Curated OER
True or False? A Quiz About Four December Celebrations
Students take a quiz on brief histories of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas. They, in groups, research four December celebrations and then test their comprehension.
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Money Talks
Students move from fact finding to interpretation as they examine paper money from the time of the American Revolution. In the final exercise, they use the issue dates of the bills to construct a chronology of political changes during...
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The Harlem Renaissance
Students, after researching/analyzing the movement "Harlem Renaissance" and Africa as well as reading literature from that time period, create lists of the major characteristics of the movement and its important writers. They bridge the...
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Heroes of Harlem
Students explore the artists of the Harlem Renaissance. Their research culminates in a Harlem Renaissance Fair celebrating the movement's cultural and artistic contributions to society.
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Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King
Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King." They identify Martin Luther King's goals, discuss and write about things they hope will happen in the world for a class book, explore...
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Women's History Week
Learners investigate the contributions of women who influenced human rights in US history. They examine the influence Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton by participating in a jigsaw activity....
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Bad Brother
Students deal with the historian's dilemma of how to write about people in the past who committed wicked deeds. They analyze a well-known cartoon, "Satan Tempting Booth to the Murder of the President."
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Healthy Living: Diversity of Learners
Students are drawn to those activities that are in line with their individual intelligences. They use classroom computers to find fruits and their names in other languages. Once a fruit is identified, students practice saying the name of...
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Check My Writing: Diversity of Learners Adaptation
Young scholars explore different spellings of the same words within the English language, as well as different words for the same thing with the international pen pal classroom. They become familiar with units of measure and time. ...
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Crossroads Blues
The crossroads, and the decisions made and entities met there, are a common theme in literature, pushing readers to examine the choices and encounters that shape life experience. The theme has also been explored in blues music, most...
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Master Spy
Students explain that a code is a system of symbols, letters, words, or signals that are used instead of ordinary words and numbers to send messages or to store information. They practice deciphering a variety of secret codes used in...
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Romare Bearden
Students identify artwork by Romare Bearden and to explain his techniques. They look for cut and pasted papers and images, paint, ink and pencil designs, shapes and spaces and the rhythms therein. They listen to music by looking at...
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The Hurricane
Students analyze three different ways a story is told, determine truth and fiction in each story, and discover and apply techniques to narrate a good story.
Students listen to Bob Dylan's "The Hurricane" and watch the "R" rated movie,...
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"Owl" A Haitian Folk Tale
Eighth graders read and discuss the Haitian folktale, "Owl." They compare it to the story, "Brer Possum's Dilemma," using a Venn diagram to show how they are different and alike. In groups, they retell the story in a skit format.
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The Great Migration: An Oral History
Learners research the factors which contributed to the great migration and write a well organized research paper using multiple sources. They incorporate quotations into their paper, both direct and paraphrased, in accordance with MLA...
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Exploring Folk Traditions and Folk Beliefs
Ninth graders work together to brainstorm an idea to focus on the similiarties and differences between various cultures. Individually, they interview family members using questions they created based on their topic. They use their...
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Cut Paper Masks
Students examine different types of masks from various cultures. Using the masks, they identify the use of design elements in them. They create their own paper mask using the elements and share them with the class. After viewing a...
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Exploring Cultural Rituals
Students analyze images and music of common rituals in America with those of other countries. They use worksheets to compare and contrast the events.
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Syncopation and Rhythm in Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Rap Music
Students recognize and clap the syncopated rhythmic beat of a rap song and identify recurring rhythmic pattern in the excerpt of "Dance of the Adolescents" from Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.
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The Great Migration
Students research the Great Migration and answer questions to discover where it took place, when it took place, who were migrating, and why in a 2 page paper. They use a map or atlas to plot out the routes and destinations of those...
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Jamestown Journey Part 4
Fourth graders review their prior knowledge from the previous lessons of this unit on Jamestown. After reading a novel, they examine and discuss the life of Pocahontas. Using the internet, they answer comprehension questions and write...
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Harvest Festivals Around the World
Learners examine and compare/contrast various harvest festivals from around the world. They read books, sing songs, and create various art projects about the harvest festivals from Ghana, China, Korea, Vietnam, and India.
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Freedom's Children
Learners role play a story from from Freedom's Children: Young Civil Rights Activists Tell Their Own Stories. In this segregation activity, young scholars work in a literary circle to create a role play to present to the class. Each...