Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 5 - Dear Mem
Discover colonies! Young historians will listen to a primary source journal entry read aloud with a backdrop of wave sounds. They discuss the entry, add historical facts to a chart and personal insights to another. Then they listen to...
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The Crucible: Hysteria, Witches and Death
Eleventh graders explore the historical events of the Salem witch trials. After completing research and reading a play on the witch trials, 11th graders compare and contrast the historical facts to the fictional play. In groups, students...
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Japanese American Baseball in the Camps
Learners study Japanese American internment camps. In this American history lesson plan, students compare and contrast the camp internees' experiences with with team sports-related challenges learners have encountered. Students discuss...
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Gettysburg: The Civil War's Costliest Battle
Students research the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg. In this Gettysburg lesson, students analyze journals and letters written by the Gettysburg soldiers. Students define Civil War soldier vocabulary words. Students compare and...
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Hopi Running
Students identify why the Hopi tribe practiced running as it relates to health, delivering messages, defeating other tribes, and for ceremonial events. In this social studies lesson, students use maps to identify latitude and longitude...
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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...
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Rules of Conduct: Media Violence, Dating and Teenage Behavior
Learners discuss the role of media in their lives and making decisions. In groups, they define violence and identify how it is represented in the type of entertainment they are accustomed to viewing. They compare and contrast behaviors...
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Beowulf Lesson Plan
Learners analyze the text of Beowulf. In this epic poetry lesson, students explore the themes and imagery in the text to evaluate their meaning. Learners analyze the Old English language and examine the cultural and historical context of...
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Pairing with Picture Books: Chasing Lincoln's Killer
Readers of Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, James L Swanson’s young adult novel, use a Venn diagram to compare information about Abraham Lincoln and the events surrounding his assassination, with the images and information presented in picture...
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"The Circuit" and the Civil Rights Movement
Students compare and contrast concepts of the civil rights movement to the concepts presented in the short story, "The Circuit." In groups, they sort a series of ideas written on index cards into two categories - rights and freedoms. ...
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Understanding Self and Others
Students investigate other people's perceptions and interpretations of the world. They write a letter, taking into account another's historical point of view. The students also compare and contrast differing points of view through...
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Lincoln, Douglass, and Black Emergence (Literature and Politics, 1840-1865)
Students examine the ideas of Lincoln and Douglass. In groups, they compare and contrast writings from each man and how they formed the nation with their ideas. After watching "Glory", they discuss how people like Lincoln and Douglass...
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The First "Colored" World Series
Students utilize reading and listening skills in order to discover the key issues in American history and Black baseball history. Students investigate the beginning of the Negro Baseball Leagues and its signature historical baseball...
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Grown-ups at Play
Students realize that adults entertain themselves at work and in their private lives and that much of adult play, like children's play, is part of adults' folklife and that they play in various folk groups. They consider the elite,...
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Speeches on the Not-So-Big Screen
Students examine American speeches. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students explore the emotional context of historical periods as they analyze "The Gettysburg Address" and "I Will Fight No More Forever" speeches.
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Immigration for Grades 6-8
Students explore immigration. In this immigration lesson, students research the topic and compare immigration of the past to the present. They create a decade long timeline of immigration.
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Historic Flight of the Wright Family
Students write a persuasive letter. In this persuasive writing lesson plan, students view a video of the first flight and read The Wright Sister by Richard Maurer. Students discuss societal roles of women.
Smithsonian Institution
Giving Speeches: George Washington's First and Second Inaugural Addresses
Students discuss the purpose of the President of the United States giving an inaugural address. They describe their impressions of any inaugural speaches they have heard or read. Students research events leading up to Washington's first...
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Kansans on the Move
Second graders explore U.S. history by researching the state of Kansas. In this transportation lesson, 2nd graders research the transit habits of Kansas residents in the past and how challenging it could be for them to get around....
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Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People
Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...
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Jean Fritz's American History Series
Students explore children's literature by reading biographies in class. In this history analysis lesson, students read books written by Jean Fritz about the Revolutionary War and discuss the events that led up to the critical moment....
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Agricultural and Industrial Policies of the U.S.
Students examine the impact of laws and government policies on the agricultural and industrial economic systems. From a list of topics, they select one area and create timelines of at least ten related government activities. In...
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Vocabulary Building - World War I
Young scholars study the definitions of militarism, imperialism, and nationalism, and the significant individuals involved in the world alliance system prior to 1914. They examine the events that lead to World War I.
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A Day During Colonial Times
Fifth graders participate in read aloud activities of three books about life in Colonial times. They compare their life to that of children of Colonial times using a Venn diagram. They draw a picture and write about what a day in the...