A timely and provocative lesson inspires high schoolers to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis. They analyze a compelling photo essay before discussing and writing about it.

Bert the Turtle models for viewers the 1950s Civil Defense Duck and Cover strategy that was supposed to protect citizens from a nuclear blast. After viewing the video, watchers are asked to consider the motivations of the producers of...

Have you ever been accused of something without cause? The sixth installment of an eight-part series asks scholars to create a museum exhibit on the anti-communist activities in the United States at the start of the Cold War. To make...

Students explore homes as shelters while they built writing and technology skills. For this homes of yesterday and today lesson, students produce books using digital photography. Students develop vocabulary while researching how homes...

Art can be a vehicle for social change and cultural expression. Upper graders examine the art of photographer David Goldblatt, as it pertains to apartheid, South Africa, and the AIDS epidemic. Discussion questions and image links...

In this crossword worksheet, students demonstrate prior knowledge of colonial homes in the U.S. by completing a crossword. There are 18 words which fit into this puzzle that has no word bank.

Sixth graders study migratory birds in the temperate forest and the tropical rainforest. In this migratory birds lesson, 6th graders participate in different activities that explain patterns  of migration, research patterns of...

Students examine different homes and shelters across cultures and time periods. For this Houses and the People They Shelter lesson, students draw conclusions about society and culture according to the features of their dwellings....

Students complete a unit of lessons on the similarities and differences between Native American homes and European settlement houses. They explore websites, read stories, design a dream house, and construct wigwam models.

Students examine homes around the world. In this multicultural lesson, students read the book A World of Homes and Homes Around the World. Students compare and contrast the homes in the books to their own homes. Students construct a...

Second graders listen to stories about homeless people.  In this public service lesson plan, 2nd graders recognize the problems of being homeless and the importance of community activities.  Students listen to Fly Away Home and...

Students analyze a reading selection. For this wants and needs lesson, students read a story to facilitate a discussion about wants and needs. Students discuss how communities help each other in difficult times.

Students build a list of gardening vocabulary from prior knowledge of gardens. In this gardening instructional activity, students understand the importance of gardens to humans and animals for food, shelter, and air. Students discuss the...

First graders explore different types of Native American shelters. In this Native American homes lesson, 1st graders compare the shapes of shelters used by Native Americans. They build a home using the program "Community Construction...

Second graders investigate the human right of having a home. They listen to Eve Bunting's, "Fly Away Home" before looking a pictures of different types of homes around the world. They write sentences about the homes before writing an...

Students examine the difference between needs and wants. In this consumption lesson, students illustrate their needs and wants and discuss their own reasons for buying things. They also discuss the connection between their choices and...

Third graders use a computer software entitled, Inspiration, in order to create a map or web of what Lewis and Clark should have packed for their journey west. They are given the expectations of the teacher and a scoring guide is...

Fourth graders examine the various types of homes made by Native Americans. In groups, they compare and contrast their homes to those of the Native Americans and discuss how homes reflect one's culture. To end the lesson, they read...

Students discuss the plight of the homeless in the U.S. and in their own community. They participate in a food drive for a local shelter. They role play being homeless and discover what it would be like to not have food or shelter.

Seventh graders create list of materials that family of four would need to live and survive in the forest, identify four natural resources used by Cherokee Indians to build shelter, create poster that depicts Cherokee hamlet in summer or...

First graders explore the practices and products of the two cultures. They build log cabins and teepees or Hogans, make costumes, use vocabulary and Native American symbols to write stories, create art products such as pinch pots and...

Fourth graders examine the experiences of four immigrant groups. Class members brainstorm a list of misconceptions of those groups and discuss if these perceptions are still present today. Using maps, groups locate the countries of...

As part of their reading of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider what it would take to survive living on their own. Using the provided worksheet, individuals list their needs and decide where they would...

Here is a very fun idea that introduces young learners to how geographical location affects cultural development. They are introduced to four areas where Native Americans have lived in the past by reading stories and examining images....