Manchester University
Veteran’s Day
Before honoring courageous veterans, get to know more about who they are and why November 11th is a special day. Scholars obtain such information through a read aloud of Eve Bunting's The Wall, grand conversation, and...
Curriculum Project
Gandhi
Introduce class members to Gandhi's non-violent, non-cooperative ideas with Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio-epic. The film traces the experiences that gave shape to Gandhi's ideas and the actions that eventually lead to the end of...
PBS
Copyright and Fair Use
When is using someone else's copyrighted material appropriate? Learn about copyright and fair use with a lesson from PBS.org. Scholars read through a reference sheet about authors' rights and users' rights, and then create posters...
Curated OER
Civil War Literature Circle
Historical fiction can be a valuable asset when learning about the past. Integrate several novels written about the Civil War into your social studies unit, with groups of four working collaboratively to comprehend the novel from...
Curated OER
Timelines
Students discover the look and purpose of timelines. After the teacher reads them a story, they discuss the events that occurred during King Tutankhamen's life. They create a timeline of his life making sure to put them in the correct...
Curated OER
Short and Sweet
Students summarize nonfiction text. After reviewing the process for reading in order to summarize, students independently read a nonfiction article. They write a summary paragraph using the checklist outlined by the instructor during...
Curated OER
Butterfly Life Cycle
Students read books about animals and describe their structures, how they grow and change, and their life cycles. In this animals lesson plan, students also make animals out of pasta.
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Using Literary Elements to Compare Fiction Texts
Students explore language arts by reading and reflecting on literary examples. In this fiction writing instructional activity, students read several different cultural versions of the story "Cinderella" and discuss their interaction with...
Curated OER
American Civil War
Eighth graders read a collection of stories about the Civil War. Based upon their readings, they perform various activities to reinforce facts about the Civil War. Students create time lines, maps and reports about the war. They...
Curated OER
Summarizing
Fifth graders write summaries. In this summarizing lesson students decide which events of a chapter in a book are important to summarizing. Students also create a title for the chapter based upon the contents of the chapter. Students...
Curated OER
Space Exploration
Sixth graders investigate the historical even surrounding the Apollo Mission to the Moon. They conduct research specifically to find information about the astronauts on the mission. The students conduct class discussion about the...
Curated OER
"A Sound of Thunder" Worksheet
In this "A Sound of Thunder" worksheet group, students complete a graphic organizer for the plot of the story. Students then complete activities with vocabulary from the reading and edit passages from the text.
Curated OER
Second Graders Create Their Own Social Studies Book (Part I, The 5Ws of the Constitution)
Students develop their own social studies textbook using a blank theme book as they complete activities and learning experiences throughout the year. The activities are in art, music, simulations, read alouds, shared writing and a class...
Curated OER
The Athens Olympics
Students explore the history of the Olympics. They read a story about London's bid to host the Olympic games. In groups, students produce an arena for the Olympics and create a creed for the competition. Students discuss and share...
Curated OER
Easy Steps for Summarization
Learners practice techniques and strategies to assess mastery on the concept of summarization. They read, discuss and summarize the story, "How Goose Got Ready for Winter," by David Wingfield. Each student picks out the most important...
Curated OER
Let's Create a Picture
Students practice using visualization to aid in their reading comprehension. After a read aloud of a selected story, students write a brief summary of the plot accompanied by an illustration of the characters they have visualized.
Curated OER
The Secret School-Chapter 4
Fourth graders read The Secret School. For this language arts lesson, 4th graders discuss the characters in the story and read aloud using fluency while reading. Students write a summary of the chapter.
Curated OER
1, 2, 3...A Summary
Students summarize a piece of nonfiction text. After reviewing the correct way to gather the important information needed to summarize, students independently read a nonfiction article. They write a summary paragraph using the process...
Curated OER
Wars and Conflicts
Students explore the concepts of war and conflict. In this research skills lesson, students use Internet and print sources to research the causes, effects, main events, and significant figures of selected wars.
Curated OER
Ku Klux Klan
Students discuss, write, and identify symbols of the activities of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920's in Indiana. In this Ku Klux Klan lesson plan, students also take a field trip to view the Thomas Hart Benton Murals at Indiana University.
Curated OER
A Closer Look at the Klan
Fourth graders learn vocabulary, answer discussion questions, complete writing assignments, and identify symbols connected to the Ku Klux Klan. In this Ku Klux Klan lesson plan, 4th graders also go on a field trip to the Thomas Hart...
Curated OER
Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor
Students watch the movie, Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor, and participate in post-viewing activities to model their understanding of the movie.
Curated OER
Nazi Germany Through An Examination of the Holocaust
Tenth graders read, analyze, evaluate, synthesize and present their ideas through multi-media about events of the Holocaust and Nazi Germany.
Curated OER
Timeline Shuffle
Pupils examine the role and importance of timelines, and the method for ordering events. They order events and create a timeline of significant technology achievements and scientific discoveries in order from earliest to the most recent.