Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore the economic, political, racial, and religious roots of Manifest Destiny. They read articles and analyze how the concept influenced the nation's westward expansion. Students discover the motivations and expectations of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Many Cultures

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study about several aspects of human culture, specifically those in California. They examine California's agriculture, industry, and economic changes; and cultural changes since 1850.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sea Changes: A New England Industry

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Learners conduct research in order to use primary and secondary sources. They interpret and analyze information from textbooks and nonfiction books for young adults, as well as reference materials, audio and media presentations, oral...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Social Pyramid of Ancient Egypt

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders describe the defining characteristics of major world civilizations from political, social, and economic perspectives. They compare and contrast the religions in terms of leaders, beliefs and locations.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Industrialization In Lowell, Massachusetts

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students explore the idealistic expectations of the industrialists who financed and built mills in Lowell, Massachusetts. They research how the expectations of Lowell mill founders compared to the reality of life in the textile mills for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Timber: Living and Working in an Arkansas Forest

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Upper elementary and middle schoolers examine and research the history of the Timber Industry in the state of Arkansas. An economic component is quite prevalent in this lesson as well. Groups of learners work together to write essays...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Northwest Connections

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Students compare and contrast where they live in Hawaii to the Makah Indian Reservation in Neah Bay, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula, then make a Venn Diagram after hearing two stories dealing with the Trickster type characters of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's For Dinner?

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discover how the location of restaurants affects the future location of different restaurants. Using a fictionous town, they map the locations of all current restaurants and analyze the data to determine what type of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Homefront: America and WWII

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are introduced to the experiences of various groups of Americans at home during WWII, highlighting race, gender, and ethnicity. They improve their ability to analyze and interpret historical documents and images.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stand Up and Sing

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students journal and respond to the question," How does society respond to change?" They create original lyrics to their own song that reflects the context of the Progressive Era.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Free Enterprise: A Context for Technology

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Introduced your class to the topic of free enterprise and its relationship to personal freedom. As a class, they brainstorm the ways in which what they do affects the free enterprise system and how technology can make the transition...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Music for Alice

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore Japanese culture. They read the story Music for Alice. Students write a paragraph defining what happiness means to them. They discuss Alice's culture and their own cultures. Students create a brochure about Japanese...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Physiological Adaptations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the concepts of genetics and how it is tied to the variations found within different species and how it is tied to adaptations. They review the theory of evolution and factors found to help create variation. The...
Lesson Plan
Foreign Policy Research Institute

The People's Republic of China

For Teachers 10th - 12th
This resource provides a nice framework for learners to explore the perceived shift in China's policymaking from the idealogical to the practical. While this lesson includes some dated materials (2006 is the most recent...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

High-end/Low-end: Exploring Price and Value in Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze elements of design and compare/contrast elements of price and design. In this design lesson plan, students consider the differences between high-end and low-end design. After completing an analysis of design in small...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where There's Smoke

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore technology and how it can be used to bring about change in other cultures.  In this investigative lesson students complete several activities using technology. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Young scholars identify productive resources that are important to migrant workers. In this lesson on resources, students give examples of natural resources, human resources and capital resources that apply to migrant workers. This...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Australian food

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Use ratio and proportions to adjust recipe size. Middle schoolers investigate Australian food and adjust the recipe size for said foods according to the given situation. They then prepare Australian foods.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children's Literature

For Teachers 6th
Introduce the students to basic economic concepts and types of economic systems and develop the an understanding of how economic choices involve costs and consequences; provide introduction to rural America circa 1920 and compare to our...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Charles Young Photographs

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students analyze photographs as an introduction to the Spanish American War. The concepts of American expansionism are explored through the process.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sewing Introduction

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are familiarized with required sewing equipment and markings. They learn fabric terms, pattern markings, sewing equipment, and symbol identification.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Money Matters: The Importance of Global Cooperation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this global economics lesson, students prepare for a field trip to the IMF as they examine the history of the IMF and their role in global trade.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bring No Poor Articles with You

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students compare their travel needs to homesteaders from the late 1800's in this multi-lesson unit. Students analyze a historic document, explain modes of transportation of the homesteaders, and articulate the personal and economic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Science and Technology of Food

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers examine the guidelines the United States Department of Agriculture places on food. In groups, they create a list of the foods they consume and discuss the political and environmental implications of purchasing the food. ...