Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin and the Way to A Good Life
Young scholars explore American history by reading biographical text in class. In this Benjamin Franklin instructional activity, students research the famous inventor by reading assigned text and answering reading comprehension questions...
Curated OER
Develop a Bird Feeder Watch List
Students explore biology by identifying animals on their school ground. In this bird species lesson, students create and utilize a simple bird feeder to attract birds near their classroom at which point they observe the color, size and...
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Pilgrims: The First Americans
Fifth graders become familar with the pilgrims and first Thanksgiving through essays about important people of the time. In this Thanksgiving activity, 5th graders choose an important figure from the time of the Pilgrims and write...
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Ben Franklin and the Rising Americans
Students prepare for and learn through a walking tour of Philadelphia. For this history lesson, students support their studies with a field trip. This lesson could be adapted to suit regions with other historic places or museums.
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American Born Chinese
Students make thematic connections and organize their ideas using a Venn Diagram. In this Venn Diagram instructional activity, students compare 3 different stories from a novel and fill in a Venn Diagram. Students then discuss their...
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Demonstrating an Understanding the Evolution of Democracy in the United States
High schoolers explore how democracy in the United States changed and evolved from its birth to the present. They participate in a mock testing environment. Students write a multi-tasked essay on American government and politics.
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Industrialization In Lowell, Massachusetts
Students explore the idealistic expectations of the industrialists who financed and built mills in Lowell, Massachusetts. They research how the expectations of Lowell mill founders compared to the reality of life in the textile mills for...
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It's In Your Pocket
Students examine federal powers. In this U.S. Constitution lesson, students explore the powers of Congress to coin money. Students also study the meaning of the symbols on U.S. coins.
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Exploration and Settlement of the American Southwest
Students scrutinize the Zuni Pueblo Revolt in this seven lessons unit on early Spanish explorers in the American southwest. The discovery of the Spanish missions, the search for the seven cities of gold, and particular geological...
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rkansas Black Pioneers: A History of African-American Colonies in Arkansas
Students identify various regions of early Arkansas as these regions relate to African American colonies that settled in Arkansas after the Civil War.
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Early Space Missions
In this space missions instructional activity, learners read about the launch of the space shuttle Magellan and its exploration of Venus. Students complete 2 short answer questions based on the reading.
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Plains Indians
First graders create a KWL chart on Native Americans and listen to a speaker from a local Indian Reservation. As a class, they are read part of a Native American story in which they pick their own Native American name and identify their...
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The Growth of U.S.-Japanese Hostility, 1915-1932
Students explore the relationship between Japan and the United States between 1915 and 1932. In this diplomacy instructional activity, students examine the Open Door Policy, 21 Demands, and the invasion of Manchuria by Japan. Students...
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Barter Day
Fifth graders research bartering. In this bartering instructional activity, 5th graders investigate bartering as a way to trade for goods and services. Students experience bartering first hand while playing a game.
National First Ladies' Library
Will the Real Pocahontas Please Stand Up?
Learners explore the life of Pocahontas and Powhatan Indians. After studying information on a given website, students compare and contrast what they read about Pocahontas and what they previously thought of her. They explore life in a...
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Social Studies: Manifest Destiny or Bust
Fifth graders explore the westward movement between 1800 and 1861 in the United States. They write narratives from the standpoint of those cultures that were repressed during this period, such as Native Americans, slaves, or Mexicans. ...
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The Grand Adventure of Lewis and Clark
Students take a closer look at the Lewis and Clark expedition. In this Louisiana Purchase lesson, students discover tools used by the men as they explored the land. Students also read excerpts from The Incredible Journey and America...
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Indian Mathematical Achievements
High schoolers explore how Indian culture and religion prompted Indian advancements in math and science. For this Indian culture lesson, students read "India's Work in Math" and conduct research regarding Indian mathematicians.
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PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SUCCESSION IN AMERICA'S FORESTS
Young scholars examine forest organisms, features of some of the different types of forest, classify organisms based on the type of forest they come from, and explore how certain species are connected with other, particular species...
American Museum of Natural History
Talk to a Titanosaur
Learn all about the Titanosaur with an engaging website that delves deep into the large reptile's physical traits, family history, discovery, and fossil reconstruction.
American Museum of Natural History
Fossils
Sixteen slides showcase an average day on the job for a paleontologist, Ross MacPhee. Engaging images include world maps and real-world photographs from an archeological dig in Antarctica. A brief description accompanies each slide.
Curated OER
The Collaborative Works of Rodgers and Hammerstein: Show Business
Students study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...
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Jamestown in Context: The Colonization of North America
Learners analyze the significance of Jamestown in the broader picture of colonization and analyze a historical document to determine the effects of previous explorations on the expectations of the Jamestown colonizers
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Mapping Mistakes
Students examine early European maps and explore geographic errors. They also view maps of the geography of North America. Students discuss the obstacles faced by early explorers in mapping unexplored territory. They consider what the...