Museum of Tolerance
Oral History Activity
Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate where they...
Curated OER
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
Partners examine the family tree of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, a Spanish admiral and explorer who founded St. Augustine, Florida, and answer several questions about the text using a worksheet. After they've explored the family tree,...
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt pieces....
Museum of Tolerance
Family Role Model Activity
What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...
Diane Venzera
Kwanzaa Celebration: Celebrating Family, Community, and Culture
Kwanzaa is the focus of a three-part lesson that celebrates the history and traditions of the holiday. Before lighting the Kinara, scholars listen to a read-aloud of Seven Candles of Kwanzaa by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Learners express...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Exploring Oral Histories of Angel Island Immigrants
Empowered by the previous lesson where they interviewed a family or community member, young historians examine Angel Island immigrants' oral histories. They use a matrix to record their interpretation of the feelings of the immigrant....
Anti-Defamation League
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas became a quick hit in the young adult literature genre before its adaptation in the 2018 film of the same name. Use a thorough lesson plan, discussion guide, and series of activities to discuss the social...
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
National Park Service
The Power of Remembrance
On every July 4th, we watch fireworks and celebrate our independence, but how is the history of the American Revolution preserved? Four social studies lesson guide learners through different memorials, commemorative objects, and restored...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving
Introduce the basics of Thanksgiving with a language arts instructional activity. As pupils practice observation skills, vocabulary, and reading comprehension, they design paper turkeys by outlining their hands and feet and by singing an...
Museum of Tolerance
Immigration Journeys
Through the journey of four stories of immigration, scholars complete graphic organizers and apply knowledge to create a visual representation of their findings on a large poster. Third and fourth readers write a letter to their family...
Our White House
The Our White House Inauguration Celebration Kit for Kids!
Get the youngest American citizens involved in the presidential election and inauguration with a set of social studies activities. Focusing on the history of presidential inauguration ceremonies, learners draft their own poems, design...
Beyond the Story
The Diary of a Young Girl Digital Edition
Access a wealth of rich, engaging activities that will allow learners to see through the eyes of Anne Frank and experience her emotional journey as they read her biography The Diary of a Young Girl.
Breaking News English
More People to Stick to New Year's Resolutions
What makes a good New Year's resolution? Practice goal-setting and reading comprehension with a set of language arts activities. English learners work on cloze passages, synonym matches, interviewing exercises, and comprehension...
Curated OER
Introduction to Age of Absolutism
Who were the absolute monarchs of Europe and what effect did they have on their countries? Young historians begin by naming qualities they believe are important for a monarch to possess. They then take notes on four key factors leading...
Anti-Defamation League
Emojis and Me
A lesson features the work of O'Plérou Grebet, a graphic designer who created a collection of emojis to represent his life in West Africa. Scholars explore the history and purpose of emojis, then read and discuss an article about...
Curated OER
America’s Early Colonies: John Smith and Jamestown, Va
John Smith's 1616 letter to Queen Anne of England offers ELLs an opportunity to learn about a bit of early American history. The four-page packet includes the full text of the letter. In addition, the packet includes a worksheet that...
Civil War Trust
Civil War Slang
Introduce a lesson on Civil War slang to your class of fresh fish. After looking at pictures from the Civil War and examining the list of slang terms, young historians write a letter to a family member as if they are a Union soldier or a...
ESL Holiday Lessons
Kwanzaa
Teach English language learners about the week-long holiday of Kwanzaa that is celebrated around the world during December. It includes holiday-themed reading comprehension passages, phrase matching, fill-in-the-blanks, and journaling...
Scholastic
Smart Quotes Mini-Lesson
Prepare for an interview project with a set of worksheets about asking questions and quoting people. After completing a grammar exercise about quotation marks, kids write out the questions they want to ask their interviewee, and record...
Seattle & King County Family-Planning Program
Gender Roles
Class members identify gender-specific roles and expectations in American society today by surveying adults, examining modern entertainment, and researching historical figures.
National Endowment for the Humanities
NAACP’s Anti-Lynching Campaign in the 1920s
High schoolers investigate the anti-lynching campaign of the NAACP in the 1920's. For this human rights instructional activity, students prepare for and participate in a simulated debate of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill that was presented...
Biz Kids
Understanding Business Ethics
After screening an episode by BizKids, scholars show what they know about business vocabulary, then take part in grand conversations about role models and ethical dilemmas.