Curated OER
Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day lesson integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson activates...
Global Oneness Project
Far From Home
A timely and provocative lesson plan inspires high schoolers to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis. They analyze a compelling photo essay before discussing and writing about it.
Curated OER
Building Bodies
Learners identify key anatomical similarities and differences between great apes and humans. They infer likely anatomical features in ancient human ancestors and list principal anatomical changes in primates necessary for adaptation to...
Curated OER
Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.
Curated OER
G8: Classroom Activities
Learners explore the G8 Summit. In this current events lesson plan, students research the provided web links to learn more about the summit. Learners research issues to be debated at the summit.
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Civil Rights
Students study the social and political events in Virginia linked to desegregation and massive resistance and their relationship to national history. They examine the "Jim Crow" laws and how they affected the lives of African Americans...
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Dubois and Washington Venn Diagram
Students compare and contrast the visions of W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington. In this African American history lesson, students read biographies about both men and create a Venn diagram about the men.
Curated OER
Commonalities and Differences from Africa to Cleveland as Evidence Through the Gullah Community Connection
Students explore Afro-American history. They identify the commonality between African, Carolinian and Cleveland Black culture. Students explore the water cycle, oceanography, hydrology and bio-geochemical processes. They discuss the...
Curated OER
Jim Crow Lesson Plan
Jackie Robinson's attempt to earn a spot on the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers provides learners with an opportunity to examine the Jim Crow laws and revisit issues of segregation and integration. "The Unconquerable Doing the Impossible: Jackie...
US Holocaust Museum
Defying Genocide
Defying death. Defying those who want to do harm. Defying genocide. Pupils research the events in Rwanda to gain an understanding of what it takes to survive a horrific event like a holocaust. They use video, time lines, and Holocaust...
Curated OER
Lesson: Emory Douglas: Art and Activism
Visual literacy can be experienced in many different ways. Learners discuss the times, graphic art, and cultural significance of activism in art as they explore artist and Black Panther, Emory Douglas. This is a discussion-based lesson...
Curated OER
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution
Robert Coles’ The Story of Ruby Bridges forms the basis of this powerful cross-curricular study of civic education and civic responsibility. Class members consider how the book presents authority, responsibility, justice, and privacy.....
American Museum of Natural History
Make Your Own Mythic Mask or Puppet
No need to wait until Halloween to create a mask. Young anthropologists get involved in the centuries-old tradition of mask and puppet making with the help of an engaging resource that shows them how to craft their own masks or puppets.
PBS
Democracy in Action: Freedom Riders
This is a must-have resource for every social studies teacher covering the civil rights movement. Through an engaging video and detailed viewing guide, young historians learn about the Freedom Riders, and discover how everyday...
Curated OER
Apartheid and Segregation
Students view a television program that depicts the history South African Apartheid and the United States' system of segregation. They discuss how laws were used to uphold these institutions and compare and contrast racism and...
Curated OER
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 plan, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design...
Curated OER
Reaching Across Borders In Southern Africa
Learners gain a greater understanding of how political borders impact human and environmental development. Then, either individually or as a class, establish a correspondence with a Peace Corps volunteer working in Africa.
Curated OER
Fossils Footprints Across Time
Students examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...
Curated OER
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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To Tell the Tale
Students explore how themes common to the human condition can be found in literary and oral traditions across cultures. They compile traditional folk tales around these themes and write their own tales to reflect their own cultural context.
Curated OER
Mary Eliza Church Terrell -- Civil Rights Leader
Learners examine writings of Mary Eliza Church Terrell. They role play themselves as an African American woman in the 19th century. They describe her actions and how they benefited minorities.
Curated OER
Change: Just a Matter of Time
Students analyze the Declaration of Independence and primary sources to explain civil rights. Then, students write a Declaration of Change to express the grievances of African Americans, and their desire to participate fully in the...
Curated OER
Cultural and Social Transformation since 1865
Students research the evolution of cultural and social issues in areas of Westward Expansion, Immigration, and Civil Rights. They practice writing clear details with supporting evidence and examples and evaluate ways of improving drafts...
Curated OER
American Women Who Shaped the Civil Rights Movement Explored Through the Literature of Eloise Greenfield
Examine the women who contributed to the Civil Rights movement. In groups, children read excerpts of writings from Eloise Greenfield and research the women she mentions using the internet. To end the lesson, they create a timeline of...