Curated OER
Vanishing Environment: Exploring Changes in Landscape
To discover the impact of urbanization on the environment, learners compare landscape paintings from the past with contemporary photographs, create found poems from descriptions of artwork, design backyard or public garden spaces,...
Curated OER
What Type of Community?
Students compare and contrast suburban, rural and urban communities. They read books such as The Little Red Hen and identify the type of community in each book. Using computer software, they write about each type of community and...
Curated OER
Conditions of City Life in the Late 19th Century
Students examine tenement life. In this lesson on early urbanization, students research the role of journalism for social change in early American cities. Students write a journal article for themselves that demonstrate an understanding...
DePaul University
Breaking the Food Chain
Throughout history, the growth of big cities has resulted in the destruction of ecosystems. In the case of Chicago, IL, a grassland that was once home to bison, deer, wolves, and foxes quickly became a booming city of over three million...
Curated OER
Creating Community - A Function Of Design
Learners discuss the physical and human impacts of community design. They identify traditional neighborhood design elements and evaluate them with features of conventional suburban development.
Curated OER
The Fact of Global Warming
Students investigate the harmful impact of global warming by reading news articles. In this environmental care lesson, students analyze an article about the Kyoto Protocol and its goal of saving our environment. Students...
Curated OER
Community Explorations
Students identify the strengths and weakness in their community. They take a community walk and take pictures of people interacting with the environment and the "green spaces" in their community. They then write a persuasive essay...
Curated OER
For the Love of Publication!
What is a ‘Zine? Although the referenced PBS video that launches this study of self-published magazines is not available, the activities detailed and the step-by-step directions for creating ‘Zines would engage young writers. This...
Curated OER
Location, Location, Location: Civilization's Ultimate Advantage
Students discover how geographical advantages, locational and regional, ultimately led to western Eurasian societies' disproportionate accounting of world power and innovation. They utilize a workbook which can be downloaded within this...
Curated OER
Canada's Arctic Barometer
Young scholars research arctic climates. In this Web-quest investigation, students will identify Arctic climate changes, explain the effects of these changes, relate the changes to other regions, and write their findings in a letter format.
Curated OER
It's Challenging Being Green!
Students influence the plant life cycle as they take care of plants.In this caring for plants lesson, students understand the parts of the plant and their functions in keeping it alive. Students participate in experiments with plants and...
Curated OER
A Sense of West Virginia
Students consider their perceptions of the world through their 5 senses while visiting the West Virginia State Museum. In this West Virginia history lesson, students discover how knowing about the past helps with their understanding of...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Plants and Places [Pdf]
"Plants and Places" is a one page, nonfiction passage about how plants fit the types of environment they live in such as cactus like hot, dry weather and live in Arizona. The state flowers fit the climate of the states. It is followed by...