curated OER
A Native American Legend
Students compare the Native American version of Cinderella to the more popular version they know. They compare legends with fairy tales and explore character traits and discuss the meaning of good character. They write a fairy tale of...
Curated OER
What's Civil About War?
Students study about the Civil War through primary sources used in the PBS production of "Freedom: A History of US" based on Joy Hakim's books, "A History of US", and the companion PBS Web site.
Curated OER
The Road to California - A Journey to Freedom
Students complete a Web quest about Biddy Mason's journey Westward to California as a slave and her ultimate rise to one of the wealthiest and generous woman of the Westward Movement. They present an exhibit of their research.
Curated OER
Conflict Diamonds
High schoolers examine how diamonds are portrayed in American culture. They identify the political and social implications of conflict diamonds and the locations of these diamonds in Africa. They evaluate the effectiveness of the...
Curated OER
Our Side of the Story: African Americans Share Their Experiences of Slavery
Seventh graders listen to a variety of folktales sharing experiences of slavery. As a class, they compare and contrast reading a story and telling a story. They participate in a role play activity to discover the journey of a slave and...
Curated OER
Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pioneer Life
Fourth graders complete a three-week unit about Laura Ingalls Wilder and pioneer life. They research the topography of Michigan in the 1870's, conduct Internet research, write journal entries, participate in polka and waltz dancing, and...
Curated OER
Birth and Early Childhood
Eighth graders read and compare creation stories of different cultures around the world. They identify and define the concept of the cycle of life and collect and analyze birth and childhood folk beliefs and stories in their families...
Curated OER
Painted Dreams
Third graders explore the importance of art in Haitian culture by analyzing the cause and effect within the story, "Allie's Basketball Dream." They examine all the aspects of the story and characters including their goals, dreams,...
Curated OER
Learning from Photos
Students use photographs to study the Bracero Labor Program. In this analyzing photographs lesson, students are broken up into groups and given a photograph of Bracero laborers. They predict the answers to questions about the photo...