Museum of Tolerance
Influence of Media
We are bombarded with media images expressly designed to influence viewers. Learning how to analyze the intended effects of these images is essential and the focus of an activity that asks viewers to use the provided questions to guide...
National Park Service
Should America Have Gone to War in 1812?
Using an incredibly engaging activity and detailed lesson plan, your learners will serve as advisors to President Madison on whether to participate in what would become the War of 1812! Utilize a variety of effective instructional...
Smithsonian Institution
In His Own Words: George Washington Quotation Timeline
Students read and analyze a series of excerpts from George Washington's letters, journal, and speeches to match quotations to the event or date in his life. They identify the author or source of the historical document or narrative. They...
Curated OER
Civil War: The North History Lesson
Students demonstrate their reading comprehension skills, including reading strategies, inference, literal meaning, and critical analysis.
Curated OER
Thomas Jefferson Lesson
Students demonstrate reading comprehension skills, including reading strategies, inference, literal meaning, and critical analysis.
Curated OER
COMING TO AMERICA:A PILGRIM STORY LESSON
By completing this lesson, learners demonstrate their reading comprehension skills, including reading strategies, inference, literal meaning, and critical analysis.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...
Curated OER
Make Your Fortune in Stocks
Fourth graders participate in a stock investment activity in which they research stocks to place in an imaginary portfolio. They invest $10,000 in a variety of stocks and track their progress using the Internet or newspapers.
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Learning About the Historical and Geographical Setting of Esperanza Rising (Chapter 1: “Aguascalientes, Mexico, 1924”)
Set up your class to read Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, through a class read-aloud and exploration of the setting. The detailed instructional activity outlines each step. First, class members read over the first few pages and...
Curated OER
Persuasive Essay PowerPoints
Students address issues important to them by creating a PowerPoint presentation. In this persuasive writing lesson, students discuss issues with their classmates that they wish to address through a persuasive essay they will write....
Curated OER
Korea Lunar New Year
Students explore Korean Lunar New Year traditions, examine Korean culture, practice saying "Happy Lunar New Year" and other greetings in Korean, and discuss common foods, games, and other activities enjoyed by Koreans on Lunar New Year....
Curated OER
Poetry and Our National Anthem
Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this American history lesson, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the anthem in your own...
Curated OER
Rites of Passage
Students, through video and Internet activities, are exposed to rites of passage in two modern day West African cultures, the Fulani and the Dogon, and how slavery served as a rite of passage for many West African people in the past.
Curated OER
Sharing is Caring
Students explore the concepts of sharing and good citizenship. They demonstrate reading comprehension skills including inference, literal meaning and critical analysis.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You
Ask not what the lesson here can do for you, but what you can do with the lesson. The answer is quite a lot! Young scholars revisit JFK's famous inaugural address with a focus on his plea for civic engagement. There's a...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
B. Franklin, Printer and the Public Eye
Students explore U.S. history by researching famous Americans. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson plan, students read portions of a biography about Franklin and identify his position within U.S. politics and as a leader in the battle for...
Curated OER
At Your Service
Students discuss various volunteer activities and read how New York City organizes its volunteer efforts. They create their own databases compiling volunteer opportunities and write reflective essays on how volunteers help their...
Curated OER
Death and Taxes
Students explore the "death tax" and analyze statistical information about how the government taxes dead people. They research sources to determine the validity of a anti-tax group campaign and John McCain's claims about taxes. ...
Heritage Foundation
Crime and Punishment
You wouldn't give someone a 10-day timeout for eating a piece of candy. The US government, too, does not believe in unreasonable punishment. A variety of exercises exploring the clauses of the US Constitution prompts class members to...
Curated OER
Masks from Around the World
Students examine the history of masks, and create their own mask as a culminating activity. They view and discuss a PowerPoint presentation about the history of masks, complete a class KWL chart, create their own mask, and write a...
Curated OER
Fighting Soil Erosion
Students complete hands-on activities and watch a video to learn about soil erosion. In this erosion instructional activity, students use hands-on studies to investigate soil erosion. Students then visit the given websites to identify...
Curated OER
African American Traditions: Cameroonian and African-American Folktales
Pupils compare Cameroonian and African-American folktales. In this folktales lesson, students participate in a jigsaw activity that requires them to read "The Owl Never Sleeps as Night," "Why the Lizard Often Nods," "Tappin, the Land...
Curated OER
Wall to Peace: Deconstructing Divisions Among People and Cultures
Students analyze quotes and poetry related to relationships in society. In this civics instructional activity, students participate in small group debate game and focus on communication skills that reinforce civil discussion. Students...
Curated OER
The Power of Words: Male Bashing and Gender
Students brainstorm words that typically describe men or women. They also brainstorm words that are insulting to both genders. They answer questions about the activity and discuss their answers.