Lesson Plan
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Dinosaurs Were Real!

For Teachers Pre-K - 3rd
Young scholars investigate the history of dinosaurs, as real animals. In this dinosaur lesson plan, students examine basic concepts that help them understand the history of all life. Included in this article is information on the world...
Lesson Plan
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The Constitution Lives! How it Protects Your Rights Today

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students brainstorm their rights as Americans. In this The Constitution Lives! lesson, students discern the difference between rights and rules by completing a worksheet. Students consider the differences between types of constitutional...
Lesson Plan
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Comparison/Contrast Composer Study

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pupils choose two composers to research and complete a compare and contrast study of them. In this composer research lesson plan, students select two composers to research. Pupils use Internet sources, the library, and music class...
Lesson Plan
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Memorials and Meaning

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Learners explore the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students collaborate to research the war. They examine Matthew Brady photographs that inspire them to create a memorial to honor those who served in the Civil War.
Lesson Plan
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Louisa May Alcott

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the life of author Louisa May Alcott. In groups, they analyze the book "Little Women" discovering why she worte it and identifying the characters and settings. They use the internet to examine how the books can take...
Worksheet
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Helen Keller

For Students 3rd - 6th
In this Helen Keller worksheet, students read about the life of the activist, then complete a variety of comprehension activities. An answer key is included.
Lesson Plan
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The Taliban Meets the Bill of Rights

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students contrast the Taliban and the Constitution. They read through "What the Taliban Banned" and identify "rights." They determine if rights in the United States are in danger and if the Taliban violate the first ten amendments to...
Lesson Plan
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students make deductions about life in an internment camp by reading and comparing letters written to Clara Breed. Along the way, they consider the advantages of looking at a historical event from the multiple points of view of...
Lesson Plan
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How Things Fly

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students observe photographs of selected twentieth-century aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum and note differences in the design of aircraft wings, fuselages, and engines.
Lesson Plan
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How Things Fly

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students, by drawing on their own experiences, discuss and examine the basic physics of flight. They participate in a variety of activities regarding flight.
Lesson Plan
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Money Talks

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students move from fact finding to interpretation as they examine paper money from the time of the American Revolution. In the final exercise, they use the issue dates of the bills to construct a chronology of political changes during...
Lesson Plan
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Pictures Telling Stories

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students see the importance of primary sources in the study of history, but also the limitations of relying only on primary sources of taking the money, as it were, at face value.
Lesson Plan
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Baga Drum

For Teachers K - 6th
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
Lesson Plan
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Revolutionary War Memorial

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars create a memorial to honor Revolutionary War soldiers for the National Mall in Washington, D.C. They discuss the Revolutionary War.
Lesson Plan
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Quilting Connections

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students research online an influential woman, then create on the computer a quilt block with text and graphics. Quilt blocks are then printed and combined to form a quilt of connections.
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Watching Crystals Grow

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Lesson Plan
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Revolutionary Money

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included. 
Lesson Plan
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Japan: Images of A People

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study Japan and explore the use of screens.
Lesson Plan
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Views of the American West: True or False?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explain that a landscape painting may or may not accurately represent a specific place. They identify techniques that create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface.
Lesson Plan
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JAPAN, IMAGES A PEOPLE

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students interpret Japanese and American paintings; evaluate paintings as sources of cultural and historical information
Lesson Plan
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Lewis and Clark: The Language of Discovery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students replicate some of the trailblazing methods of Lewis and Clark on a fifteen-minute "writing journey" through the school or neighborhood.
Lesson Plan
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Animal Encounters

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students use their visualizing and interpreting skills to produce original writings and artwork.
Lesson Plan
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Spy on a Spider

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students view slides or live specimens to name and describe the distinguishing features of groups of arthropods, especially spiders and insects. They complete worksheets, observe webs and then search for and record where spiders can be...
Lesson Plan
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Facts, Feats and Folklore: Spiders

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students review and discuss a variety of sayings, folklore and superstitions about spiders. They discuss this information and choose either an interesting fact or appealing foklore tradition to illustrate.