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Rural Communities
Third graders observe various pictures of rural communities and explain what they see in each of the pictures. They discuss what they believe a rural community is and write their ideas on the board, discover its defintion, and share...
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Teaching About East Asia
Seventh graders research East Asian countries. In groups, pupils are assigned to research China, Japan or Korea. Using the internet and other resources, classmates create a multiple tier time line. They consider aspects such as...
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Famous People of the Gold Rush
Fourth graders research a famous person from the Gold Rush era. Using the Internet, they take notes from creditable websites and write their rough drafts of their paper. They use peer editing to check for spelling and grammar errors. ...
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When Getting There is More Than Half the Battle
Students investigate the 'Design for the Other 90%' exhibition about low-cost solutions to give the "other 90% of the world's population" access to services and amenities many of us take for granted. In this technology design activity,...
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Iconoclasm as it pertains to the Reformation
Ninth graders examine the Protestant reformation. In this World History instructional activity, 9th graders analyze various photographs from the Reformation. Students watch a video clip of Luther's trip to Rome.
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English Colonization
Fifth graders discuss their prior knowledge of what colonization means and give their opinions of why someone would want to start a colony. After recording their answers on web map they read about the English colonization in their books;...
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Life On The Oregon Trail
Students investigate the concept of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The class divides into different groups to take a different aspect of the research. Then the groups present the findings to the...
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Golden Rule
First graders discuss how others should use the Golden Rule to peacefully solve real life problems. They perform short skits that depict people breaking the Golden Rule. They work as a class to determine ways the problem could be solved....
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Signs Signs - Everywhere Signs
Students examine advertising techniques. In this media literacy lesson, students collaborate to create PowerPoint presentations that feature multimedia formats to share advertising that is present in their community.
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Responsibility
Second graders explore the concept of responsibility and the rights and responsibilities of citizens in their school and community. They brainstorm about the word responsibility, develop a list of how people make friends, and make a...
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Maya Lin - Artist, Architect, Environmentalist
Sixth graders explore the life of Maya Lin and analyze the impact of her architectural philosophy on her work. They trace the history of the Vietnam Memorial from its conception by Maya Lin, to the present day. A time line is created of...
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What's an Ecotect?
In this future jobs activity, students use their creative thinking to select 10 job titles from a list and write a description for each job title. Students discuss as a class what good descriptions are and they discuss life in the future.
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Trade Trials Treaties
Fourth graders explore the trade relationships that existed in the late 1700's Colonial America. In this American history lesson, 4th graders examine English and Cherokee trade treaties by reviewing primary and secondary sources....
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Election of 1860
Students determine how the presidential election of 1860 led to the American Civil War. In this election of 1860 lesson, students discover details regarding the election and hold their own mock debate and election. Students also write an...
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Jobs and Immigration
Students discuss colonial America and the jobs and trades that immigrants had to have to have a society that flourished. In this immigration jobs lesson plan, students also discuss the role of women in these times.
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Comparing Democracy and Republic
Learners use a graphic organizer, a T-chart, to contrast two types of government. They list facts about the two governments, and explain and defend their choice of facts to include.
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Celebrations of the Pacific Rim
Students research a celebration belonging to a Pacific Rim culture. They prepare a written and oral report with their findings and present such information as how the celebration has changed over time, its origins and the significance of...
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Latin American Colonial Diary
Middle schoolers examine the class systems of New Spain. In small groups, they create a five-day diary about the family life, food, occupation, and government involvement of an assigned personality from the time of Colonial Latin America.
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Oceans
First graders examine how the earth is covered with more water than land. They toss an inflatable globe around the classroom, and each time a student catches the ball with two fingers, they tally whether the fingers land on water or...
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Absolute and Relative Location
Second graders understand the difference between relative and absolute location using the grid map as an example of an absolute location. They observe a class map showing longitude and latitude lines and learn that they provide exact...
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Directionality
Second graders discuss the cardinal directions and intermediate directions and then look at the spooky map to locate different points on the map. They answer questions about where things are located in reference to another object and...
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Pilgrims
Students listen to the book, THE STORY OF THE PILGRIMS, noticing as the teacher lists key words on the board, and then answering questions about the story. They draw a picture of what they think it looked like inside the Mayflower when...
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What Are the Literary, Artistic, Scientific, and Technological Contributions of Immigrants to the United States?
Pupils evaluate impact of immigration on America's economy and culture, research information about people of various countries of origin, and share findings with classmates through collages, posters, handouts, or skits.
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Mexico
Students complete a unit about the geography and culture of Mexico. They compare and contrast the weather of their own city and Mexico, read books about Mexico, count in Spanish, color in a flag of Mexico and the Mexican Coat of Arms,...