Curated OER
My Own Holiday
Students investigate holiday traditions by participating in class celebrations. In this St. Patrick's day activity, students discover the history of St. Patrick, the religious context of the holiday, and the fine foods and traditions...
Curated OER
Unit Plan Template
Use this U.S. History unit plan as a template for creating your own! Simply download the resource and edit the text fields with your own customized unit plan. This is a great jumping-off step, especially for newer teachers.
Curated OER
A Little Horse Sense
How have horses evolved over time? How do horse skulls reveal this evolution? How have the roles horses play changed over time? What kind of social structure do horse herds have? How should wild horse populations be managed? To find the...
Curated OER
Ancient Mediterranean Lands: Greece
Sixth graders explore the processes developed by the Ancient Greeks, particularly olives and olive oil. In this Greek culture and inventions activity, 6th graders read an article and design a flap book. Students collect the olive...
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Michigan's Lumbering history: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Fourth graders explore lumbering in Michigan. For this lumbering lesson, 4th graders examine the life of a modern day lumberjack and how technology can interfere with natural ecology. Students create a list of products from...
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Understanding Mayan Culture
Learners study an ancient culture in Mexico whose people were called the Mayans. They compare certain aspects of Mayan culture with Ancient Egypt. They discuss why some other ancient cultures (Egypt and China) were able to survive for...
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The Age of Reason and Enlightenment
A presentation that truly covers the age of reason and enlightenment. Nearly every facet, event, and key player in 18th Century Age of Enlightenment is covered. The information is clear, easy to follow, and lends itself well to note...
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The Tibetan Plateau
Learners discuss the characteristics of the biosphere, with a focus on the Tibetan Plateau. They participate in a question and answer period discussing biomes and climate patterns. They compare and contrast different ecosystems.
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PASSENGER PIGEONS: NOMADS LOST
Middle schoolers explore the concept and implications of extinction using the example of the Passenger Pigeon, once an extremely abundant species that was completely eliminated by humans.
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Plants in Your Gas Tank: From Photosynthesis to Ethanol
Explore ethanol and how it is produced. Young scientists investigate photosynthesis and fermentation to the concept of conservation of energy and mass. They discuss the environmental and economical benefits of ethanol as a fuel additive.
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Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.
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Postcards from California: A Unit on Geography, Social Studies, History and California's Resources
Fourth graders examine patterns that influence population density in the various regions of California. The unit's three lessons utilize graphic organizers for the interpretation and presentation of data.
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Levers
Students compare and contrast the three different types of levers. In this physics lesson, students hypothesize how ancient Egyptians use them to build structures. They construct their own lever after teacher approves their design.
Michigan Sea Grant
Fish Identification
Using a dichotomous key, pupils identify characteristics of fish who live in the Great Lakes and explain how these features help them survive. In small groups, class members discover what features scientists consider important and...
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MEDIEVAL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Seventh graders examine the area of medieval Sub-Saharan Africa through eyes of travelers in the company of one of history's greatest travelers, Ibn Battuta. The project has been structured to include all the State standards for this unit.
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Flying With The Wright Stuff
Students explore the history of flight, specifically the Wright brothers. Pupils create paper airplanes. They discuss considerations in building an aircraft such as drag, thrust, and weight. Classmates compare the Wright Brother's...
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The Illusion of Race
This is mostly an exploration of race through an interactive website, class readings, and discussion. Individuals take an online quiz about race, they answer questions on a worksheet by visiting another website, and discover that race is...
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Urban Ecosystems 4: Metabolism of Urban Ecosystems
Cities are compared to living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Fourth in a five-part series of lessons, this one focuses on the flow of materials through a city. Links to interesting websites and images make your delivery of...
National Geographic
Exploring Modern Human Migrations
Using maps, images, websites, and handouts, learners work to understand the nature of human migrations. They compare and contrast human migration from the past to the present, identify causes for migration, and trace migration routes on...
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Au!
Students describe the properties of gold. They analyze why gold has been valued throughout history. Students view the physical property identification and formation of gold. They view and analyze "pyrite" within the classroom.
National First Ladies' Library
A Blessing in Disguise
Young scholars study the history of polio as well as a history of modern medicine, the history of alternative medicine and the role of the scientific method in each of these histories. They review the scientific method and research...
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Baga Drum
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson plan, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design...
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Observation
Students practice observation skills by discussing physical attributes of family artifacts. They determine what characteristics of an object are considered important details.
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Bandhavgarh: The Tiger's Domain
Students investigate where royal Bengal tigers roam freely. Students create a project to educate people about Bandhavgarh and write a script combining the human and natural history of this area.