Curated OER
Creative Writing - Research and Letters
Here's a fresh approach that combines research, business and personal letter writing, and creative story telling. Student groups research different decades in the life of a famous Japanese astronomer. They then craft a decade fact sheet,...
Curated OER
The Stuff of Stories: Using Museums to Inspire Student Writing
Middle schoolers write descriptions, narratives, and dialogues based on objects of art and time periods in a museum. They base several writing assignments on art objects and paintings, including a literal description and an emotional...
Curated OER
A Mirror into History
Are we really all that different from people in the past? First, learners of all ages write an autobiographical poem. Then, they research the lives of historical figures. They use the same format that they used to write their own poem to...
Curated OER
Teacher Appreciation Week (Elementary)
Primary writers will create a persuasive essay about Teacher Appreciation Week. Additionally, they will select a quote from a famous person and write a persuasive essay about how it relates to one of their favorite teachers. In the end,...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Magical Musical Tour: Using Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements
Language arts learners don't need a lecture about poetry; they listen to poetry every day on the radio! Apply skills from literary analysis to famous songs and beautiful lyrics with a instructional activity about literary devices. As...
Curated OER
Shared Birthdays
Students gather information on their classmates birthdays and create a spreadsheet with the dates. Using the internet, they find a famous person who shares their own birthday. They research the life of the famous person and develop a...
Curated OER
Letter Writing - Formal
Although rarely used these days, letter writing is still a form of writing reviewed in schools. After examining written letters, middle schoolers discuss characteristics of a formal letter and its parts. They choose a famous person to...
Curated OER
Create a Holiday for Your Favorite Hero
Students create a holiday for a hero. The person may be someone in history who is not currently honored with a holiday, another famous person, a family member, a friend, or someone else they admire.
Curated OER
Famous People of Japan: Literature, Politics, Film, Television, Sports, and the Imperial Family
Students research biographical information about a famous Japanese, investigating how this person has impacted Japanese and American culture. Students then create an oral report and technological presentation based on the research.
Curated OER
Famous Americans
Young scholars use the Internet to research a famous American. They complete an outline and are graded based on a rubric given to them. They also present their information to the class and write a report.
Curated OER
Famous Virginians
Fourth graders research a famous Virginian. They cite sources of the facts and data which they gather from a variety of sources. They present the material using PowerPoint and an oral presentation.
Curated OER
History of Famous Women
Students explore famous women who have made contributions to the world.
Curated OER
Researching Famous People
Student take notes, on a graphic organizer, about the life of a famous person. They create a trading card about their famous person including a portrait and important facts.
Curated OER
A Fish Talks about Life with a Famous Man or Woman
Students select a famous person they are interested in gathering information about. Using that person and how they made history, they write a story pretending to be a fish in their aquarium. They answer questions given to them by their...
Curated OER
Fun Plays on Famous First Ladies
Learners inquire about the lives of the First Ladies in our country. In this First Ladies lesson, students build knowledge about the contributions of First Ladies and how their childhood made them the person they are. Learners do a play...
Curated OER
Mother's Day lesson plan
Students research character traits of famous women in history, compare those traits to those of his/her mother or guardian, and create Mother's Day cards, on which they list traits their moms share with famous women in history and a...
Curated OER
A Letter to Terry Fox
Middle schoolers research information about Terry Fox on the Internet. They write a personal letter to Terry Fox.
Curated OER
Getting To Know Famous People
First graders use the internet to research a famous American. Using the information they collect, they write a paragraph noting their accomplishments. They find a picture of the person they are researching or dress up like them to...
National Gallery of Art
Van Gogh’s Self-Portraits
Scholars get to know famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh, as an artist as well as a person. After reading personal letters and analyzing paintings, participants paint two self-portraits that represent their personality. Then, write a...
Crafting Freedom
The Self-Empowerment of Harriet Jacobs
After reading Harriet Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, one of the most famous slave narratives of all time, learners imagine what it would have been like to experience the small dimensions of her hiding space. They then...
Film English
Make It Count
Where would you go if you were to take a trip around the world in 10 days? After a discussion about famous inspirational quotes, pupils view a short film that shows a trip around the world in 10 days paired with these quotes. Class...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Frida Kahlo
Before one can understand the work of Frida Kahlo, one needs to understand her life. Provide learners with background information on Frida's life as a person and a painter. The slides then provide information regarding several of her...
Crafting Freedom
Thomas Day's Letter to His Daughter, Mary Ann
Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....
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...