Curated OER
Lesson: Double Album: The Collection and the Archive
An open discussion starts this instructional activity off. The class takes a critical look at five works of art that demonstrate the impact and purpose of identity through collections or archives. They then write a list or draw 10-15...
Curated OER
Understanding Library Skills: The Dewey Decimal System
Cyber Dewey? Dewey Made Fun? Do the Dewey Game? After a librarian-led tour of the school library and an explanation of the Dewey Decimal System, class members use the Internet to access MAGNOLIA, a site with resources devoted to library...
Curated OER
An Introduction to the National Archives
Fifth graders study the national archives through both images AND visiting the site. This is meant to provide them with an understanding of what documents are important to the U.S. and why (i.e. Declaration of Independence, etc...).
Curated OER
Creating a Primary Source Archive: All History Is Local
Students explore personal, local, state, and national history. In this historiography lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding their family histories framed in local, state, and...
Curated OER
Not Just Books
Learners consider uses of a library and explore the collections at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City, and create proposals for exhibits of various artifacts.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
"Scottsboro Boys": A Trial Which Defined an Age
Here's a must-have resource. Whether your focus is racism, the Great Depression, the "Scottsboro Boys" trial, or part of a reading of To Kill A Mockingbird, the information contained in the seven-page packet will save hours of research...
Curated OER
5 Broken Cameras: How Storytellers Shape the Story
5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...
Curated OER
Reader's Paradise
Students visit the school or local library (or bookstore) to create short film or radio documentary that records a specific habit or ritual associated with reading, book buying, or book borrowing.
Curated OER
The American Dream
Students define the American dream. In this primary research lesson, students search the Library of Congress digital collections for primary sources regarding the ideal of the American dream. Students create presentation to share...
Curated OER
The Relatedness of Languages
Students use Internet and library resources to select and examine the origins of phrases or words, particularly words that have origins in other languages.
Curated OER
More Amazing Americans: A WebQuest
Students research amazing Americans using America's Library. In this American heroes lesson, students identify criteria for amazing Americans. Students copy and paste text and graphics from websites to use in their own documents....
Curated OER
Denial on Trial
What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...
Education World
Edible Resource Maps!
Young scholars discuss resource maps and examine examples from library resources. Working in groups, they create edible resource maps by drawing examples, such as popcorn on the border of Iowa and Nebraska. Then they use cookies in the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Not 'Indians,' Many Tribes: Native American Diversity
Learners explore what they thought they knew about "Indians." They examine the Hopi, Abeneki and Kwatiutl tribes in a game-like activity using archival documents.
Curated OER
Learning About Trees
After looking at pictures of trees, discussing tree growth, and identifying the parts of a tree, lead your class on a nature walk and have them collect samples and record their observations. They then work in pairs to polish the...
National First Ladies' Library
Jefferson's Legacy: A National Library
Students examine the creation of the Library of Congress. They investigate reasons why Thomas Jefferson sold his personal collection to the Library. Employing various research resources, students write newspaper articles about the sale...
Curated OER
The Path of the Black Death
Learners analyze maps, firsthand accounts, and archival documents to trace the path and aftermath of the Black Death. Connections between the plague and changes adopted by the ruling class are explored in this lesson.
Curated OER
Slave Narratives: Constructing U.S. History Through Analyzing Primary Sources
Learners access oral histories that contain slave narratives from the Library of Congress. They describe the lives of former slaves, sample varied individual experiences and make generalizations about their research in journal entries.
Curated OER
A Little Rebellion Now and Then Leads to Archival Material
Students examine the American Revolution and the Articles of Confederation. They, in groups, participate in different activities.
Curated OER
Message Drafted by General Eisenhower in Case the D-Day Invasion Failed
Students discuss how much effort and planning would therefore be needed to plan a secret invasion such as D-Day. They use library and Internet resources to find out what strategies were employed on D-Day and what the results of D-Day were.
Curated OER
Play Ball
Learners study the history of baseball in Brooklyn. They read a shared reading about the history of baseball in Brooklyn and respond to an archival picture of an early baseball game. They write two "teacher questions" for the class to...
Curated OER
Biography -People Who Have Made A Change In Our Lives
Students create biographies about famous people. They use the library and the Internet to find pictures and information about the person they choose. They create a Kid Pix slide show and a poster.
University of California
Principles vs. Practices
Have you ever wondered what your own World Order would look like? Scholars use primary and secondary documents as well as video clips to investigate and analyze the Cold War. Using the sources, the principles and practices of nations...
Curated OER
Introduction of Primary Sources
First graders create two personal artifacts to add to a primary source shoebox that represents information about themselves. The first draw a self-portrait then build an artifact from Play-Doh and pipe cleaners to represent something...