The New York Times
Where to Draw the Line: Balancing Government Surveillance with the Fourth Amendment
The question of how to balance Fourth Amendment Rights with national security concerns becomes critical in an age of planned terrorist attacks, election interference, and fake news. Get young social scientists involved in the debate with...
Curated OER
Memory & Song, Malagan Figures from New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
Students investigate the uses of images, shapes and colors in classic art sculptures. In this art analysis lesson plan, students observe Malagan Figures, a type of sculpture from New Guinea, and describe the different ideas and...
Curated OER
Historical Figures
Second graders identify a historical figure, his or her societal contributions and basic biography using a Kidspiration graphic organizer and library resources. They use the Internet to conduct an historical treasure hunt in groups.
Curated OER
Animal Morphs
Learners explore animal drawing. In this cross curriculum drawing, photography, and animals lesson plan, students combine computer drawing and freehand drawing to create an animal and its environment using a photograph of...
American Institute of Architects
Architecture: It's Elementary!—First Grade
Build an interest and appreciation for architecture in your young learners with this fun 10-lesson art unit. Engaging children in using their five senses, the class first observes the environment around them, paying...
US Holocaust Museum
The Art and Politics of Arthur Szyk
Have you ever listened to a song that had a deeper political meaning to it? Every examined a work of art with layers of meaning? Pupils analyze the drawings of Arthur Szyk. They research the deeper meaning of several artistic cartoons...
Curated OER
Railroad Idioms Art Lesson Plan
Sixth graders research railroad idioms. In this idiom lesson, 6th graders read through a glossary of different railroad idioms and their meanings. They illustrate a chosen idiom.
Curated OER
The Best Vacation Ever
Learners research various vacation destinations and the costs of travel. In this vacation planning lesson, students obtain information for various purposes, research sites, document their findings, learn about geographical regions, and...
Civil War Trust
Map the Civil War
Mapmaking was a very important element in successfully planning attacks on enemies during the Civil War. Guide pupils through the process of pacing to find the average length of their steps, measure the distance between one object...
Curated OER
Mother's Day Poems and Lesson Plans
Mother's Day poems and other types of activities can get students' creative juices flowing.
Curated OER
The Importance of Trees in the Rural Area: Planting a Snowfence
Students explore the concept of living snowfences. In this tree lesson, students read, "The Living Tree," brochure and discuss the ecological benefits of planting trees to create living snowfences. Students draw plans for planting trees...
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...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
Maryland Department of Education
A Raisin in the Sun and Dreams Deferred
To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...
Teaching Tolerance
Identity Self-Portraits
What symbols represent you best? Individuals consider how they would draw peers using symbols about their identities with an interview and art activity. After conducting interviews and portraits, the art makes a great centerpiece for...
Curated OER
Desert Views - First Impressions: Travelers on the Gila Trail
Learners draw animals and plants that are described to them as they read passages of people who traveled across the Gila Trail in the Southwest. In this Gila Trail lesson plan, students also write a letter describing a plant or animal in...
Curated OER
History - Great Americans Lesson Plan
Learners select and read biographies of great Americans, and develop four-paragraph reports on how these Americans contributed to our country.
Curated OER
Map the Civil War
Students explore the Civil War through original maps. In this mapping instructional activity, students calculate distance and show it on an original map. Students examine the type of landscape and its landmarks and draw symbols on...
Curated OER
The African Slave Trade: From West Africa to South Carolina and Beyond
Eighth graders explore the African slave trade. They identify the principal figures practicing the African slave trades at three locations. Students draw the physical routes of the slave trade on a map and they list the reasons for the...
Curated OER
Cleveland debates: Port or Park?
Pupils perform research on the Web and in books or newspapers the planning going on recently in Cleveland. They read the longshoremen's objections. Students choose sides and prepare your arguments, using visual aids and facts and figures.
Curated OER
Pre Trip Quiz-- the Statue of Liberty
In this social studies worksheet, students learn the history of the Statue of Liberty and investigate 6 American symbols. Students answer 12 questions about the statue and do research to find the meaning of the American symbols and how...
Curated OER
What's In The Bag?
Pupils research a historical figure from the United States and introduce their classmates to items associated with this person. They also predict how that historical figure would fit into today's society.
Curated OER
Members Only
Students discuss the advantages and disadvantages of private communities and the lives led by their residents. They design ideal planned communities for people featured in other Class Matters articles.
Curated OER
Land of Milk and Honey Relocated or Not (Lesson 3)
Fourth graders practice their research skills. In this North Carolina history lesson, 4th graders examine primary resources and draw conclusions regarding the birth of the city of New Bern, North Carolina.