Oakland Writes
Exploring Thematic Motifs in The House on Mango Street
Explore identity and community through an expository essay based on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This two-week unit on writing an essay provides a brief description of each day and all of the worksheets and materials you...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon A Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 1
As part of a study of the history of the Chumash on California's Channel Island chain, class members view the documentary Once Upon a Time, respond to discussion questions, and create a timeline for the different waves of migration.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Before and After a Moment in Time
Think about a moment, frozen in time. Now take a critical look at the painting, Better, Homes, Better Gardens. This painting works to provide learners the opportunity to analyze art, critique artist's choices, and write a story inspired...
Curated OER
Recycling Lesson Plans
Students can learn about protecting the environment through these recycling lesson plans.
Curated OER
Lesson Plans on the Intersection of History and Literature
Finding out about "the story behind the story" can provide a greater understanding of literature and its historical and social context.
Common Sense Media
Going Places Safely
How can places on the Internet be dangerous? Youngsters draw important connections between traveling online and staying safe in the real world. They also discover three key online safety rules to guide them throughout their online...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Around Town: Neighborhood and Community: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 3)
Neighborhood and community is the theme of a unit comprised of extra support lessons. Following practice pages and a teach, blend, guided practice, practice/apply routine, the series of lessons provide additional reinforcement of reading...
National Gallery of Canada
Build a Neighbourhood
What's special about your neighborhood? Build one with your class to find out. Individuals create their dream homes that, when completed, will be placed together around a green space in order to create a neighborhood. Learners also...
Rainforest Alliance
Protecting the Critical Habitat of the Manatee and Loggerhead Turtle
Explore ocean habitats with a instructional activity that showcases the home of manatees and loggerhead turtles in Belize. Here, pupils compare and contrast the homes of ocean animals to those of humans, listen to an original short story...
State Bar of Texas
Brown v. Board of Education
You walk each day over 20 blocks to school as a 9-year old because the color of your skin does not allow you to attend a school in your own neighborhood. Scholars use the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education to investigate...
Curated OER
This is My Neighborhood
Students predict the things that they may see, smell, or hear in their neighborhood. They take part in a neighborhood walk, creating a rough map of their neighborhood as they go. Upon return to the classroom, students create a final map...
Curated OER
Lesson: Jeremy Deller: Conversing about Conflict
Bridge cultural awareness, community, government, and art with an introspective and thought-provoking lesson. Upper graders become globally and socially aware as they analyze and explore the art of Jeremy Deller. They consider his images...
Curated OER
Lesson: Lisa Signal: Altering Perspectives
Kids make big artistic gestures, just like the abstract artist, Lisa Signal. They use her work as inspiration for making simplistic, abstract, statements in an artistic way. They analyze her work, then walk through an unfamiliar...
Curated OER
Where Do I Fit In?: Mental Mapping Student Neighborhoods
Students examine geography through the themes of place, human/environment interaction, and region. They create a mental map of their own neighborhood, analyze their role in the world, and design a neighborhood that reflects their needs.
Curated OER
Kid City, USA
What a model community would look like? Get your kids talking with an activity that allows them to create their own town. After printing out a "fold out village," groups of students use a variety of resources to help them build an actual...
The New York Times
Trouble in the Hive: Researching the Decimation of Honeybee Colonies
Teach your class about colony collapse disorder and foster discussion about causes and solutions for the honeybee problem. Class members read and discuss an article and participate in one of two detailed activities about pollination and...
Curated OER
Interpret Clock Time
Save yourself a few minutes of planning with this elementary math lesson on elapsed time. Through a series of collaborative and independent learning activities, children explore different real-world situations as they learn how to...
Annenberg Foundation
Student Voices
Whether it's an election year or not, a unit on voting patterns and political campaigns will awaken the civic pride in your high school citizens. Divided into six parts, the curriculum covers various facets of an election, including...
Curated OER
Erase Neighborhood Hunger
Students research the varied causes of hunger and the effects malnutrition can have on people's bodies and minds. They brainstorm concrete steps they can take to help erase hunger and malnutrition. Students draw one or more ways that...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Immigrant Discrimination
For a class learning about Chinese and Irish immigration in America, here's a great starting lesson plan. It has your critical thinkers examining song lyrics, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and a political cartoon, and finally...
Curated OER
Dollars and Sense
Fourth graders read "Starting a Business" and answer the question: "How could you design an ad to let the community know about the business described in the story?" Then, they illustrate a written ad that could be posted in the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Revolution '67, Lesson 1: Protest: Why and How
To some people, protesting is as American as apple pie, but the factors that lead to protests can be as confusing to veteran activists as to today's youth. Revolution '67 explores the riots in Newark, New Jersey as a case study. Using...
Curated OER
Making Plans
Young scholars gain an understanding of the U.S. Census. In this civic lesson plan, students use real-life problem-solving skills and census data to choose a site for new school.
Curated OER
City and Empire: Roman History, Planned Communities
Students research various planned communities and consider the pros and cons of such a development. They realize that planned communities have advocates and detractors and use these considerations when planning their own community.