Curated OER
Abigail Adams and Thomas Jefferson
In addition to her letters to her husband, family members, and friends, Abigail Adams also wrote to key political figures of the time. In this lesson, scholars examine letters Adams' wrote to and received letters from Thomas Jefferson...
American Museum of Natural History
Anatomy Adventure
Sometimes science is puzzling. Using an online animation, individuals manipulate skeletal bones of an ancient species to recreate its skeleton. Learners complete the skeletal puzzle and learn about the process of paleontology in person...
Smithsonian Institution
Art to Zoo: Life in the Promised Land: African-American Migrants in Northern Cities, 1916-1940
This is a fantastic resource designed for learners to envision what it was like for the three million African-Americans who migrated to urban industrial centers of the northern United States between 1910 and 1940. After reading a...
Our White House
The Our White House Inauguration Celebration Kit for Kids!
Get the youngest American citizens involved in the presidential election and inauguration with a set of social studies activities. Focusing on the history of presidential inauguration ceremonies, learners draft their own poems, design...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...
Curated OER
Abigail in Mourning
People deal with grief in different ways. The series of Abigail Adams' letters in this lesson reveals how she dealt with losing her mother, father, and community members. The included worksheet helps young scholars identify the tone and...
J. Paul Getty Trust
O Greek Shape! O Fair Pose!
Everything old is new again. The Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum presents a lesson on how Greek black-figure painting influenced eighteenth century Neoclassical artists. After looking at a series of examples, class members create their...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Why Don’t More People in the U.S. Vote?
To vote or not to vote, that is the question. Secondary scholars explore voter turnout in the United States. The resource uses informational text, group discussion, and a worksheet to help academics understand hindrances to voting...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 8: Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac Teacher Guide
Joseph Bruchac's Code Talker tells the remarkable story of Navajo Marines' role in battles of the Pacific Theater during World War II. As scholars read the novel, they also engage in activities that expand their knowledge of Navajo...
Curated OER
The Cultural Significance of Naming
The Navajo would disagree with Shakespeare that the naming of things is irrelevant. Navajo people have to earn their names. Middle schoolers learn about the cultural significance of Navajo names in a lesson that uses a video and reading...
Channel Islands Film
Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Lesson Plan 2
After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...
Curated OER
Family Ties and Fabric Tales
Ninth graders explore family roots and immigration. In this Ethics lesson, 9th graders research their family history by interviewing their parents. Students create a visual presentation to tell their story to the class.
Curated OER
Native American Culture Region Collages
Students research various Native American tribes. In this Native American history lesson, students follow the provided rubric to create collages on the cultures of selected Native American tribes.
Curated OER
Immigration and Helvetia
Eighth graders travel back in time. In this West Virginia history lesson, 8th graders research the contributions of Swill immigrants to the state and the reasons they emigrated.
Curated OER
Sharing Our Past
Students study and write about local history. In this local history lesson, students learn about their local history before visiting a group of senior citizens to discuss what they know. They practice the questions they will ask the...
Curated OER
A Critical Challenge Approach to Woman in New France and Huronia
Students works in groups to study the lives of women in New France and Huron communities. In this French and Indian history lesson, student groups research cultural attributes that existed for women in New France and Huron communities....
Curated OER
Culture Box
Sixth graders are asked what is culture? They find out their family history and all the nationalities represented in their family. Students discuss their culture with the class. They create culture boxes with a design that integrates...
Curated OER
Family Lessons in Philanthropy: The Drive
Students investigate family philanthropy. In this family philanthropy lesson, students review vocabulary such as community, family, service, volunteer, tradition, and caring. They listen to Valerie Flournoy's, The Patchwork Quilt. They...
Curated OER
Stitching Truth Lesson One: What is Civil Society?
Ninth graders create a working definition of civil society. In this US History lesson, 9th graders create a list of terms that help make up the term civil society. Students examine the case study of life in Pinochet's Chile.
Curated OER
Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local
Students explore personal, local, state, and national history. In this historiography lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding their family histories framed in local, state, and...
Curated OER
Family Portraits
Students discuss, analyze, and interpret "Portrait of a Dutch Family" by Fans Hals and then create subject specific projects for assessment. This cross-curricular lesson is well-suited for Language Arts or Visual Arts classrooms and...
Curated OER
A Brief History of Fairfax County
Students brainstorm a list of things they already know about the history of Fairfax County, Virginia. After reading a primary source document, they discuss the similarities and differences between their prior knowledge and what they...
Curated OER
Religious Influence On US History
Eleventh graders explore the influence of religion on U.S. History. Using an internet database website, they research the religious affiliation of governors, Presidents and Vice-Presidents. Students write a paragraph explaining how...
Curated OER
Literacy Lesson: Guided Reading
Here is a wonderful lesson designed for students with special needs. This well-thought-out lesson uses Big Books, familiar stories, and has a lot of review learning built into it. The book, The Keeping Quilt is used in the main part of...