Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Quilting

For Teachers 1st
First graders investigate the color spectrum by painting their own pictures. In this artistic expression lesson, 1st graders discuss their own families and create ways to express their culture and family history on a picture quilt....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Is It Moose-Mooses or Moose-Meese?

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students play librarian and have to shelve books on moose after determining whether the books are fiction or non-fiction. They must study Alaska and follow a format of questions to determine where to shelve the books.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Lewis and Clark: Tribal Cultures and Homelands

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine the attributes of the tribes that inhabited the Columbia River Basin. In this Lewis and Clark lesson plan, students participate in a classroom simulation that requires them to participate in a seasonal round, in which...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Celebrating Connections

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine religious traditions and celebrations.  In this Social Studies lesson, 3rd graders compare and contrast different religions.  Students research a specific religion and prepare a presentation for the class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading and Activity Suggestions for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers learn about characterization techniques in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  In this Adventures of Tom Sawyerlesson, students write a description of one character through the eyes of another character and identify...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

50th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students examine a poster of Brown v. Board of Education and discuss what the important details are. They read the story behind the poster and court case. They role play different sections of the case such as the court case or Linda...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Revolutionary Women of South Carolina

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Young scholars examine multiple primary sources. In this revolutionary war lesson, students read case studies regarding women from South Carolina. Young scholars will compare the different roles women played during the Revolutionary War....
Worksheet
Curated OER

Houses Around the World

For Students 4th - 7th
In this cultural activity, students read a passage about different types of houses and dwellings around the world. They then answer the 10 questions on the activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forsyth County Architecture

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What features mark a building as belonging to a particular culture, time, and place? Class members investigate the architectural movements represented in structures built in Forsyth County, North Carolina from 1880-1980 by examining...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Dia de los Muertos: Celebrating and Remembering

For Teachers K - 2nd
Help scholars understand the history, geography, traditions, and art of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Find background information for your reference as well as a detailed cross-curricular lesson plan. Learners compare...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Breaking of Charity

For Teachers 11th
The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Brief Encounters (Building Bridges)

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students experience what it is like to confront and deal with a culture highly different from their own. They gain skills in observing and describing behaviors and develop an understanding of how our cultural values influence the way we...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Aboriginal Quilting Activity

For Teachers K
Students explore Aboriginal culture by participating in an art activity. For this First Nation history lesson, students utilize the Internet to research images and designs from Native American culture. Students create images on quilting...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Different Ways We Celebrate

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students examine a variety of ways that families celebrate winter holidays. They complete a graphic organizer comparing Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, and write a five-sentence paragraph about one of the holidays discussed. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anasazi Culture

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students explain the cultural and historical development of the Anasazi Indians. They identify different time periods, cultures, and artifacts about the Anasazi people.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Masai and I: A Cultural Comparison

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders orally share similarities and differences between their culture and the Masai culture based on their reading of Masai and I, by Virginia Kroll
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Play and Culture

For Teachers K - Higher Ed
Young scholars discuss with their parents the rights of every child to have the opportunity to play. They share games associated with their own culture and learn new games from others. They examine how the value of play for a child's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is American Culture

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Young scholars create what they feel is American Culture using a video camera and capturing 5 frames. They are animating parts of a poem in small groups. They decide the set up, create movable figures, and have a music section. Each...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Food and Dining Patterns of Cameroon: Dining Patterns

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine the cultural differences in the dining patterns of Cameroon and the United States. Identifying food items in their own lives, they explore differences within the United States. They brainstorm about what they already...
Lesson Plan
California Academy of Science

Guess That Spice

For Teachers 1st - 7th Standards
From medical treatments to cooking, people have been using herbs and spices for thousands of years. Perform a blind smell test of household herbs and spices to engage students in learning about ancient spice trading. Research the history...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Shape of Home

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students define home and understand that home is not the same to everyone. In this homes lesson, students participate individually and in groups to create a classroom definition of home. Students discuss the events in the story the Shape...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Legends

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students consider how people of color and minority culture are represented in video games. After debating the issue as representatives of various interest groups, students reflect on their personal feelings regarding this issue.
Lesson Plan
3
3
California Academy of Science

Sustainable Water Solutions: Weighing the Pros and Cons

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
Switching indoor water fixtures to low flow reduces water usage by more than 45 percent. This and other solutions to reduce water usage have both pros and cons. Scholars view videos of different solutions, discuss them in small groups,...