MENSA Education & Research Foundation
I Need a Superhero
Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey...
Curated OER
World War I: Overview of the Great War
Ninth graders read first hand accounts of soldiers' lives during World War I, examine historical timeline of major events during war, and research and listen to clips of popular music of the time.
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Using Primary Sources to Study the Holocaust
Engage your middle schoolers with Pastor Martin Niemoller's famous poem that begins, "First they came for the communists." Now that you have their attention, send learners to the various work stations you created to have them explore...
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Jazz in America
Students explore the Swing Era and its implications. They answer questions and listen to music from the era.
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Whitman and Lincoln
Students determine if Lincoln and Whitman ever met and write a dialogue between the two men. In this Whitman and Lincoln lesson, students read Whitman's poem "Beat! Beat! Drums!" and connect it to the events of Lincoln's presidency....
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Rockin’ the World: Rock and Roll and Social Protest in 20th Century America
Students explore protest songs. For this interdisciplinary lesson, students examine issues-based music by summarizing lyrics and revealing inferences, generalizations, conclusions, and points of view found in the songs.
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Lesson 2 - Music: A Uniting Force?
Students gain an understanding of the role music plays during a crisis such as wartime. They discuss emotions associated with war and how music connects with these feelings.
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Art -- The Secret to Freedom
Fourth graders create a coded message in a quilt. In this art activity students demonstrate the communication used by the Underground Railroad. Students work in a group to make a quilt with a code in it.
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History-Causes of WW I
Seventh graders participate in a class discussion about what caused World War II. Working in groups, they identify the reasons they believe were most important in starting the war and present their reason in the form of a PowerPoint,...
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A Song for Every Headline - Lesson 1
Students identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events They recognize popular music as a reflection of the culture. They focus on songs of the Vietnam War era.
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ABBA - Lesson 4
Young scholars discover a connection between the genres of popular music and musical theater. They find and discuss musicals written in many different musical styles.
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Outstanding African Americans Activity
Challenge historians to investigate influential African-Americans through this online research activity. Learners undertake this task using online links, some of which require investigative searching. Print the worksheet out first, so...
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The Star-Spangled Banner
Students explore the Star-Spangled Banner. In this civics instructional activity, students read the lyrics of the song as well as a handout that details its creation. Students respond to discussion questions from the handout.
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Stories of the American Experience
Students identify a veteran to interview. This could be a family member of one of students or someone contacted through an organization in the community. They use a storyboard to plan their movie about their subject.
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Songs of Unrest - Lesson 4
Students identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events. They pretend that they are producing a new CD. The CD includes four songs that comment on today's social issues. They write the liner notes.
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Kidding Around In The 1980s
Students examine pop culture of the 1980s. In this historical time period lesson plan, students view a Smurfs cartoon from the 1980s and discuss its similarities and differences to cartoons today. Students work in groups to...
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Author Study: Laura Ingalls Wilder
Students read novel, Little House in the Big Woods, explore web sites and other resources devoted to author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, complete Venn Diagram showing ways they and author are alike and different, and create diorama, read...
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Jazz in America
Students explore different instruments and what role they play in Jazz. They also each person's role in a democratic society.
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
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Timeline
Tenth graders examine the Holocaust from a chronological perspective. In this Holocaust lesson, 10th graders create parallel timelines on a poster about the Holocaust.
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Celebrate The Four Seasons
Students investigate cause and effect and compare and contrast how recurring cycles are evident in multiple aspects of their education. They answer questions in the chosen field. Students model each aspect by interpreting, perceiving and...
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Hong Kong Symphony: Heaven, Earth, Mankind
Students complete a unit on the reunification of Hong Kong with China in 1997. They watch and discuss a documentary, write an essay about unification, conduct Internet research on three artists from the film, complete a data sheet, and...
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Oh, Say Can You See...
Students explore the meaning behind "The Star-Spangled Banner." In this music lesson, students sing the first verse of the national anthem and watch several performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Students define several vocabulary...
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Hi-Tech Volunteerism
Students examine their personal skills and strengths and connect them to specific volunteer possibilities in developing countries. Based on what they explore hi-tech venture philanthropy, students envision projects that affect global...