Curated OER
Famous Afro-Americans Historical Sites Recognized by the National Park System
Students use the library to find historical information about each Afro-American. They use magazines, articles from newspapers, and oral histories from video tapes and slide presentations to write biographical sketches about each...
Curated OER
Children of the Steel Kings
Students investigate the public school system in Gary, Indiana in 1913. They determine how the school system changes according to individual and group needs.
Curated OER
Folktales: Oral Traditions as a Basis for Instruction in our Schools
Students visit their school library to read a variety of folktales. While they read, they identify the trickster or hero in each and discuss how the character represents the chaos in the real world. In groups, they write their own...
Curated OER
Famous People
Students discuss character and character traits that people admire and do not admire. They research people who have made significant contributions to society using the Internet, encyclopedia and library to determine characteristics...
Curated OER
Earth's Radiation Budget
Twelfth graders explore the Earth's radiation budget using Earth radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) data archived at the IRI/LDEO Climate Data Library. They use photometers and light sources to work through several hands-on activities...
Curated OER
Colonial America
Young scholars discover the history of Colonial America by creating a class presentation. In this U.S. History lesson, students utilize the Internet to research one of 20 topics in which they will create a PowerPoint or other type...
Curated OER
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Disability: Was He Successful in Concealing It?
Students examine how President Franklin Roosevelt kept his disability out the public eye. In this presidential history lesson, students analyze political cartoons and information from the Roosevelt Library to determine whether or not...
Curated OER
Civil War: Generals at the Battle of Stones River
Learners explore U.S. history by creating a computer presentation in class. In this Civil War battle lesson, students read assigned text about the Battle of Stones River and research individual generals from the battles. Learners utilize...
Curated OER
Truth, Trash and Treasure
Students investigate how democracy in the United States makes civic virtue possible. They examine the rights and responsibilities associated with democracy. In small groups, they create public service posters that highlight these ideas.
Curated OER
A Course in Basic Skills
Tenth graders complete a course in basic skills in order to meet the standards for sophomore year. Using one of their classmates papers, they identify the main idea, topic sentence and theme. They also identify the transitional words...
Curated OER
Oil and its Everyday Uses
Explore the properties of oil through an experiment. They use the scientific process to investigate oil, participate in experiments, watch videos,and use information from the internet to determine how oil has changed our...
Curated OER
World War One- Lesson #1 of 3
Eleventh graders search an online database for World War I posters, newspapers, magazines and other media. They write an essay about public sentiment of the time based on the research.
Curated OER
World War Two- Lesson #2 of 3
Eleventh graders search an online database for World War II posters and other propaganda materials. They write an essay about public sentiment of the era based on their research.
Curated OER
WWI VS. WWII
Eleventh graders compare and contrast public perception and the role of government over time.
US Department of Commerce
Commuting to Work: Box Plots, Central Tendency, Outliers
Biking may be an outlier. Using data from 10 states on the number of people reporting they bike to work, pupils calculate the measures of center. Scholars determine the range and interquartile range and find which provides a better...
Nemours KidsHealth
Screen Time: Grades 3-5
Encourage pupils to spend less time in front of a screen with two lessons that challenge them to examine their habits and try to make new ones. In lesson one, the class brainstorms activities to partake in instead of spending time in...
Curated OER
Community Brochures
Second graders research facets of their community in order to create an informational brochure. After brainstorming ideas of what could be included in the brochure, student groups get information from the internet, the library or a...
Curated OER
Settling in the Midwest
Fourth graders search a database for pictures of home that early Midwestern settlers lived in. They create a class presentation using the pictures.
Henry Ford Museum
Transportation Systems
Learners analyze the evolution of cultural attitudes through the lens of transportation, examining several artifacts, documents, and photographs. Topics covered include how American attitudes have influenced society's evolution into a...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Impact of Identity
How does identity influence the way people respond to events? That is the central question class members grapple with as they examine a political cartoon, read a vignette by Sandra Cisneros, watch of video of police officers discussing...
Curated OER
Childhood Lost: Child Labor in the United States, 1830-1930
Working in groups, middle and high schoolers describe and discuss photographs depicting working conditions experienced by child laborers in the 19th century. They then write a persuasive paragraph supporting an amendment to regulate the...
Facing History and Ourselves
Civil Rights Historical Investigations
The murder of Emmett Till, the Selma to Montgomery march, and the desegregation of Boston schools are the focus of three units that ask class members to investigate why these events were so key in the struggle for civil rights....
Curated OER
Protest Letter
What a fantastic resource to guide youngsters in persuasive letter writing. They read a brief letter to the editor and answer question about the author's purpose, word choice, and structure. Next, scholars draft their own letter by...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Importance of a Free Press
"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a...