Curated OER
The Struggle Against Segregation
Middle schoolers use vocabulary related to the history of segregation in the United States. They study about the history of segregation in America and recognize the challenges and prejudice that many African Americans faced in the 1950s....
Curated OER
Where Does History Stand on the Last Stand?
Students examine the Battle of Little Bighorn and its impact on United States and Native American culture through reading current and historic New York Times articles and by creating a research-based exhibit about this historic event.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Harvesting the New World: Changing Land Uses and Contact Between Cultures in Colonial Times
Ninth graders differentiate the Native American and European values. In this world history lesson, 9th graders define colonialism in their own words. They study the effects of epidemics and other diseases to Native American populations.
Curated OER
Identify Cultural Influences - Hiawatha
Young scholars explore Native American life and culture. In this Native American lesson, students watch a video segment pertaining to The Song of Hiawatha, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Young scholars discuss Native American...
Curated OER
Money in Elections:What is it Doing to America?
Students investigate the role of money in American elections. For this current events lesson, students read and discuss articles that address money and political campaigns. Students may conduct further research on the topics presented in...
Curated OER
From Remus to Rap: A History in Theory and Practice of the African-American Storytelling Tradition
Students examine the specific form and function of tall tales and toasts.
They discover the importance of performance in the telling of a story and the importance of rhythm in the telling of toasts. They create stories of their own, in...
Curated OER
U.S. History: Native American Conflicts
Eleventh graders discuss the wars with the Plains Indians and the subsequent cultural difficulties of assimilation. Part of the lesson examines the clash of cultures and beliefs about land ownership. Prior to taking a quiz, 11th...
Curated OER
Little Train of Caipira
Students listen to the "Berry Pickers' Song" on the piano twice. They practice the song several times to become familiar enough to recognize it in the piece. They listen to the CD and recognize the tune by raising their hand and tell...
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...
Yale University
The Harlem Renaissance: Black American Traditions
Aaron Douglas, Meta Warrick Fuller, Palmer Hayden, William Johnson, and James Lesesne Wells, the painters and sculptors of the Harlem Renaissance, are featured in a unit study of artists of the Harlem Renaissance.
Curated OER
Little Oyster: Ceramic Lesson
Children will love researching and then creating a bottom dwelling mollusk of their own. They watch clips describing the ocean ecosystem and how oysters fit into their environment. Next, they research what oysters eat and how they look....
Curated OER
Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales
Students discuss the illustration's allusion to the myth, Pandora's Box. Students locate instances of folk sayings or expressions that make these tales seem authentic to the reader. Students draw a Venn diagram comparing Catskinella and...
Curated OER
Jazz Music and the Crisis Over School Desegregation
High schoolers will learn to appreciate the civil rights movement with a focus on Little Rock, Arkansas. They will also acknowledge Louis Armstrong's unparalleled contributions to American music.
Curated OER
¡Cha cha en Chihuahua!
Can you name all of the Mexican states? Most Americans can't, even though Mexico is our close neighbor. Encourage your Spanish learners to research a Mexican state and create a comprehensive PowerPoint to share the newly acquired...
National Humanities Center
Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...
Curated OER
The Gettysburg Address (1863): Defining the American Union
Students explore the Gettysburg Address. In this U. S. history lesson, students examine Abraham Lincoln's speech and it's themes of freedom, equality, and emancipation.
Curated OER
Identifying and Explaining Reactions
Introduce high schoolers to chemical reactions with this series of activities. In a little over an hour, scientists observe four gas-producing reactions: the combination of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide, placing pasta in...
Curated OER
Energy Jeopardy
While science Jeopardy games are a dime-a-dozen, this one has some pretty unique categories that are still relevant to a middle school physical science curriculum. The topics include: leading nations, famous Americans (who invented...
American Chemical Society
Changing the Density of a Liquid - Adding Salt
Fourth in a set of several little lessons on density, this one compares the density of fresh and salt water. First by demonstration, and then by a hands-on activity, learners find that adding salt increases the density, as is evidenced...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Clark Clifford, Letter to Lyndon B. Johnson
Vietnam War did indeed turn into a quagmire. Students of history will gain much from a close reading of this 1965 prophetic letter from the Secretary of Defense, Clark Clifford to President Lyndon B. Johnson, advising the president...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Franklin’s Philadelphia: Another Point of View
The impressive story of Benjamin Franklin, including his rise from a printer’s apprentice to a statesman, color upper-level scholars’ understanding of the possibilities of life in colonial Philadelphia. But not everyone had the...
American Press Institute
Newspapers in Your Life: What’s News Where?
Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
The Junto Meets Again
Out of the classroom and into the streets! With Ben Franklin’s Junto society as inspiration, learners develop their ideas for improving their communities and put them into action. After analyzing meeting notes to discover what the Junto...