Poetry Foundation
Dream in Color - High School
Whether focusing on African American poets, Black History Month, or the poetic experience, an amazing toolkit that encourages learners to develop unique poetic voices deserves a place in your curriculum.
Curated OER
Family Life in the 1830s
Students compare and contrast family life today with family life in the 1830s. They conduct research on Old Sturbridge Village, read primary source documents, and develop a list of generalizations comparing/contrasting families of the...
Curated OER
How to Celebrate Kwanzaa on Your Campus
An article details everything you need to know about celebrating Kwanzaa at your school. An opening-day ceremony starts the seven-day holiday celebration followed a daily routine that includes a greeting, candle lighting, reciting an...
Anti-Defamation League
We Were Strangers Too: Learning About Refugees Through Art
Did you know that "in the largest refugee crisis since World War II, more the 64 million people have been forced from their homes"? The Anti-Defamation League presents an activity that asks class members to examine a series of artworks...
Curated OER
Quilting
First graders investigate the color spectrum by painting their own pictures. In this artistic expression lesson, 1st graders discuss their own families and create ways to express their culture and family history on a picture quilt....
Curated OER
Paint's Family Tree
Students sort and classify the genetic traits of horses. In this heredity and genetics lesson, students read dialogue in a skit in which specific physical traits of several horses are described and a horse family tree is created....
Echoes & Reflections
Rescuers and Non-Jewish Resistance
What does it mean to be a rescuer during the time of the Holocaust? Learners consider the role of those who resisted the Nazi invasions, including hiding Jewish people, throughout Europe. Activities include listening to the testimony of...
Curated OER
What is History? Timelines and Oral Histories
Students consider how we learn about the past and discuss how the framing of history is always done by the person who is telling it. They construct a personal and class timelines, compare two or more accounts of the same event and record...
Macmillan Education
A Wrinkle in Time Discussion and Activity Guide
As you work through Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, try out some or all of the 20 questions and activities included here. Useful for discussion questions, group assignments, or individual projects, this resource covers plot as...
DocsTeach
Alfred Sinker and the Writ of Habeas Corpus in 1861
Scholars learn how the judicial system treated under-age Civil War soldiers using historical analysis. The resource uses court documents to help historians understand why Habeas Corpus was used in the case of Alfred Sinker and why he was...
DocsTeach
Exploring America's Diversity: Gertrud Danneberg (Beginner)
Everyone is an immigrant in their own way. Young scholars read historic documents to understand one woman's journey from Germany to the United States. The activity uses a mixture of text, discussion, and written prompts to help...
Curated OER
Family History
Fourth graders identify primary source items in the study of their families. They relate the importance of primary source materials in understanding history and events of the past.
Curated OER
Creating Identity Posters
Students discover the identities of their classmates. In this tolerance lesson, students create individual posters showcasing their identity, history, and family background. Students examine the posters to get a better...
Mission India
My Passport to India: What's Caste Like?
To gain an understanding of what it was like to live under India's caste system, class members engage in a role-playing activity that assigns group members to four different groups, each with different rules for behavior.
National Park Service
The Young Naturalist
Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects....
Crafting Freedom
The Self-Empowerment of Harriet Jacobs
In a hands-on learning activity, pupils read about and recreate the experience of Harriet Jacobs, author of one of the most famous slave narratives of all time in which she describes her years of hiding from her master in a confined...
Curated OER
Aboriginal Hand Prints
A part of a study of Australian Aboriginal culture, class members listen to a Dreamtime story about a father who stenciled his handprint on a rock wall. Class members then make their own hand print art representative of themselves...
Anti-Defamation League
"What is it Like to be an Outsider?”: Building Empathy for the Experiences of Immigrants
This lesson highlights the struggles of immigrants and the importance of showing empathy. Beginning with a read-aloud of a book in another language and a poem, scholars take part in a thoughtful discussion. Then, the class examines a...
Curated OER
Family History
Students appreciate how families are important to the expansion and progress of a country. In this biographies lesson, students read a biography and write their biographies including photos. Students create family trees.
Curated OER
Record and Preserve Your Family Stories
Students research and create a presentation about their own culture and personal history. They interview family members to increase their awareness of family events and documents. They create a family tree at a web based resource.
Curated OER
Family Food Favorites
Third graders conduct an interview and create a class cookbook. In this family heritage lesson, 3rd graders read Everybody Bakes Bread and discuss a dish or recipe that is a part of their family's heritage. Students interview family...
National Woman's History Museum
Real Life Rosie the Riveters
There was more than one Rosie the Riveter. To learn more about the contributions women made to the World War II war effort, groups become expert on different "Rosie" and share their findings in a Jigsaw activity. The lesson concludes...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Interrogation of Immigrant
Imagine being interrogated by someone you don't know about minute details of your life. Imagine that the interrogator is matching your responses to the answers of other family members. Imagine how you would feel knowing that the...
K20 LEARN
Allotment in Indian Territory: Land Openings in Indian Territory
To understand how the allotment policy embedded in the Dawes Act, passed by the U.S. government in 1887, affected the tribal sovereignty of Native Americans, young historians examine various maps and documents and Supreme Court...