PBS
Constitution Day
Travel back to 1787 as young scholars investigate the creation of the US Constitution. After first working in small groups to create sets of classroom rules, students go on to read a summary of the Constitution and watch a short video...
Royal Canadian Legion
Teachers' Guide: Take Time to Remember
The Royal Canadian Legion offers this teacher's guide designed to remind learners of all ages of the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers in not only World War I but also the Korean and Gulf wars. The 42-page packet is filled with...
D-Day Normandy 1944
D-Day Normandy 1944
No study of World War II would be complete without an in-depth examination of the events of June 6, 1944. Pascal Vuong's D-Day Normandy:1944, is the perfect vehicle to convey the sheer magnitude of the events that have been called...
PBS
Constitution Day
September 17, Constitution Day so named because that was the day in 1787, that 39 men signed the Constitution, is the focus of a series of activities designed to simulate a Constitutional convention and open a study of the US Constitution.
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 1
"Now is the summer of our happiness/Made winter by this sudden, fierce attack!" Luke Skywalker meets Hamlet in a 10-instructional activity unit based on Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope. Using Star...
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University
Are You My Mother? An Opinion Writing Unit
During a five-day lesson, scholars analyze written and visual art—primarily the poem, Mother to Son by Langston Hughes— identify facts, and write opinions. Learners read the poem several times, discuss, write, compare and...
Spreading Gratitude Rocks
A Gift of Gratitude
Words of appreciation make great gifts for special occasions, but people can't tie them up with a bow ... until now! Using the lesson plan, learners write gratitude messages to a chosen recipient. Next, they fill a box or paper bag with...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Dramatic Structure of the Short Story
The second lesson plan in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to...
Classics for Kids
"Mars" from The Planets
Gustav Holst's The Planets provide young musicians an opportunity to examine how composers can create a suite: a collection of smaller pieces grouped to explore a single topic. After listening to "Jupiter," they examine "Mars" in...
Listening Library
The Sign of the Beaver
Extend a class reading of the novel The Sign of the Beaver across all subject areas with this literature unit guide. From basic discussion questions and writing prompts, to a research project about tracking animals, this...
PBS
Reading Adventure Pack: Music
Music is the focus of the reading adventure pack. After reading, pupils complete hands-on activities. Scholars use household items to make shakers and cymbals. They listen to eclectic music by turning on the radio, borrowing music from...
Curated OER
Basil Heatter, "The Long Night of the Little Boats"
“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...
John F. Kennedy Center
Musical Harlem: How Is Jazz Music Reflective of the Harlem Renaissance?
Bring jazz music and the Harlem Renaissance to light with a instructional activity that challenges scholars to research and create. Pupils delve deep into information materials to identify jazz terminology, compare types of jazz and jazz...
Achieve The Core
Linda R. Monk, Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution - Grade 8
“We the people . . .” Thus begins the Preamble to the Constitution. Using a close reading approach, class members examine an excerpt from Linda Monk’s article that traces how the interpretation of these words has evolved. Some of your...
Pacific University Oregon
Civil Rights: US History
To gain an understanding of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments of the US Constitution, and the 1898 Supreme Court case,...
Polk Bros Foundation
American Presidents
Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...
Scholastic
Writing Letters of Gratitude
A lesson begins with a discussion on gratitude—what does it mean, and for who are learners thankful? Scholars share their thoughts and feelings then choose a community worker to which they wish to share their gratitude. Writers compose a...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Play
Raise the curtain to a class play that depicts the Civil War through both factual information and literary devices. The performance showcases the Battle of Antietam (Battle of Sharpsburg) and brings attention to women's roles,...
Media Smarts
Teaching TV: Television Techniques
As part of a five-lesson plan unit on how television uses technology and film techniques to communicate meaning, elementary students create their own media productions that demonstrate their understanding of these concepts.