Curated OER
Eyes in the Sky
Young scholars examine the use of satellites. In this research lesson, students discuss the history of satellites and how we use the information today. They will conduct interviews with older adults who have lived in the changing times...
Curated OER
Fact and Fiction in Little Women
Students read excerpts from the novel "Little Women." Students work in groups to research, analyze, and answer the questions included in the lesson plan. After research, students write a paper and include a bibliography. The students...
Curated OER
Family Stories and Personal Narratives
Fourth graders read various stories in their literature books about families. Individually, they make a timeline showing the most important events in their lives. They bring in one artifact from their lives and write a paper about it...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
Curated OER
Massachusetts Oral History Project on the Great Depression
Eleventh graders conduct interviews with a relative or a family friend who lived in Massachusetts during the Depression. They write an essay based on the interview that shows an intimate portrayal of how the lives of the individuals who...
Curated OER
Virtual Ellis Island Museum Unit: Oral Histories
Young scholars conduct oral histories of family members to explore their cultural and ethnic heritage after developing a set of research questions.
Curated OER
We the Present
Students interview representatives from nonprofit organizations in their community. They summarize the information from their interviews and share the information with the class. They identify the impact of the organization on the...
Curated OER
Yes, We Can!
Pupils examine a situation of striking workers in Los Angeles. They answer questions related to the story. They also interview people involved if time allows.
Curated OER
Characterization in The Ponder Heart:A Collaborative Speaking Unit
Students assess fellow student's oral narrative tales. They discuss the attributes that marked the "best" narratives. They compose their own narrative tales and interview family members. They make a final speaking presentation to the...
Curated OER
Tamar Burris
Students explore genetics. In this life cycle lesson, students consider the meaning of "genes" and "heredity" as they watch a video about the topics. Students then research their own genetic make-up as they interview family members....
Curated OER
Connection to the Past
Students learn basic interviewing and biography writing skills. They first identify a senior citizen in their community who remembers the Great Depression.
Curated OER
Letters from Rifka
Fourth graders read Letters from Rifka and discuss the feelings of people forced to leave their homes and countries. For this migration lesson, 4th graders relate their feelings about moving from their home forever. Students trace...
Curated OER
The Life of Milton Hershey
Students examine the life and business success of Milton Hershey. They conduct an interview with a local entrepreneur, define key vocabulary terms, develop a list of jobs they can do to earn money, read a biography of Milton Hershey,...
Curated OER
Real-Life History
Students collect artifacts which are part of their family/community history. They gather at home and share in the classroom at a specified time when extra care and supervision might be provided.
Curated OER
Working in Photographs
Students analyze illustrations of workers in the 19th and 20th centuries. In this social science instructional activity, students examine photographs of workers and identify the types of work that were available in the 19th century...
Curated OER
Memories of School Days
Students interview, record, and retell school stories of a family member. They research, document, and describe how schools have changed over time.
Curated OER
Immigration and Migration Today and During the Great Depression
High schoolers conduct oral history interviews and research primary resources to explain changes in immigration and migration over time.
Curated OER
The Kindness Company
Learners organize themselves into a simulated company complete with applications, interviews and training. They identify a community need they can fulfill related to cooking or sewing and work to make and deliver the designated product.
Curated OER
Immigration and Migration: Today and During the Great Depression
Students conduct interviews, analyze primary sources including docuements and images to gain an inderstanding of the causes and effects of he Great Depression and immigration.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Where I Come From
Students research the countries of their origins and examine life there today. They write family travel logs by interviewing family members about their heritages, and they visit the Xpeditions Website for online resources about their...
Curated OER
Women Immigrants in the Promised Land
Students examine the experience of female immigrants as they arrive in the United States. They create a timeline of women's rights in the U.S., write journal entries, conduct Internet research and read online excerpts from "The Promised...
Curated OER
Listening for Leschi: Voices from the Past
Students explore the written and oral histories of mid 19th centruy western Washington. They imagine that they are a reporter who can travel back in time and interview Leschi to create a newspaper article that features him.
Curated OER
A Country Far Away
First graders compile questions they want to explore other people. Given the information shared by the guest speaker, 1st graders become familiar with customs from another culture and recall what they learned about another country and...
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...