Curated OER
Ranking The Bill of Rights
Young scholars examine the Bill of Rights and determine if the document is outdated. After a discussion of the amendments, students rank the amendments in the Bill of Rights and explain their order of importance. Young scholars...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Curated OER
Elementary Music Plan
Hey Macarena! Third graders keep time while they sing a Latin Folk Song. To practice keeping a steady rhythm and singing in pitch, the class sings the Folk Song together and in a round while keeping a beat. They then learn to do the...
Free Library of Philadelphia
Resources for Ghost Boys
Jewell Parker Rhodes, the author of Ghost Boys, wanted to bring the historical legacy of Emmett Till and the current topic of racial prejudice into today's young readers' mindsets. Use a reading guide and set of discussion questions to...
Curated OER
What Portraits Reveal
Students examine how portraits can tell us more about people of the past than just what they looked like. They compare three portraits of U.S. Presidents, analyze portraits of Americans from the Revolutionary War, and write a report on...
Curated OER
Byzantine Art: 5th century to 1453 AD
Art and architecture are great ways to help define historical periods and cultural norms. Take a critical look at the art of the Byzantine period as seen under Justinian rule. Iconography, vocabulary, religious, and political concepts...
Curated OER
Solving the Puzzle
Students create a map showing the United States borders at a specific period in history and produce three questions to be answered by examining the map. They also write a productive paragraph explaining who, what, when, where, how/why a...
Curated OER
The French Revolution
Starting with a quote by Charles Dickens from A Tale of Two Cities, the slides featured in this presentation go into thorough detail about the French Revolution. It includes portraits of key historical figures, maps, and demographic...
Curated OER
Ceramics: A Vessel Into History
Young scholars examine ceramic vessels from different time periods. In this ceramic vessel instructional activity, students work in small groups to look at images of ceramic vessels from a number of time periods. They identify the...
Curated OER
Characterization in Literature
Students discover characterization techniques and methods. In this characterization lesson plan, students choose favorite fiction characters and discuss what makes a character come alive. Students then describe a family member or a...
Curated OER
Ragtime: 1880-1920
Build an understanding of the social, economic, and cultural changes that were incited by the American Industrial Revolution. Learners will research the historical context of the Ragtime Era, and compose an oral presentation in the...
Curated OER
Patriotic Songs
First graders recognize patriotic songs of America. In this historical music lesson, 1st graders discuss the historical background of the song "Yankee Doodle" and repeat the lyrics after the instructor. Students read the lyrics to the...
Curated OER
Lesson Plans on the Intersection of History and Literature
Finding out about "the story behind the story" can provide a greater understanding of literature and its historical and social context.
Curated OER
Exploring Explorations-Ocean Exploration
Students learn about Earth's deep ocean discoveries and their benefits. In this ocean exploration lesson, students review previous explorations of the Earth's deep oceans and learn about the discoveries of the past.
Curated OER
Labor Day Lessons and the History of Labor Unions
America was built on the strength of its workers, and on Labor Day we recognize their contributions.
Smithsonian Institution
Women's Role in the War Effort
Did you know that many women were Confederate spies during the Civil War? The resource focuses particularly on the important role women played for both the Union and Confederacy. It uses exercises such as a discussion, video, analyzing...
Curated OER
Music in Words
Your class can build strong, well-represented opinions about the music they hear. They listen to, and share thoughts about, a piece of classical music. Then they write a piece of music or a poem, and analyze their peers' work and their...
Curated OER
Teaching the Holocaust Through Poetry
W.H. Auden’s poem “Refugee Blues” launches a study of the problems of refugees. Background information about the poem and general information about Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria are provided, as are discussion questions and...
EngageNY
Documenting Research: Sorting and Recording Information About the Wheelwright
Fourth graders practice using a graphic organizer to record their notes and answer text-dependent questions while supplying evidence of how they found their answer. They focus on a machine called the wheelright, which was commonly...
Curated OER
The Landscape of Poland
Young scholars recognize and re-create the political boundaries and physical features of the nation of Poland. They create three dimensional topographic maps of Poland. In addition, they compose two journal entries written in two...
Curated OER
Interactions of Science and Technologies
Students explore how science and technology interact. They discuss important inventions, discoveries and technologies. They research a specific technological advance, or invention, and prepare a presentation that includes the...
Curated OER
Analysis of Dorothea Lange's Photographs
Young scholars analyze a photo of Dorothea Lange and make connections to its historical context by creating a written and visual response. In this photograph analysis lesson, students analyze Lange's photograph and explain the historical...
Curated OER
Chemistry of Iron and Charcoal Manufacturing in PA
Students examine the historical purpose of the forests in Pennsylvania and investigate how the iron manufacturing process works. In this chemistry instructional activity students write the chemical formula for making charcoal.
Curated OER
The Sound of Music and Passage to Freedom
Seventh graders examine music examples to investigate a conflict in history about Hitler's invasions during WWII. In this music analysis lesson plan, 7th graders discuss vocabulary and the history for the Holocaust and Hitler's...