PBS
Document This
Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...
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Connecting with Your Feelings
As part of a therapeutic and restorative exercise, pupils use worksheets to recall experiences and explore their reactions to major feelings, from anxiety and anger to joy and love.
Curriculum Corner
Camping Literacy Pack
Increase camping vocabulary just in time for summer with a camping themed literacy pack. Use word cards and sentence cards to enhance fluency, build vocabulary, and strengthen writing skills. The activities are perfect for centers,...
Curriculum Corner
Wonderful Words for Writing!
Twenty slides make up a set of festive, May-themed writing prompts designed to grab scholars' attention and warm-up their writing skills. Prompts include story starters, holidays, research questions, the five senses, and more!
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What's Inside My Memory Bag?
Students write sentences and illustrate pictures that relate to special mementos they bring to class.
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Visions in the Dust: A Child's Perspective of the Dust Bowl
Young scholars examine primary source material of the Depression to correlate the fictional text "Out of the Dust" with actual visual, auditory, and manuscript accounts as found in the American Memory collections.
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Pennies of My Life Part 1
Fifth graders read and discuss "The Hundred Penny Box". They write their own autobiographies, collect pennies for each year of their lives, and illustrate their favorite yearly activities.
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Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local
Students explore personal, local, state, and national history. In this historiography lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding their family histories framed in local, state, and...
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Introduction to Scientific Methods
Sixth graders distinguish between an observation and an inference distinguish between quantitative and qualitative observations of a scientific experiment. They record and organize data collected during an experiment.
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Memorable Maps
Students draw an assigned map from memory about the United States or any other region they are studying. For this maps lesson plan, students draw a map from their memory at the beginning of the year, and do the same assignment at the end...
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Recreation Yesterday and Today
Students research entertainment and recreation in the early 20th century. In this lesson on the 1920's, students use the American Memory collections to compare the rural experience for this time period to the national experience and to...
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In the Field with Salamanders
Students observe salamanders, take pictures of them, and classify them into an online format. In this animal classification lesson, students use collection materials and digital camera to photograph and observe salamanders. Students...
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Capturing the Moment
Pupils create photography timelines of the Civil Rights movement and write journal entries reflecting on the capacity of photographs to evoke personal and collective historical memory.
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For The Record
Students create a database that catalogs their collection of CD's and tapes. They sort, analyze and print databases. They practice how to search, sort and analyze a database.
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Vacation Destination
Students participate in a role play where they are travel agents and must sell their assigned state to the rest of the class. They collect and present information in persuasive speeches to make their fellow students want to take a...
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Culture Differences
Sixth graders research and collect data about different holidays celebrated in Taiwan. In groups, they discuss what they have learned and discuss differences between eastern and western culture.
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Jefferson's Declaration
Fifth graders understand the people and events associated with the
drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence and the document's significance. They identify the Founding Fathers and
their affiliations. As the lesson...
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Let It Snow!
Students make the most of the season's first snowfall with a snowflake study. They create original snowflakes from paper, collect authentic snowflakes on paper, and examine and compare the snowflakes.
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Service Learning/Then and Now
Eighth graders explore service learning projects. They work, in groups, to choose a video project. Students collect information and present it in a storyboard. Next, they use music, video clips, and still pictures to create their video...
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Raven' Beauties
Students explore Ravensbrück Concentration Camp. In this philanthropy lesson, students research the Ravensbrück Concentration Camp for Women, commemorate the memory of the women of the camp in a postage stamp, and present the stamp to...
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A Family Recipe and Recollections Cookbook Project
Students create a family cookbook to record special family memories and collect important recipes. In this family traditions lesson, students create a cookbook of memories, stories, and favorite recipes. Students present their cookbooks...
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Arkansas and the Dust Bowl
Students access and use the Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information, American Memory collection and Todd and Sonkin collection for research. They develop research skills and strategies, such as key word searches to...
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Thank You, Mr. Edison
Pupils read a letter to Thomas Edison and search for advertisements of the period. They review primary sources and photographs of items made available in the 1920's. They interact on the American Memory Collection website.
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Whale or Fish?
Students explain the difference between a whale and a fish. After working through this themselves, they process the differences in a more meaningful pattern that overflows into long-term memory.