iCivics
NewsFeed Defenders Extension Pack
Accuracy, transparency, trustworthiness, and impartiality are four unspoken rules of journalism. Scholars delve deep into the subject by discussing the pros and cons of relying on social media for news. They also play an online game to...
University of Minnesota
Mirroring Emotions
Do you ever give your class the "teacher look"? Without saying a word, they become silent and engaged (hopefully). How do they know what you're thinking? Explore the concept of nonverbal communication and how it relates to our...
Online Publications
Become a Journalist
Explore the newspaper as a unique entity with a detailed and extended unit. The unit requires learners to consider the newspaper's role in democracy, think about ethics, practice writing and interviewing, and examine advertising and news...
Federal Reserve Bank
Ten Mile Day
Get your class working on the railroad with this detailed and interactive instructional activity. After reading and discussing Ten Mile Day, learners explore division of labor, human capital, and productivity with a hands-on group...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cloning
Students explore the issues and challenges of cloning. For this cloning lesson plan, students read about how cloning affects people and the types of cloning, then they prepare a debate either for or against cloning.
Little Kids Rock
The Latin Rhythms of “Despacito”
When you hear the first few beats of "Despacito," the unrivaled Latin pop hit of 2017, you can't keep your feet from moving! A music analysis lesson plan examines the intoxicating hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee and introduces the...
Curated OER
Learning Skills
Second graders role-play in a variety of different academic and social situations. In this social skills lesson, 2nd graders identify specific skills needed to succeed at home, in school, and out in the community.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
La Mobile: A Case Study of Exploration and Settlement
The Le Moyne brothers, Jean-Baptiste and Pierre, were among the first explorers of the Gulf Coast. Class members read biographical information and journal entries about these men, study maps showing where the settlements they established...
Curated OER
General Lesson Plan for Documentary Lens
Use this general lesson guide to inform your instruction surrounding a documentary. The lesson is made up of five activities. The activities are intentionally general because they are designed to adapted for specific films. While the...
Curated OER
And Today's Guest Star Is...
Learners explore correct social behaviors. In this social skills lesson, students take turns modeling correct social behaviors in various settings. Learners write text for a social story and share them with the class.
Curated OER
Kids Bullying Kids
Students discuss bullying. In this social skills lesson, students take a survey regarding times they have been bullied and then discuss the results.
Curated OER
Yes We Can! Students with Autism & Down-Syndrome on the Drums!
To learn about various topics and improve their social skills, learners with special needs play along with music on drums and other sound objects. Teachers take digital pictures of the students participation and use them to make bulletin...
Curated OER
Buggy Rides
Students go for a buggy ride. Each of them have a chance to be a rider and a horse. They need to tell their "horse" when to begin pulling by saying "giddy-up." students work together and use appropriate social skills
American Bar Association
News Literacy Model Curriculum in Social Studies
Scholars investigate news literacy in the twenty-first century. They use technology, legal decisions, writings, and digital privacy to analyze the topic. Using what they learned, a group assignment looks into both the challenges and...
Curated OER
Teaching Strategies for the Social Studies Classroom
Engage your class in a lesson that is concerned with the development of skills in the realm of teaching strategies needed for Social Studies. They will participate in delivering content using several strategies that are demonstrated by...
Curated OER
Finding Meaning in the Badge
Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The instructional activity is discussion-based and requires learners to...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Upton Sinclair, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harvey W. Wiley
Though Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle shocked the American public into a thorough examination of the meat-packing industry, the author was disappointed that his book's main argument—the exploitation of American immigrants—was not...
NET Foundation for Television
1850-1874 Homestead Act Signed: The Challenges of The Plains
Start a whole new life in a land known as the Wild Wild West! Learners analyze maps, personal accounts, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, songs, and video clips to uncover life under the Homestead Act. Using their new skills, class members role...
Civil War Trust
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address may have been four score and seven years ago, but its message is still as relevant today. Young historians explore the context of the famous speech, as well as its central theme and argument, before discussing the...
PBS
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History—Snapshot Lessons
The Roosevelt family was one of the most influential and prominent political forces in the 20th century, leaving behind a wide-ranging legacy of conservation, progressivism, and economic growth. Learn more about President Theodore...
Stanford University
Ruby Bridges
A two-part lesson features Civil Rights hero, Ruby Bridges. Part one focuses on the heroic actions of Ruby Bridges then challenges scholars to complete a Venn diagram in order to compare themselves to her. Part two begins with a...
Scholastic
Dear Miss Breed
This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will...
Curated OER
Past, Present and Future Through the Eyes of Long Jakes
Even the littlest learners can become art historians if they have the right training. For the lesson, your preschoolers discuss the piece Long Jakes as they point out all the details they notice. They discuss what mountains and mountain...
Curated OER
Lessons for Young Children with Autism
Here are a variety of lessons geared for young children with Autism. There are 12 short activities intended to build attention, imitation, communication, independent living, social, motor, and literacy skills. Each skill is geared toward...