+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kid City, USA

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
What a model community would look like? Get your kids talking with an activity that allows them to create their own town. After printing out a "fold out village," groups of young scholars use a variety of resources to help them build an...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Passage Through Time

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young learners research and present information about a chosen subject to their peers, parents, instructors, and community. This instructional activity has a strong research and public speaking component, and would be ideal for your...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Got Park? Or if you build it, they will come!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use GIS and GPS technology to evaluate, research, locate, and recommend where a new park should be located that benefit the community.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Families and Neighborhoods

For Teachers K
Students build their own neighborhood. For this lesson on community, students are introduced to books about families and neighborhoods. As a class, the students create their own neighborhood, elect a leader for their neighborhood and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Studies: The Connecticut Hill Community

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students discover the reasons for the settlement of the Connecticut Hill Community. Through an examination of the climate, occupations of the inhabitants, and demographics, they discuss reasons people choose locations for settlement. ...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eminent Domain: Whose Land is it Anyway?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research eminent domain and whether or not there has been a land dispute in their community. Students search local newspapers, local history books or talk with civic leaders and long-time citizens and create a chart showing the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do I Get There? Planning a Safe Route to School

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
One much-needed skill for young learners is direction giving. Have your class plan and draw a safe route for them to travel from home to school. They will also draw places and items that are in between home and school in order to build a...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Memorial Day

For Teachers 7th - 12th
As a way to understand Memorial Day, build citizenship, practice vocabulary, and discuss current international conflicts, learners create their own Memorial Day. They design their own memorial after learning about the various types of...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Planning a Healthy City

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders create a scaled model city. They create a blueprint that provides for the economic and cultural needs of a community. They identify where essential elements of the city should be located and explain the rationale for the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Here and There: Discovering Communities Through the Olympic Torch Relay

For Teachers K - Higher Ed
Students compare their hometowns to the towns on the Olympic Torch Relay and complete multi-curricular activities for the lesson. In this Olympics lesson, students complete math, geography, science, and history activities to learn about...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Map of Town

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders draw a map of the town given different sites to locate on the map by the teacher. They explain that latitude and longitude are used to locate places on maps and globes, identify the distinctive physical and cultural...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River.  In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River.  Students document their...
+
Unit Plan
Curated OER

Story Stretching: Tall Tales in North America

For Teachers K
Students are introduced to tall tales. In this introductory tall tales unit, students explore the tall tales of Casey Jones and Johnny Appleseed. This unit includes many interdisciplinary lessons including graphing skills and geography.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Biomimicry, Nature: Architecture of the Future

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the relationship between nature and architecture. In this cross curriculum history, culture, and architecture lesson, students observe and discuss structures visible in nature. Students view websites in which Native...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Antarctica

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore the Antarctic continent, Australia's role in Antarctic exploration and development, the issues concerning Antarctica's future and the needs of the Antarctic community.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The City of New Haven

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine the geography, politics and history of their local town of New Haven, Connecticut. Using the internet, they explore the neighbors of New Haven and write directions from their house to school. In groups, they research...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Water Resources

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students build a model aquifer to study groundwater zones and water table formation. Students use the models to measure the movement of polluted groundwater.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our City

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders familiarize themselves with the town they live in by practicing their imagination, library research and writing skills.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: Islands and Alcatraz

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students, in groups, create maps of islands including map keys and compass roses. They compare and contrast their island communities with that of the island prison, Alcatraz. Students select from a series of projects, including writing...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Barrio: Our Community/Adams & Normandie

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine various structures and people, including the region of Adams and Normandie, in Los Angeles. They conduct Internet research, and identify and locate features in the Adams/Normandie region during the past 60/70 years.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Global Geography of Economics: the Indiana Steel Industry

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students research and identify positive and negative effects of imported steel on the Indiana steel industry.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Global Geography of Economics: The Indiana Steel Industry

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students are introduced to how steel is made and investigate the importance of the steel industry. They participate in a role-play that explores the concepts of taxes, tariffs and imports vs. domestic production.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Explore Your World--Geography Takes You Places

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students examine how the world around them is constantly changing. In groups, they travel between centers in their classroom to role play the role of explorers in Washington D.C. They share their experiences with their classmates and...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Communities Around the World

For Teachers K - 5th
Students investigate the idea of community by taking a field trip.  In this civics lesson, students participate in a supervised walk around their neighborhood while identifying characteristics and objects that make their home town...