Curated OER
Ojibwa Arts
Students create a poem based on the Native American Ojibwa art that they read about. In this Ojibwa art lesson plan, students read captions and look at pictures of Ojibwa art and then make up a poem based on them.
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Oh, Say Can You See...
Learners explore the meaning behind "The Star-Spangled Banner." In this music lesson, students sing the first verse of the national anthem and watch several performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Learners define several vocabulary...
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Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People
Fifth graders explore poems of African Americans. They research a famous African American, write a report, create a timeline of events in African American history, create a map of the New World, and research Molly Walsh. After...
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The Odyssey: A Deeper Appreciation
Students read "The Odyssey" and identify the ways it relates to their own lives. As a class, they also examine the history of the story and identify the various Greek gods and goddesses. In groups, they focus on the geography of the...
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Jazz in America
Students learn the basic elements of music and gain an understanding of the elements found in Jazz.
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The Young Gymnast
Second graders compare and contrast gymnastics in 1859, 1900 and today. Students contrast differences in gymnastics for boys and girls today. Students pretend that they are interviewing a famous gymnast and write up their interview....
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Discovering Angel Island: The Story Behind the Poems
Young scholars watch a video, view websites, and discuss the Chinese Exclusion Act that took place on Angel Island. In this Chinese exclusion act lesson plan, students discuss the interrogations that went on and fill out worksheets bout...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...
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Penny for your thoughts
Students look at a variety of pieces of art and discuss them according to moods or feelings expressed. They pick a piece of art that they like and then write a poem or story to go with it.
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Early Industrialization
Eighth graders analyze primary source documents emphasizing young people in factory labor (mill workers during 1840-1860). They study hours of labor, ages of laborers, reasons for working, and working conditions. They write a poem or song.
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California: Land and People
Fourth graders research information about some of California indigenous tribes to find out as much as possible about the first people found in the four regions of California. They research the history of a selected tribe and their...
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How I Became Me
Students examine their own identities and read about the experiences of adopted Chinese daughters celebrating the Jewish rite of passage, the bat mitzvah. They write personal poems or speeches illustrating how their identities evolved.
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Mythical Beasts
Students explore literature and art forms containing creatures that are part human and part animal, such as the Greek Sphinx, Neptune, or the Green Centaur. Individually, students write a poem or short story to create a character with...
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“Home on the Range”
Fourth graders analyze the song "Home on the Range" and identify its meaning and setting. In this timeline and retelling lesson, 4th graders use dictionaries to find definitions of unfamiliar words, create a timeline and retell the...
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Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Students analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on jazz...
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The Relationship Between Zen And Haiku Aesthetics
High schoolers examine the principles of Haiku as they relate to idealss found in Zen Buddhism in this High School instructional activity. The instructional activity concludes with the creation of individual haikus by each student.
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Narrow Road to the Interior
Students investigate the life and work of the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho as the Japanese poetic forms are studied. Nature, symbolism, and history are probed as the lesson is developed.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, and Jim Crow
Class members use the think-pair-share strategy to compare the views of W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington and to consider how each man's backgrounds influenced his philosophy.
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Symbols and Trading Cards
A silk rank badge was a symbolic emblem worn by high officials during the Qing Dynasty. Your class will get a chance to examine the details, symbolism, color, and design of such a badge as they make their own symbolic trading cards....
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Totem Transformations
Students are introduced in the Humanities class, as they explore the origins of Totems in Native American folklore. In the computer lab, students read Totem stories and explore the meaning and symbolism behind the myths using various Web...
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Prayers for Paankhenamun
Students find out about key attributes, characteristics, and roles of ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses by writing a letter or a poem asking them to welcome an Egyptian to the afterlife.
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Stylistic Devices
Students review connotation and denotation and stylistic devices in poetry. They read the lyrics to a song as it is being played and then discuss the meaning of the song. As a class, students read poems, share their thoughts, and...
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I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature
Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic instructional activity, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform...
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"The Block": Romare Bearden's and Mine
Students study Bearden's style of collage and create their own collage that reflects their neighborhood. They are read "The Block" and poems about neighborhoods and write one about theirs.