Curated OER
Lincoln's Legend and Legacy
Young scholars evaluate Lincoln's impact on American History. In this Civil War lesson, students view a film clip of writings about Lincoln. Young scholars take notes and compare how the writings define his legacy. Students write their...
John F. Kennedy Center
Acting Up, A Melodrama: Performing Like Jo March and Her Sisters in Little Women
Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples for drama...
Curated OER
Films Legends
Students watch and discuss films. For this video viewing lesson, students watch a film related to a different topic every Friday. Students watch these films in order to encourage discussion and Internet research. Suggested film topics...
Curated OER
In Perfect Harmony: Teaching the World to Sing
First graders listen to music as the impetus to learn about the concept of Japanese harmony as it is understood in Japanese culture. They use the New Seeker's song, "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," to compare America and Japan...
Curated OER
Building Bridges: Living in a Diverse Society
Young scholars participate in various activities that help them build esteem, and explore racism. In this multicultural lesson plan, Students increase their awareness of, and appreciation for, cultural differences and similarities. ...
Curated OER
Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Words: Art, Art History, Language Arts, Creative Writing
Learners write a story inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and then try their hand at their own rendition of this famous piece of art. In a twist, students incorporate the stories into their paintings.
Curated OER
The Codex Comes Home: Leonardo Lives in Seattle
Students complete a unit on the life of Leonardo da Vinci and the content of the Codex Leicester. They write an encyclopedia entry, watch a film, complete a data sheet, conduct Internet research, and write a letter to Bill Gates about...
Curated OER
Personal Stories of the National Parks
Middle schoolers explore historical information about U.S. national parks using the stories of Edward and Margaret Gehrke as a primary source document. In this United States geography, history, and literacy lesson, students view the...
Curated OER
Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
Curated OER
Lady Sings the Blues
Students explore women and music in the 20th century. In this music instructional activity, students study the relationship between literature and music through The Color Purple and music by Ethel Waters, MA Rainey, Bessie Smith, Billie...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
Curated OER
Lesson: Skin Fruit: Propaganda of the Deed
Art can express acts of injustice and move society to action. Upper graders analyze contemporary art relating to specific moments in history. They discuss propaganda, anarchy, sociology, and violence as activism. After researching and...
iTheatrics and Broadway
School of Rock the Musical: Education Guide
That old fashioned rock and roll comes alive as theatre arts students prepare to attend a live performance of the musical School of Rock. Packed with both pre- and post-production materials, the guide has it all. Rock on!
Curated OER
"War of the Worlds": A Broadcast Re-Creation
Why did Orson Welles' 1938 Broadcast of a adaptation of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds cause such a panic? To answer this question, class members listen to the original broadcast and research the panic that resulted. They then engage...
Curated OER
A Walk Through Time
Students investigate the types of footwear worn during ten periods of history. In this secondary, art/math/social studies instructional activity, students view documentaries and popular films to study the time periods. Students...
Curated OER
Scripting The Great Train Robbery
Take writing prompts to another level in this activity, which allows pupils to create scenes of dialogue based on the 1903 silent film, The Great Train Robbery. Useful for a language arts/history cross-curricular activity, the lesson...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Portraits That Capture Character
One of the great things about technology is that it lets youngsters visit museums that may be many miles away. With this resource, middle and high schoolers can visit the portrait galleries at J. Paul Getty Museum, located in Los...
General Motors Corporation
Jazz
Over the history of the world, music has been at the heart of some of the greatest social and political movements. Scholars discover their musical roots as they dive into the sounds and emotions of renowned jazz players. They see how...
Curated OER
Advanced Art – Cultural Place-setting Still life
Upper graders view a series of films that depict rituals or celebrations as they occur in different cultural settings. They conduct a cultural investigation about one culture, brainstorm and research objects that have cultural or...
Curated OER
Making a Pinhole Camera
Students participate in a number of activities in order to study the history of photography and to examine the workings of a pinhole camera.
Curated OER
The Learning Network: Poetry Pairing July, 21, 2011
Although not a complete lesson plan, this set of emotionally powerful texts could be used in a variety of lessons. From The New York Times' Learning Network site, the resource includes a poem, an excerpt from a New York Times article and...
VH1
Lesson 4: Behind the Movie Chicago
The elements of music and journalistic integrity in one lesson; What could be better? The class discusses journalistic approaches to better understand responsible reporting versus sensationalism. They watch the Act One from the film...
Curated OER
Lesson: Jeremy Deller: Conversing about Conflict
Bridge cultural awareness, community, government, and art with an introspective and thought-provoking lesson. Upper graders become globally and socially aware as they analyze and explore the art of Jeremy Deller. They consider his images...
Curated OER
Sondheim: Voice of Cultural Change
Students explore Stephen Sondheim's contributions to musical theatre in the context of the dramatic cultural shift that occurred in American life in the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.