Curated OER
JAPAN, IMAGES A PEOPLE
Young scholars interpret Japanese and American paintings; evaluate paintings as sources of cultural and historical information
Curated OER
The Westward Movement
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. In this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
Curated OER
Researching and Writing About Another Country's Holiday: Documenting and Communicating Information
This lesson is a culminating lesson which follows students researching, collecting citations, evaluating and selecting text, graphic materials and visual aids. In this concluding lesson, 5th graders discuss the assessment task and how to...
Curated OER
Masks and the Stories Behind Them
Students study the stories that go with masks from two cultures. They examine Native American masks used by tribes that lived in the Northeastern United States.. These include these Algonquian-speaking: Micmac, Pequot, Delaware....
Curated OER
India: Where Remarkable Differences Are Ordinary
Students research India and Indian culture. In this Indian research lesson plan, students research and report on the lives of Indian children. The report will be in the form of a mock interview between a journalist and an Indian child....
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Baga Drum
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
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Pictures Telling Stories
Students see the importance of primary sources in the study of history, but also the limitations of relying only on primary sources of taking the money, as it were, at face value.
Folger Shakespeare Library
Julius Caesar Curriculum Guide
Julius Caesar need not be Greek to kids. The background information and suggestions for teachers, as well as the activities for learners, make this curriculum guide a must-have for your Shakespeare curriculum library.
Curated OER
A Cure for the School-Day Blues
Lessons on the Blues will have students singing for joy!
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Bringing Animal Issues into the Classroom: César Chávez
Fifth graders get critical and political while they begin thinking about human and animal rights in relation to the US Constitution. This hand out includes answers to several questions regarding Cesar Chavez and his work to secure rights...
Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Curated OER
Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.
Curated OER
Mineral Scavenger Hunt
Students complete a scavenger hunt worksheet as they find examples in their classroom, at home, etc., of minerals. Excellent worksheet!
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Create a Classroom Exhibit: Rocks and Minerals
Students bring in rocks and minerals from home. They observe them and describe them carefully, completing a worksheet. Finally, a classroom exhibit is created.
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Plants and Animals, Partners in Pollination
Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...
Curated OER
Rocks and Minerals
Students bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. In this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...
Curated OER
Under the Spell of Spiders
Learners examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Learners will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
Curated OER
How Size Shapes Animals
Students investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. In this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once students create...
Curated OER
Fossils Footprints Across Time
Learners examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil instructional activity, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil...
Curated OER
Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...
Curated OER
Folk Music
Students explore Folk Music in Iowa. For this folk music lesson plan, students discuss different types of folk music and how it relates to life in Iowa. They take the tune of a song and write their own lyrics to describe their life.
Curated OER
Comprehension Questions for Stitching Stars
In this comprehension questions for Stitching Stars worksheet, students answer 30 comprehension questions after reading the book about quilts made by slaves in the 17-19th centuries.
Curated OER
Racism in Jazz
Students listen to the Louis Armstrong song, "What Did I Do to Be So Black and Blue?" and consider it as a protest song. They write in their journals about Armstrong, his music, and civil rights.
Curated OER
Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Learners identify the plant parts and bee structures that are involved in pollination. They simulate pollination in a group activity and process the information.