Anti-Defamation League
10 Ideas for Teaching Black History Month
Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...
Boys Town
More Tools for Teaching Social Skills in School
Put an end to wasted instructional time with this instructional activity on responsibility and preparedness. After completing this series of activities students will learn the importance of these social skills not only in the...
Curated OER
Map Your School
Learners participate in a project to map their school. They measure and graph various areas around the school. Students find the longitude and latitude of the school and research the school's history, and highlight special important areas.
Curated OER
Back To School Ideas_Compiled
Help your class participate in hands-on activities to get them back into the swing of going to school everyday. This list is designed for all grade levels with unique ideas for each (note that many ideas are geared for elementary, but...
Curated OER
First Lady Fashions
Sixth graders research and explore the fashion of a certain time while identifying with the personal convictions and tastes of the famous first ladies of the past. They practice what they explore adjectives to describe what they see and...
National Wildlife Federation
Green Green Revolution
School budgets don't have a lot of extra money, so when young scholars propose saving the district money, everyone jumps on board. The first lesson in the series of 21 introduces the concept of an energy audit. Scholars form an...
Curated OER
Getting to Know Our School
Students explore their school and the various types of people who work there (school nurse, custodian, and principal). They interview these people and complete an activity based on the information they have obtained.
Curated OER
Planning and Drafting a Personal Narrative
Bring your learners together to write a class narrative about the first day of school. Start off by teaching them about sequence with a quick oral activity. Then, work together to fill out a story map. Finally, compose the class...
Newseum
Are You a Publisher?: Free Press and You
What kinds of media do your pupils use to read and publish information? After a discussion about what publishing means, and about the freedom of the press, class members interview one or two other people about their publishing habits....
Curated OER
First Day Protocol
While this is not really a step by step lesson, it's a fabulous idea to do a presentation instead of the usual drone lecture on the first day. This project takes a little work each year to take digital pictures throughout the year to use...
National First Ladies' Library
The Power of Images in Shaping Ideas
Learners examine the role of photography in recording and sharing history. They view online photos that Life magazine has identified as changing the world, then conduct research on one of the photos. Students create and present an oral...
Curated OER
A Look at the History of Book Banning in America
Why do books end up on the banned book list? How do these banned books contribute to the literary canon? Start by showing the photo slide show, and discussing notably banned books. Then focus on some of the most popular objections:...
Curated OER
The Life Cycle of a Butterfly
A well-designed instructional activity on the life cycle of the butterfly is here for you. In it, young scientists spend 45 minutes a day, for one school week, engaged in their study. They take nature walks, participate in activities in...
Curated OER
Building Relationships in a High School Classroom
Students explore building new friendships during the first week of school. They participate in a variety of getting to know each other activities. Students work cooperatively and develop collegial relationships with their classmates.
Curated OER
Proactive police guard outside school
Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions and by posing problems and gather, evaluate and synthesize data from a variety of sources to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their...
Curated OER
Schools
First graders complete a unit of lessons on school and how schools have changed. They read a Laura Ingalls Wilder excerpt, view and discuss a Norman Rockwell painting, conduct an interview, construct a school map, and create an ABC book...
Curated OER
Rules and Responsibilities: Youth and the Process of Change
First graders analyze politics by participating in a class rules lesson plan. In this democracy lesson plan, 1st graders identify several class and school rules they dislike and conduct discussions to examine if they should be changed or...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Calculating Your Carbon Footprint
Unplugging from technology for one day per week will decrease your carbon footprint—are you up to the challenge? Part two in a series of three allows individuals to explore their personal carbon footprints. By first taking a quiz at home...
University of Southern California
Deconstructing Genocide: The Ultimate Crime Against Humanity
There are eight stages of an atrocity known as genocide, and it's important to understand how they are represented so we can fight against it in the future. As young historians watch video clips of ten Jewish Holocaust survivors'...
Curated OER
"Andy Works for Charity"
Explore a real-word math problem with your class. Strengthen their problem-solving strategies by coming up with an answer to a money question. They work in groups to determine the answer. Also, they share with the class the various...
Judicial Branch of California
Separate But Equal - Is It Black or White?
The story of Ruby Bridges and the case of Brown vs. The Board of Education are fantastic tools for discussing the concept of separate but equal. Kids tackle some big questions about what is fair, what is civil, and what rights or laws...
Curated OER
Bill of Rights
US history classes explore constitutional rights as they relate to court cases involving teens. Your class must already be familiar with the Bill of Rights before beginning this series of exercises. In preparation for a debate-style...
Curated OER
Cultivating Caring - Filling Buckets of Caring Carrots
Students practice compassion. In this character education lesson, student read Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Students discuss the book as well as ways to demonstrate they care for one another. Students fill buckets...
Curated OER
Preparing for the AP European History Exam
Only have a few weeks until the AP exam? Don't panic. Prepare your AP students for the European History exam using these detailed strategies. This instructional lesson plan summarizes ideas to prepare your scholars for the big test,...