US National Archives
WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Invasion
Without the benefit of history, Western Europe in the 1940's had no idea what was about to befall them. Class members use primary sources, including political cartoons, videos, and internal documents, to analyze how much of a threat...
PBS
The Supreme Court: Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
While World War II changed the international order, it also led to a fundamental shift in the concept of civil rights within the United States. Using a video and discussion questions, class members consider the effects the war had to the...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: June 2011
People in Ukraine, Rwanda, and Cambodia have all faced challenges to their human rights and even genocide. Using primary and secondary sources, scholars evaluate these challenges and the international community's role in them. The...
Radford University
How Tall Is It?
Find the height from afar. Teams role play as summer interns to find the height of a set of windows from the outside. Scholars must first determine how to find the height with the available tools. After determining a strategy involving...
Museum of Science
Egg Drop Challenge
Egg drops aren't just for soup. Scholars design a landing craft with internal padding and external protection to safeguard an egg as it is dropped from a given height. They build their craft and then test out its effectiveness.
Nemours KidsHealth
Suicide Prevention: Grades 9-12
The teenage years are tough. Internal and external pressures lead 1 in 15 high schoolers to attempt suicide. Two activities focusing on suicide prevention provide class members with information about when and how to get help for...
DocsTeach
Nixon Visits China: The Week that Changed the World
Sometimes one trip shakes up the entire world. When President Richard Nixon traveled to China, he defied international and political boundaries. Nixon was the first American president to visit mainland China, which was a communist nation...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Making Your Mark: Free Verse Poetry
Using the insight they have gained into the experiences of detainees at the Angel Island Immigration Station, young poets create their own free verse poems that they feel captures what it may have felt like to be an immigrant interned on...
Health Smart Virginia
Mental and Emotional Health
Working in groups, sixth-graders identify internal factors that negatively impact them. Then, explain how they could change that factor into a positive influence. Finally, individuals create personal mind maps that identify their...
NASA
Water Filtration Challenge
Can the class think like the scientists on the International Space Station? Engineers design, test, collect data, and improve a water filtration device similar to a system found on the ISS. Participants use pH strips, optional...
Anti-Defamation League
What is the Soul Cap and Why Was it Rejected for Olympic Use?
In 2021 the FINA, the International Swimming Federation, banned using Soul Caps in the Tokyo Olympics. Middle schoolers investigate why the committee made this decision and the resulting backlash, including charges of discrimination and...
Curated OER
Farewell to Manzanar
Examine human resilience across two texts with a detailed unit. Over the course of a week, learners will conduct a close reading of excerpts from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar. The resource includes clear procedures for reading and...
Curated OER
Testing for Life’s Molecules
Want to hear a joke about sodium? Na. Young scientists test various materials to identify if they include protein, starch, and glucose by using the Biuret test, iodine starch test, and Benedict's test respectively. After practicing with...
Oceanic Research Group
Heat Transfer and Cooling
Astronauts train underwater to simulate the change in gravity. An out-of-this-world unit includes three hands-on activities, one teacher demonstration, and a discussion related to some of the challenges astronauts face. Scholars apply...
Curated OER
Phonetics: The Study of Speech Sounds
A beginning study of linguistics will include phonetics and the way sound is made. Show your class these great slides with pictures and examples of consonants, vowels, and blends. Placement of the tongue, lips, etc. are displayed to give...
Curated OER
Typical Conceptual Questions for Physics I - Light and Quantum
This is a stellar overview of everything light and quantum! There are 30 multiple choice questions, none of them requiring any mathematical computation. There are a few diagrams to analyze: light rays striking reflective and refractive...
Curated OER
Indigenous People Day
Do you know why we celebrate the International Day of the World's Indigenous People? Did you even know we celebrate this day? After reading a short passage about this international celebration, scholars answer true or false questions,...
Curated OER
Functions of Leaves
The title is a little deceiving since only one of 17 slides is dedicated to the function of leaves, while the rest is dedicated to the structure. Both internal and external structure is taught with accompanying diagrams. If you are going...
Curated OER
Substance Abuse Influences
Students study external and internal influences that affect behavior choices. They investigate the impact of those influences through a role play activity.
Curated OER
The Importance of Imports
Students explore world trade by examining items they find at home and listing countries those items came from. Data is displayed on a map and charted according to continent. They discuss how products are transported.
Curated OER
The Attack of the Manhole Monsters
High schoolers explore the concept of similarity. They examine such topics as ratio of corresponding sides, internal ratios and scaling factors. After watching a video, student groups perform experiments outside the school building.
Curated OER
American Focus on World Constitutions
Eighth graders describe essential components of a constitution and cite cultural factors affecting international law-making.
Curated OER
Journey to Topaz: KWHL Strategy
Japanese Internment and World war II are the focus of a KWHL strategy used to scaffold for a reading of Journey to Topaz, Yoshiko Uchida's story of 11-year-old Yuki Sakane and her family. Complete directions for the activity...
Curated OER
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet: A Novel
Jamie Ford’s historical novel, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, explores the relationship between a young Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl set against the backdrop of Seattle during World War II. The teaching...