Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Film Festival

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Everybody's a critic—even your pupils! Using the included resources as a guide, screen films related to social justice and ask film enthusiasts to critique them. Publish the reviews for your school community or develop a film festival...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

WWI Through the Film, Foot Soldiers

For Teachers 9th - 11th
If your historians are watching the History Channel documentary, Foot Soldiers during their WWI unit, this plan has some simple recall questions and one referential/debate question ("What was the worst part of the war?") to ask after...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

War Story Documentary

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students review research skills and determine an aspect of war to research. They research an aspect of a war experience and bring history to life through iMovie.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

War Story Documentary

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research and create an aspect of a war. They practice on writing a bibliography and essays.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This is America

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. In this national parks lesson, students view the Ken Burns documentary about the subject and identify the contributions of individuals in support of the parks...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Exploring Parent-Child Relationships Through Letter Writing

For Teachers 7th - 12th
The PBS film, Bronx Princess, launches a study of complex parent-child relationships. Using the provided reading guide, viewers respond to clips from the film and compare Rocky and Yaa’s relationship to other parent-child relationships....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring US Foreign Policy after WWII--The Cold War

For Teachers 11th
Scholars explore U.S. Foreign Policy and Cold War ideologies adopted after WWII. They conduct Internet research on a topic or issue related to the Cold War Era, watch two films, and compose a time line and a multimedia presentation to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hollywood and Higher Learning

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students watch a varietry of films showing college life. In groups, they take different scenerios from the films and determine how they would have reacted. As a class, they discuss more in depth the issues they might face in college. ...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Triumph of the Will

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students view the propaganda film, "Triumph of the Will". Identifying propaganda techniques used, they review any fallacies in logic or persuasive appeals. They discover elements in German culture and their meaning in 1934. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Who Controls the Real Cost of Credit Cards?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers view the film "How Much Does Debt Cost?" and explore the reasons why credit card fees and interest rates have gone up so much over the last 25 years. They participate in class discussion and complete a worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ancient Egypt: Connecting Literature and Geography

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
Students brainstorm prior knowledge of Ancient Egypt, locate Egypt on map of Africa and on world map, watch King Tut film, discuss term biography, and map geographical information mentioned in stories and documentaries about Ancient Egypt.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

BE-01-01 Introduction to Business Ethics

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students explore ethics. In this business ethics lesson, students watch "The Corporation" and discuss employee policies, community outreach, and business models.  Students consider various scenarios that encourage authentic student...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sources of Information

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students review information from a previous lesson about JFK and his assassination. As a class, they identify sources they believe historians use and describe the difference between a primary and secondary source. In groups, they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Images, Empathy, and the Humanitarian Impulse

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study humanitarian intervention and its role in society.  In this politics lesson students view a video on Darfur and discuss what they learned. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders become familiar with the role of African Americans during WWII.  In this WWII instructional activity, 5th graders watch a newsreel and discuss its use as a primary source.  Students answer questions about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Neighborhood Expedition

For Teachers K
Students plan and conduct an expedition through their neighborhood based on the techniques used by the Harriman Expedition to Alaska in 1899. They research the Harriman expedition on the internet and then create a route and collection...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Standing Up Against Injustice

For Teachers 9th - 12th
“Sometimes things are lawful yet are actually wrong.” Researchers examine primary and secondary source materials as they study five legal cases involving civil rights attorney William Kunstler in which he attempted to use the legal...
Lesson Plan
Frontline

Obama's Deal

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Government classes benefit from examining how a bill passes through Congress, while they focus on the compromises made by Obama's administration regarding health care reform. This includes an online video and a couple of handouts. The...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Getting Away with Torture?"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss what they know about the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. They research policy memos and assess their influence on military personnel. They identify the Geneva Conventions rule on the treatment of prisoners as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jefferson's Blood

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students view the video "Jefferson's Blood" and complete a series of activities, dealing with both Thomas Jefferson's public and private life, in order to better explain Jefferson as a man and politician.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

African-American Civil War Soldiers Lesson Plan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this Civil War lesson, students examine the service of African Americans in the Civil War and consider their plight to secure the rights and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In Search of Al Qaeda

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view a PBS Frontline video online entitled, "In Search of Al Qaeda." They complete pre-viewing activities in which they examine the use of primary sources. They look at the key groups and individuals and the history of...
Website
PBS

Pbs American Experience: Remember the Alamo

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS companion site to the documentary film "Remember the Alamo," with much detailed information, interviews, survivor stories, maps, a timeline and reviews of historical facts and events.