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What's Civil About War?
Students study about the Civil War through primary sources used in the PBS production of "Freedom: A History of US" based on Joy Hakim's books, "A History of US", and the companion PBS Web site.
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Peking Opera Mask
Students design and create their own masks using the symbolism evident in Peking opera masks.
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Conflict Diamonds
Students examine how diamonds are portrayed in American culture. They identify the political and social implications of conflict diamonds and the locations of these diamonds in Africa. They evaluate the effectiveness of the Kimberley...
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Laura Ingalls Wilder and Pioneer Life
Fourth graders complete a three-week unit about Laura Ingalls Wilder and pioneer life. They research the topography of Michigan in the 1870's, conduct Internet research, write journal entries, participate in polka and waltz dancing, and...
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Shange's Novel Betsey Brown & Jazz
Students read a work of fiction and investigate literary values and structure of the work. They demonstrate understanding of the family values, cultural and historical context of the novel;
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Birth and Early Childhood
Eighth graders read and compare creation stories of different cultures around the world. They identify and define the concept of the cycle of life and collect and analyze birth and childhood folk beliefs and stories in their families...
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Painted Dreams
Third graders explore the importance of art in Haitian culture by analyzing the cause and effect within the story, "Allie's Basketball Dream." They examine all the aspects of the story and characters including their goals, dreams,...
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A Native American Legend
Students compare the Native American version of Cinderella to the more popular version they know. They compare legends with fairy tales and explore character traits and discuss the meaning of good character. They write a fairy tale of...
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Photographs of the 369th Infantry and African Americans during World War I
Students engage in a discussion regarding images of war we see, how quickly do we see them, and how they affect us? They view and analyze war photographs taken during World War I.
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Art to Zoo: India-Where Remarkable Differences Are Ordinary
Students "visit" India to learn about its culture and the lives of children in India. In this India lesson, students conduct research and report on the lives of Indian children in the form of a mock interview between a journalist and an...
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My Own Cultural Traditions
Students complete a worksheet on personal traditions. In this cultural traditions lesson, students discuss what a cultural tradition is and why they are important to the members of the culture. Students distinguish between cultural...
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Learning from Photos
Students use photographs to study the Bracero Labor Program. In this analyzing photographs lesson, students are broken up into groups and given a photograph of Bracero laborers. They predict the answers to questions about the photo...
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Disco - Voices of a New Generation
Students analyze lyrics of selected Disco songs for content, theme and vocabulary. They write an extended response citing specific lyrics in response to three general themes.
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Native American Friendship Dance
The performing arts offer artistic perception, creative expression, historical and cultural context and aesthetic valuing. This dance helps students understand dance history and develops cultural awareness. Students are given the...
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ELA Lesson Plan Focusing on Artists and Composers
Students research a selected composer and artist. They write a biography about each one and include information about at least two works created by the chosen artist or composer. Students note similar characteristics of their compared...
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Make it Snow
Sixth graders investigate snow using pieces of literature, experimentation, and studying images by Wilson Bentley. They view snow from its artistic, geometric and literary expressions.
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United States All the Way
Pupils create patriotic books about the United States and some of its special symbols.
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The Many, Varied, and Unusual Places and Things on Earth
Students discover how energy flows through communities because of the relationship between producers, consumers and decomposers. Examining various ecosystems, they identify the materials that cycle continuously through them. They label...
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Humanities in Colonial and Revolutionary America
Students demonstrate dances of colonial America. In this colonial American instructional activity, students learn forms of colonial social dancing including the Juba and Virginia Reel. Students examine the history of the 2 dances as well.
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Cultural Practices and Products of the Local Community
Third graders examine and compare practices and products of the cultural groups that have settled in the local area. Students develop and use graphic organizers to aid them in the comparison of artistic expression, places of worship,...
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Mardi Gras Quilt
Students investigate the concept of Mardi Gras and how it is celebrated in Louisiana. They use technology in order to create interest in the form of a video. Students create a quilt template using the internet to copy and paste images.
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Spanish Country Report
Students select a Spanish-speaking country they would like to visit. They gather information and present it in Spanish in the form of a written and oral report.
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Power to the People: Social Movements of the 1960s
Students engage in a professional development workshop for teachers in the delivery of curriculum about the era of the 1960's. The emphasis of the workshop is using popular culture of the time in order to launch investigations that are...
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Treasure Hunt
Students actively search a the ground outside and find several types of leaves, lichen, feathers and trash. They place items into journals, write entries, draw pictures and ask questions about the items found on their exploration.