Discovery Education
Making Your Voice Count
As learners watch a video on voting, they take notes on a worksheet that lists various voting topics, including electoral and popular votes, early voting, and exit polling. Then, young people research the Internet for their state's...
State Bar of Texas
Roe v. Wade
At what point does the right of privacy end and the government begin? Scholars research rights under the Ninth Amendment to the Constitution. Using the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case as a starting point, along with small group work...
Curated OER
The Importance of Making Labs a Priority
The benefits of inquiry-based exploration can be attained in any classroom.
Time Warp Trio
The Caveman Catastrophe
Young archaeologists study the development of human history, and work in groups to create a timeline that traces the development of humans. Additionally, the groups utilize a very clever graphic organizer embedded in the plan in order to...
Curated OER
Citizens of the Future
Young sociologists explore how local, state, and federal governments work. This very impressive and ambitious lesson requires pupils to contact government officials who represent them and their families. They research elections, and hold...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 12
How can opinions slant facts? Workshop participants learn how to examine primary and secondary sources and identify the author's point of view. They also examine how visual art impacts the meaning and rhetoric of sources. Full of...
Overcoming Obstacles
Pass It On!
Inspire teamwork in your classroom with a fun group activity. Peers pass a penny from the back of their hand to their classmate's hand, who passes it down the line, and see who wins the competition.
Carolina K-12
Affrilachia
What makes a culture unique? Learners research life in the Appalachia region of the United States. Poetry, music, and oral history create Affrilachia, the term used to describe the lifestyle of the area. African-American mountain culture...
Facebook
Who Do You Want to Be?
Can posting art or music online lead to the career of your dreams? Inquisitive individuals consider their social media presence with a lesson from a series focusing on identity exploration and digital citizenship. Pairs put their heads...
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
PSE Character Education: Respect
Every healthy classroom community is built on a foundation of respect. Through whole group discussions, shared readings, and collaborative activities this lesson teaches children how to be respectful of one another, making for a much...
Advocates for Human Rights
Deliberative Dialogue
How do you create a classroom environment where hot button topics may be discussed in a respectful manner? As part of a series of lessons that focus on immigration issues, class members examine the rules for civil discussion before...
C-SPAN
Historical Presidential Campaign Announcement Analysis
Using the announcements of presidential candidacies, pupils consider how contenders make their initial arguments to the public. A worksheet helps structure collaborative work to analyze 10 video clips. Writing prompts allow for extension...
Curated OER
Social Studies Wonders: An Exploration
Help middle schoolers conduct Internet research and develop a working definition for the discipline of social studies. From a list of websites, they develop classification skills and differentiate between primary and secondary sources....
PBS
Who Are Latinos?
What does it mean to be Latino? With an eye-opening lesson plan, pupils discover what it means to be Latino in the United States. They participate in classroom discussions, use graphic organizers, and watch a short video to help...
Teaching Tolerance
Identity Artifacts Museum
Who are you? It's a simple question, but younger learners have the opportunity to express their complex identities by making artifacts that represent parts of their identities. After engaging in the activity, they share who they are with...
Curated OER
The Gay '80s, '90s and '00s
After reading and discussing a news article from the New York Times regarding gay and lesbian issues of the last thirty years, students engage in several activities to explore current events. They create a timeline, either electronically...
Social Skills Central
Don't Get Mad...
Pupils discover important alternatives to expressing anger and how to better manage their emotions through a collaborative discussion activity with their classmates. This resource includes nearly 100 (99, to be exact!)...
Learning to Give
Create a Volunteer Spirit
Motivate young citizens to make a positive difference through volunteering. Scholars examine the local and school community to discover ways the class, as a whole, can volunteer their time to help one or the other, then reflect on their...
PBS
Women's History: Parading Through History
Want to teach your pupils about debate, effective speech techniques, propaganda, and the women's movement? The first in a sequential series of three, scholars analyze real propaganda images from the the historic women's movement, view a...
National History Day
No More Sticks and Stones: Technological Advancements in World War I Warfare
Remind young historians that many technological advancements influenced the events of World War I. After analyzing technology's evolution through primary sources, discussing the changes over time, and watching various video clips,...
Curated OER
Assessment of Social Studies Learning
Identify various methods of assessment utilized in social studies classrooms. You will design non-traditional assessments for use in elementary-level social studies classrooms and discuss what assessment methods may be most appropriate...
Curated OER
What are the Rules?
Get young learners involved in the development of classroom rules! Students and the teacher discuss the purpose of having rules, including how rules provide order, security and safety. Then learners design pictures to accompany the...
Curated OER
Building Empathy Creating Community
Learners thrive in a classroom where they are part of a strong community. Foster a collaborative atmosphere in your classroom with a series of activities focused on conflict resolution, communication, empathy, and defense against bullying.
J. Paul Getty Trust
Tag: Whose Values
Get young people thinking about their lives and current topics of social justice, advocacy, gender, race, and identity. After examining several works by Barbara Kruger, participants select a tag with one of the questions printed on it,...