Curated OER
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Students work in groups to imagine, research and simulate a dinner party involving an author, a fictional character, and a significant historical figure as dinner guests. The activity uses Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and the time...
Curated OER
Learning To Get Along With Classmates: A Discussion of Bullying And Intimidation At School
Students discuss cliques, intimidators, support systems and how it feels to be victimized, and discuss ways to deal with hurtful people.
Curated OER
Rights And Responsibilities: Debating Free Speech, Responsibility And Censorship on Campus
Learners weigh rights of students and others to free speech versus the responsibilities that come with those rights.
Curated OER
Isolation or Intervention?
Students research the attitudes and politics of pre-World War II America. They become isolationists or interventionists and present their points of view during a simulated city council meeting.
National First Ladies' Library
Workers, Take a Holiday! the Beginning of Labor Day
When your upper elementary class returns in the fall, have them identify and define the beginnings of the labor movement and Labor Day in the United States. They thoughtfully reflect on changes that have occurred in the way we think...
Curated OER
Patriot or Loyalist? A Revolutionary Decision
Students research as a reporter would and present the loyalist and patriot point of view on the American Revolution. In this patriots versus loyalist instructional activity, students produce a project such as a video debate or...
Curated OER
Trees-whiz
Pupils discover the importance of trees to the environment. After seeing trees in nature, they sketch various examples and collect all of them to create a book. In a journal, they develop questions they would want to ask a tree if it...
Curated OER
Views And voices From Within
Students investigate the life and artwork of Estelle Ishigo. They use a timeline and primary sources in order to understand the influence of living in a relocation camp during World War II. The lesson includes an extensive historical...
Curated OER
The Battle for Derby Bus Station
In this social studies and language arts worksheet, students read a 3 page article about some protesters who camped on top of the Derby, UK bus station to prevent it from being demolished. There are several photographs. Students think...
Curated OER
Compare the Candidates
In this language arts worksheet, students use a chart to compare 2 candidates before an election. Students write down how they are alike and how they are different. This could be their views about issues or their backgrounds.
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign
The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...
Curated OER
The Millennium Promise in Africa
High schoolers compete activities related to the viewing of a documentary film. After viewing the documentary, The Dairy of Angelina Jolie and Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa, students participate in a discussion of the leading factors...
Curated OER
American Civil Rights Movement, Photo Essay
Students view photographs from the Civil Rights Movement and write an essay from the point of view of someone in the photograph. They artistically represent various aspects of the Movement.
Curated OER
Latino Contributions To American Culture
Students create their own working definition of what it means to be an American. They examine the achievements of Latinos and discuss how the contribution of these Americans have enriched and helped shape American culture.
Curated OER
POLITICS AND RELIGION: Targeting Faith When It Counts
High schoolers research current articles about the influence of religion on the presidential election of 2004.
Curated OER
Natural Disasters
Students create an expressive painting documenting their experience of a storm. They create a slide show presentation comparing and contrasting the impact and the response to a natural disaster in the 19th century with the impact...
Curated OER
Jewish Assimilation In Contemporary American Literature
Students form groups to help each other read, analyze, and conduct research on important background information about Jews and their assimilation into modern American society. They write their own stories of assimilation.
Curated OER
Learning About Maps
Students take a "field trip" with the teacher through the school then draw a diagram of what they saw. They bring the maps to the computer lab where they create electronic maps using the software program Neighborhood Map Machine.
Curated OER
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Dou
Ninth graders explore the concept that education is related to freedom. In this human rights activity, 9th graders read The Narrative of Frederick Douglass. Students dialogue about their readings and education as it relates to human...
Curated OER
Building an Empire Mapping China
Learners create travel brochures of China's nine regions and make a bulletin board display with them.
Curated OER
Education Reform
Students identify problems and potential improvements for U.S. public school education. They research and debate the pros and cons of the "No Child Left Behind Act".
Curated OER
Whose Buffalo?
Seventh graders examine how the Plains Indians vied with white commercial buffalo hunters for the millions of Great Plains buffalo. They create an illustrated broadside supporting the interests of either the Indians or the commercial...
Curated OER
"Disco Sucks!"
Students examine why disco and other forms of music were not widely accepted.
Curated OER
We Are Reflections of Canada - Our People, Our Places, And Our Landscape
Sixth graders discover that they are active participants in Canadian culture. They engage in investigation of the past and various symbols of Canada. They explore their concept of culture and demonstrate an understanding of culture...