Curated OER
Using Primary Sources in the Classroom
Scholars study a historical photograph to make predictions of what happened right after the picture was taken. They research a variety of different topics and use primary sources to answer questions about common food, fashion trends, and...
Curated OER
The Responsibility of Preservation
Upper elementary and middle schoolers study the case of the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that was once-thought to be extinct. Learners explore the responsibility of people to preserve habitats, and take care of the animals who live in...
Curated OER
1920s Variety Show
To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...
Curated OER
Everyday Documents
Almost more of a lesson than a instructional activity, this particular resource has learners examine different types of historical documents. There is a historical docment embedded in the instructional activity that learners study, and...
Curated OER
Online —On Stage—and Action
Use your tablets to participate in a culture-sharing project with a class in a foreign country. Your class can communicate and share ideas with a class in another country, swapping information regarding language and culture. Together you...
Curated OER
African American Inventors Study
Students learn about African American inventors. In this inventing lesson, students are assigned an African American inventor to research. Students work in pairs to complete their research. Students write a compare and contrast paragraph...
Azusa Pacific University
Historical Landmark Project
Close a unit or the year with a five-step research project. Class members choose a US landmark, research the landmark, compose a report about it, build a model of it, and present their model and findings to the class. Each step is...
University of California
The Cold War (America)
The Cold War—with its roots in World War II—impacts the world today. Using an extensive curriculum, scholars consider its impact through primary sources, including speeches and propaganda, as well as other skills-enhancing activities. An...
C-SPAN
Political Polarization
Dive into the political breach with pupils and explore the reasons for political polarization. Using clips from C-SPAN that include discussions from reporters and scholars, class members consider what is causing the political fault lines...
Curated OER
The Great Depression and New Deal
Elementary pupils are introduced to the Great Depression as a critical period of hardship in United States history. They engage in collaborative assignments researching the Dust Bowl, the New Deal, US presidents, and presidential libraries.
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...
Curated OER
Presenting Constitutional Issues in a Non-adversarial Mode
Young scholars study the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth Amendments to the US Constitution. They apply different points of view to their research and present their finding to the class.
Curated OER
My Birthday Connection
Focus on famous women using this lesson plan. Learners choose a famous woman to research, complete a fact sheet, and discuss their results. While incomplete, this lesson plan could be used as an outline for a more in-depth exploration.
Curated OER
Carnavals and Colonialization
Ninth graders compare and contrast different Carnavals throughout Latin America. In this Latin American lesson, 9th graders study the geography and colonial history of Latin America.
Curated OER
100 Questions
Gather around to play a game! Middle and high schoolers answer questions (provided here) using various reference materials. Bring encyclopedias and other reference materials to class, as each group has limited Internet access! An answer...
Curated OER
ONE VOTE
In order to understand the political process and the importance of voting, pupils will construct a class time line. They will group up and research a specific era, creating a time line of political events where one vote made a...
Curated OER
Words, Words, Words
First graders select an animal that he or she would like to know more about. They generate a series of questions for further study. The class explores sources of information and discusses different types of research.
Curated OER
A Civil War Lesson
Fifth graders research information about the US Civil War using the Internet in order to complete a worksheet. They complete the worksheet using accurate research information after studying background information from their textbooks.
Curated OER
The New Deal: North Carolina's Reconstruction
Eighth graders study North Carolina's reconstruction through an interdisciplinary project that emcompasses social studies, language arts, visual art, music, and technology.
Curated OER
Library Media Center Research Learning Unit for 6th, 7th, & 8th Grades
Middle schoolers focus on the process of and skills necessary for researching a topic. They study the topic of immigration while practicing note taking skills, organizing information and writing conventions.
Curated OER
Native Plant Research Project
Students study indigenous plants. They examine why they are special, why some might be threatened, by what forces (pollution, habitat destruction), and what else relies on the continued existence of these plants (insects, animals). They...
Curated OER
Save the Library!
Pupils discuss library resources and how to locate them by answering various scenarios. Role-playing as librarians, they write essays stating five reasons why the library should not be closed down.
Curated OER
Test Your Research Skills - Things to do in London
In this research skills instructional activity, students complete sentences by inserting names of places in London. A word bank of twenty words is given for twenty questions.
PBS
Standing Up Against Injustice
“Sometimes things are lawful yet are actually wrong.” Researchers examine primary and secondary source materials as they study five legal cases involving civil rights attorney William Kunstler in which he attempted to use the legal...