Curated OER
Hamilton and Burr : Compare and Contrast
Who were Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton? High schoolers examine the character traits of these historical figures and watch the video, The Duel. Hamilton vs. Burr: An Event that Changed History (available from PBS), to gain an...
Curated OER
Count on Chinese Characters
Young scholars research and use traditional Chinese characters to notate numbers. They compare and contrast Chinese calligraphy with Arabic numerals. Students demonstrate their comprehension of number concepts through their drawings and...
Curated OER
Comparing Cultures
Young readers compare two stories/cultures, identifying how they are alike and different. They share their own version of a well-known story and adapt it to another culture. They explain their adaptations.
ReadWriteThink
Heroes Are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes
What makes heroes and villains? A six-part unit plan asks young scholars to explore the concept of heroism and the characteristics they consider heroic and unheroic. Groups create character maps that focus on how characters are shaped by...
Curated OER
Oklahoma! The Cultural Myth of America
Learners explore cultural myths in America by collecting images and characteristics of stereotypical Americans. They read a primary source document, discussing the views of the author in class. Next, they compare the terms used to...
Curated OER
Understanding Other People's Decisions
Students analyze people's choices from different points of view. They read different scenarios and explain how they would react personally in that situation. Then they analyze what they would do in another character's position and...
Curated OER
Children's Books Teach Diversity, Respect
Young scholars compare aspects of children's books that teach diversity and respect. They examine universal values such as courage and bravery, respect and apathy. They create a final project based on their ability to recognize the...
Curated OER
Beowulf: Songs of Ancient Heroes
Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...
Curated OER
Homelessness
Take a close look at homelessness with your learners. In this character development instructional activity, young artists draw a large pair of sunglasses, adding their family and pictures representing their belongings and values on the...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Intensities in the Classroom
Everyone learns and experiences life differently. A set of lessons about character intensities encourages middle and high schoolers to analyze themselves, their peers, and characters from a book based on the five listed intensities:...
Curated OER
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Students explore the 5 themes of geography. In this cross curriculum literacy and geography lesson, students listen to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett, and make a list of the needs of the people in Chewandswallow....
Curated OER
Comparing Good and Bad Character Traits of Historical and Current Figures
Students create a chart with two columns. In one column include good and bad character traits of historical figures in biographies and historical fiction. In the second column include good and bad character traits of current famous...
Curated OER
"Declaration (of a Kgomotso Girl)"
Students explore the poem, "Declaration." Students discuss how elements of poetry such as tone work to convey meaning. Students compare and contrast their lives and the lives of the poem's characters from South Africa.
EngageNY
Contrasting Perspectives: Should the Farmworkers in Esperanza Rising Go On Strike? (Chapter 12: "Los Esparragos/Asparagus")
Explore multiple perspectives through a jigsaw activity that will improve your pupils' understanding of the characters in Esperanza Rising as well as their understanding of strikes and human rights. Tapping into prior knowledge, and...
Curated OER
Questions of Courage
Examine discrimination. In this character education lesson, learners read two biographies, Vivien Naki and Hamilton Naki then analyze their personal discrimination experiences. They complete a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the two...
Federal Reserve Bank
Once Upon a Dime
The story of "Once Upon a Dime" starts like any other fairy tale, but it quickly becomes a story about the value of money and the economic system commonly used before it. Presented as a cartoon, the resource consists of dialogue between...
Curated OER
Applying Ahimsa to Traditional Stories
Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...
Curated OER
Latin American Film
Students critique, discuss, and identify characters in a film about Latin America. In this Latin America lesson plan, students watch the film and discuss the film and everyday life.
Curated OER
Ancient Greece - A Letter Home
In this Ancient Greece worksheet, students proofread a letter written in Greek characters by comparing it to a second letter on the page. They find the 4 mistakes and replace them with the characters shown at the bottom of the page...
Curated OER
The Children of Eric the Red Explore the West: The Norsemen Encounter Indigenous People of North America
Young scholars read about Viking exploration and complete activities based on the Indigenous people they encountered. In this Viking exploration lesson plan, students compare and contrast stories, write a character sketch, and more.
Curated OER
The Rigors of Learning a New Language
Students read an autobiography of a peace corps volunteer studying Chinese. In this cultural acceptance lesson, students compare the dialects of Chinese with English dialects. Students discuss the differences in learning and teaching a...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
It’s Greek to Me: Greek Mythology
It's no myth: this packet on Greek mythology is an excellent addition to your social studies curriculum. With writing activities, such as short answer responses and biopoems, and reading activities, which include creation stories and...
Curated OER
Living Yesterday's History Today
Students explore the colonial period to describe and contrast the life and experiences of people who lived at that time with the lives of individual's in the current era. the lives of researched characters are dramatically enacted and...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Using Literary Elements to Compare Fiction Texts
Students explore language arts by reading and reflecting on literary examples. In this fiction writing lesson plan, students read several different cultural versions of the story "Cinderella" and discuss their interaction with the story...