Population Connection
The Peopling of Our Planet
How many people live on the planet, anyway? The first resource in a six-part series covers the topic of the world population. Scholars work in groups to conduct research and make population posters after learning about the global...
Population Connection
The Carbon Crunch
Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...
Curated OER
Documenting the Great Depression
Students compare and contrast two photographs from the Great Depression, and identify the ways in which the photographers depicted the hardships of everyday life during this period. They hypothesize about the story behind each photograph...
Curated OER
The Great Depression and Everyday Life
Examine everyday life during the Great Depression, as well as the effects if the Depression on American population, society, and economy. Learners write who, what, where, when, and why summaries of a person who relocated to California...
Curated OER
Pilgrims and Puritans
With graphic organizers galore, learners will follow the changes of church and state in early colonial America. They look at the differences between the pilgrims and the puritans in terms of beliefs and life ways. Myths and...
National Park Service
Same Colors, Different Flavors
Who says getting to know your neighbors has to be difficult? The first resource in a three-part series creates an engaging project that teaches your scholars about Canadian culture. A question-and-answer format takes place via e-mail and...
American Museum of Natural History
Create Your Own Time Capsule
The corona virus pandemic is indeed a historic event. A time capsule activity permits young historians to document these days of social distancing, remote learning, and quarantine by collecting artifacts that capture what their lives are...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This?: Mythic Creatures
Fantastic beasts, and where to find them, are featured in a resource that offers images of real animals that just might have given rise to some of mythic creatures of legend.
Society for Science & the Public
Easter Islanders Made Tools, Not War
When studying artifacts, especially tools, how do archaeologists determine what the devices were used for? In what ways might researchers' previous experiences influence their perception of an artifact? An article about researchers'...
Curated OER
Salt: White Gold
Students examine the importance of salt for trade routes and the economy of a community.
Curated OER
Immigration
Learners explore the effects of immigration on the immigrants and on society as a whole. They survey opportunities to understand the complex issues of the immigrant experience, both past and present. Illustrations of immigration...
Curated OER
Ecology Explorers: Historical Air Photo Interpretation
Students identify and analyze land use changes over time with historic aerial photographs, and classify different land use into categories.
Curated OER
U.S. and Canada: How are We the Same? How are We Different?
Get high school geographers to compare and contrast Canada and the United States. They begin by drawing a freehand map of North America, then complete readings to gain insight into Canada. The text is not provided; however, another text...
Curated OER
Customized Topographic Maps and Models
Students explore the information depicted on topographic maps. They construct a 3-D topographic map of a local area. They go on a field trip to the depicted area and compare the 'real world' with their models.
Curated OER
Explore the Effects of Immigration
Students explore the effects of immigration on the immigrants and on society as a whole. They will record the experiences of specific immigrant groups using an E-sheet. Groups present a summary of what they learned about their ethnic...
Curated OER
Do As the Romans: Construct an Aqueduct!
Students explore how the Romans engineered and built aqueducts. They read a manual, explore the Construct a Roman Aqueduct online activity, and construct an aqueduct that will transport two liters of water across a short distance in the...
Curated OER
Four Enlightenment Thinkers
Students examine lives, philosophies, and political beliefs of four Enlightenment Thinkers: Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. Students then work with partner to write short speech from...
Curated OER
What Do We Learn From the Repartiation of Alaska Native Artifacts?
Students observe and evaluate evidence of Alaska Native cultural symbols and artifacts. They research historical data from a variety of primary resources, including the Harriman expedition journals, related web sites, oral accounts,...
PBS
Predicting/Making a Hypothesis
Students analyze information from a variety of sources in order to create a hypothesis about the origin of an interesting family artifact.They create alternative hypotheses based upon available information to demonstrate that some...
Curated OER
Can We Be Both Conservationists and Consumers?
High schoolers explore their role as consumers and conservationists and what roles they play in today's economic climate. They explore resource allocation issues. Students analyze data and draw comparisons between historical and...
Curated OER
How Has Transportation Changed Since the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition?
Students recognize modes of transportation. They research historical data from a variety of primary and secondary sources including the Harriman expedition journals, related web sites, and photographs from the expedition. Students...
Curated OER
A Century of Challenge and Change: The Filipino American Story
Students recognize the events that led to the Philippine Revolution. In this Philippine Revolution lesson, students relate the causes of the Philippine Revolution to situation in the world today. Students examine the Philippine Equation...
Curated OER
Study of Fossils
Fifth graders dig for fossils. In this fossil lesson, 5th graders read about the oldest found fossils and discuss the process of fossilization. They dig for their own fossils in a fossil box made of several dirt layers.
Curated OER
Create a Hero Trophy
Learners research and read about the lives of some famous American heroes. They examine the qualities that make or made these people heroes and how the time period they lived in influenced their images as heroes.