Curated OER
Redistricting: Drawing the Lines
Difficult redistricting concepts are covered in a context that will make it understandable to your government scholars. They begin with a KWL on the term redistricting and then watch a video to answer some questions. They...
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College or Bust?
Based on a New York Times article, "The College Drop-Out Boom," participants in a fishbowl discussion formulate and express opinions about the correlation between level of education, career options, and economic mobility. Ample...
Shakespeare in American Life
Performing Modernized Shakespeare
“All the world’s a stage…” What do Leonardo DiCaprio, Heath Ledger, and Kenneth Branagh have in common? They have all starred in modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. After viewing a series clips from modern Shakespeare videos,...
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Let the Campaign Begin
Learners examine the many steps involved in the electoral process. They examine past president's campaigns and write an announcement speech for the candidate of their choice.
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Newspapers in the Digital Age
Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...
Wish for the Future
Wish for the Future
What would be your class's ideal world 30 years in the future? What about 100 years? Use a series of activities to discuss globalization, sustainability, scientific contributions to society, and the global community of which your...
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Creating Relief Sculpture
Students design and create a sculptural relief using modeling clay.They create latex rubber molds and then produce relief sculptures using Sculptamold.
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Whose History Is It Anyway? Patterns in History
Read and examine primary source material in order to analyze, synthesize, and debate information about the Great Depression. Critical analysts research various source materials related to the Great Depression. They work in teams to...
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Demonstrating Our Rights
Students view image of Bridgeport Community Protest, discuss event depicted in image, and demonstrate knowledge of protest by organizing and carrying out an actual protest or demonstration.
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African Americans in the Civil War
Students examine the contributions of African American soldiers during the Civil War. In pairs, they complete Civil War timeline worksheets. They use character cards to assume the identities of African Americans and determine whether or...
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Understanding Growth of the Phoenix Area
Students study the growth of the Phoenix area using geographic images, maps, tables, and graphs. They study the idea of community.
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How Hard Were the Times? Investigating the Meaning and Significance of the Great Depression
Students examine causes and effects of Great Depression and its significance on twentieth-century life, analyze value of various types of historical information, specifically primary sources, and relate events, issues, problems, and...
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Designing the Future of Technology
Conduct research focused on improving a current technology by having students work in groups to investigate improvements that could be made to a particular piece of technology. They list the current problems and attempt to develop...
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Telling Our Own Stories
Explore online profiles and social media with your middle and high school classes. Use blogs to inspire your class to craft a well-written, thoughtful response to a prompt you give. A few example prompts are given.
Civil War Trust
Civil War Newspaper
One photograph can represent so much more than the images on the film. Eighth graders select a photograph from the Civil War era and conduct additional research based on the subject matter from the picture. Once they complete the...
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Oliver Twist Goes to Hollywood
How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...
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Study History through Journal Keeping
Journal writing can be a fun way to bring history to life. Upper graders read a series of journals from the time of the westward expansion, specifically the pioneer journey along the Oregon Trail. They compose an ongoing journal from the...
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Animal Farm: Propaganda
Eighth graders study the concept of propaganda and its major techniques. they define propaganda; analyze use of techniques in AF; create own propaganda using common techniques on a current topic.
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Shakespeare Was A Black Woman
"I all alone beweep my outcast state." After a discussion of the "Shakespeare in American Life" segment in which Maya Angelou's relates her reaction to Sonnet 29, class groups create and perform a scene about an outcast that includes the...
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What Did it Look Like When Europe Met America?
Students view the film 'Black Robe,' which further develop students' abilities to see an event or era of history from multiple perspectives. After the movie, they utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan to write about what they've seen.
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Mysterious Creatures
Learners create drawings of animals. The project is research based and teaches learners how to use encyclopedias. The focus is upon finding useful illustrations. The fun of the instructional activity is displaying student work for...
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Line Painting Flowers
Students study the watercolor and acrylic work of Geoff Slater and create their own versions of the art. In this line painting lesson, students study examples of Geoff Slater art and focus on his line paintings. Students discuss the...
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Geo Jammin' By DeSign - Day 2, Lesson 10: Wanna Trade?
Students listen to a book that facilitates a discussion of trade and things that people need. They determine what things might be traded.
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Political Protest Through Art
Students examine how artists (painters or cartoonists) use artwork as a means of disseminating a political point of view in this lesson plan that uses primary source documents and examples of political cartoons.