American Documentary
Comparative Religion Investigation: What Happens When We Die?
How do different religions offer explanations for what happens when we die? Invite your learners to consider the variance and complexity of religious beliefs, and to research and compare/contrast the concept of death and afterlife...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Early American Poets
The poems of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are the focus of a unit that asks readers to consider how an artist's life and changes in society influences his or her work. After careful study of Whitman's and Dickinson's perspectives on...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Soviet Espionage in America
The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of three lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1950. This first lesson asks groups to read an introduction that describes the Verona Project and...
Bowland
Reducing Road Accidents
By making the following changes to the roads, we can prevent several accidents. A multiple-day lesson prompts pupils to investigate accidents in a small town. Pairs develop a proposal on what to do to help reduce the number of...
Shakespeare Uncovered
Suits of Woe: Grief and Loss in Hamlet
“Thou know’st ‘tis common; all that lives must die/Passing through nature to eternity.” Grief, and the response to grief and loss, is the focus of a series of activities that uses Hamlet as a launchpad. Groups examine Act I, scene ii to...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Anticipation Guide
Begin your unit on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with an anticipation guide that addresses the novel's themes. Kids read ten statements that discuss love, friendship, and growing up, and determine whether or not...
US Institute of Peace
Simulation on Conflict Prevention in the Greater Horn of Africa
Is containing a conflict possible in the Horn of Africa? Young peacekeepers engage in a simulation that examines the multi-faceted conflict that exists between the countries of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Representatives from ten countries in...
Curated OER
"Every Mother's Son" Lesson Plan
Students recall and discuss personal encounters with local police and then watch a video on the subject.
Curated OER
Government Lesson Plan: Lesson Plan 9
Students examine and compare/contrast the steps of criminal and civil cases. They define key vocabulary terms, develop an outline of a criminal and civil trial, and analyze the differences in standards of proof in legal cases.
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Examining the Choices People Made
The choices made by Roy Bryant and J.W. Millam, the men who murdered Emmett Till in 1955, are usually the ones people ponder when they examine the case. But other individuals made choices that contributed to the event and its subsequent...
Curated OER
Frisbee Golf - Lesson 2
There are eight lessons in the Frisbee golf unit. Lesson 2 focuses on throwing the Frisbee in a sidearm fashion. There are diagrams that show how to hold the Frisbee and how to release the Frisbee. There are links to each lesson and...
Curated OER
Frisbee Golf - Lesson 1 - Backhand Throw
Have a fun Frisbee day! Lesson 1 (of 8) focuses on throwing the Frisbee backhand. Diagrams show learners how to hold and how to release the Frisbee. It includes a block plan, instant activities for warm-ups, assessment references, and...
Curated OER
Perfecting My Pal's Poe Paragraph
After analyzing the compelling first paragraph of Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Masque of the Red Death," high schoolers draft original opening paragraphs using techniques identified Poe's writing. The relationship between suspense...
Curated OER
Lesson: Text Messages
Can a neon sign be considered art? Kids consider two different works that use neon text as the basis for conveying artistic social messages. They then analyze a truism from Jenny Holzer's web site that holds meaning to them personally....
Curated OER
Lesson: Urs Fischer: Controlling our Logic, Metaphors, and Semantics
Kids use poetry and contemporary art to start thinking about logic and personal expression. They read Sylvia Plath's poem "Metaphor," and critically examine the art of Urs Fischer. After working though a few logic problems they write...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Candidate Position History Research
Climate change. Assault weapons ban. Death penalty. And the list goes on. So many issues are part of a US presidential election that it can be hard to determine a candidate's position on a particular topic and whether their position has...
Curated OER
In the Shadow of Death
Students research the initial labeling and classification of Jews through the use of images on the Web. They gather additional information about the history and effects of the Holocaust on survivors.
Curated OER
Argument in an Athenian Jail: Socrates and the Law
Learners read and discuss Socrates's "Crito" and examine the arguments he made supporting his own death penalty. They consider the still-relevant debate between the rights of the individual and the rule of law.
Curated OER
Wrinkles ESL Lesson
Practice English vocabulary and dialogue. An ELD class completes a true/false worksheet about aging and wrinkles, then read an article entitled "Wrinkles Give Clues to Bone Condition" using context clues to determine vocabulary...
Curated OER
Inca Artifacts and Civilization Lesson Plans
By learning about Inca artifacts and this ancient civilization students can delve into history, geography, and much more.
Carnegie Mellon University
Bathtub Model
Using a colorful infographic handout and a guide sheet, hold a class discussion about how a bathtub can serve as a model for the greenhouse effect created by Earth's atmosphere. Participants will understand that as energy or matter is...
Curated OER
Checking the Surf
Learners read and discuss waves and their wavelengths and amplitudes. In this waves lesson plan, students draw the wavelength and amplitude of a wave and discuss tsunamis and storms.
Curated OER
Facing The Unknown
Students discuss how images help us to mark the passing of time, and to remember people, places and events from the past. They discuss the different ideas and images related to life, death and the idea of the afterlife. Students also...
Curated OER
Still Burning
Students study about an infamous 1964 crime and discuss opinions on a recent verdict in the case from different perspectives.