Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 1 Day Lesson
Why did many Tennesseeans support the 1925 Butler Act, which forbade the teaching of evolution? Using several primary source documents and a brief video clip, your young historians will draw connections between the broader historical...
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 5 Day Lesson
Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...
Curated OER
The Kennedys: An American Camelot?
A life in pictures makes sense for a frontline public family like the Kennedys. Slides depict the parents and each sibling as successful, sad, or tragic. The initial slide provides two web links for information to go along with the images.
Sharp School
Real Life Economics 101
Your learners will take key economic concepts, such as identifying needs versus wants and the four factors of production, and design a video to explain their topic choice to the class. Rather than have one person in charge of dispensing...
Newseum
Are You a Publisher?: Free Press and You
What kinds of media do your pupils use to read and publish information? After a discussion about what publishing means, and about the freedom of the press, class members interview one or two other people about their publishing habits....
Curated OER
Lesson 5: In the Courtroom: Understanding the Players and the Action
Young lawyers put Goldilocks on trial as they develop an understanding of the legal system in the final lesson of this five-part series. After learning about key terms relating to litigation, students are assigned roles and reading...
Historical Thinking Matters
Rosa Parks: 5 Day Lesson
What led to the success of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and how might historians approach this question differently? This rich series of lessons includes a short introductory video clip, analysis of six primary source documents, and...
Curriculum Project
Gandhi
Introduce class members to Gandhi's non-violent, non-cooperative ideas with Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio-epic. The film traces the experiences that gave shape to Gandhi's ideas and the actions that eventually lead to the end of...
Syracuse University
World War II
During World War II propaganda was as important to the war effort as the soldiers in the field. Scholars consider how the government communicated messages of patriotism with propaganda by examining pieces from World War II. Then, they...
Curated OER
Family Culture:
Learners tell about their family heritage by writing a story and illustrating it with a picture of a family item.
Curated OER
The Ramayana: Showing your Dharma
Students identify characters and events from the Ramayana. They discuss ways in whcih the images convey non-verbal information and messages. They discuss similarities and differences in the visual and verbal tellings of the Ramayana.
Channel Islands Film
Restoration Channel Islands Debate
Introduce learners to the debate format with an activity that uses the National Park Service's controversial Channel Islands restoration program as a topic. Class members learn how to generate provocative debate questions, how to prepare...
US Institute of Peace
Mediating Conflict
Two's a negotiation, but three's a mediation! Demonstrate the differences between the two processes through a role-playing lesson. The activity familiarizes pupils with the role of a mediator and examines the types of situations that...
Japan Society
Our Family and Other Families: Using Totoro to Teach Family Structure
What do families around the world have in common? Explore this theme through the popular animated film My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. Over the course of two days, pupils view the film, pausing to discuss their own families and the...
Curated OER
Movie Metaphors of Canadian Prime Ministers
Students research the life and public service record of various prime ministers and assign a movie title to each prime minister. Groups must agree on the movie assigned to each PM, and explain their reasoning for choice.
Penguin Books
Wonder in the Classroom
Would you rather be right, or would you rather be kind? A novel unit based on R.J. Palacio's Wonder focuses on the need to be kind to others and to accept their differences. As learners read the book, they discuss the themes of...
Curated OER
The American Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance
Students create an iMovie about what they have learned about the American flag as a conclusion to an eight-day unit.
Curated OER
Gettysburg
Students investigate the major events of the Civil War by reading and depicting the Gettysburg Address. Video clips are used to create an iMovie to enhance their background knowledge.
PBS
Shakespeare & The Renaissance: Activity Ideas
Looking for ways to implement the words and works of William Shakespeare into your curriculum? This list of activity ideas is a great starting point, as it covers a wide range of grade levels and a wealth of online references to explore.
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Grass Born to Be Stepped On
Students use the Internet and other resources to research an aspect of history that illustrates rights and responsibilities, including historical events, issues and ideas, and the people involved.
Curated OER
A Time Period in American History
Researchers combine music, narration, photos, and text to form a presentation for their classmates about a time period in American History. Proper research and documentation techniques are emphasized. The lesson, created by Apple...
Curated OER
The Luck of the Irish
Students are introduced to a variety of customs and traditions relating to the culture of Ireland. They view a video, explore the art of storytelling, research sport origins, cook Irish food and discuss well-known Irish proverbs.
Curated OER
No Place Like Home
Learners analyze photographs of high plains sod homes and read accompanying narratives. They then choose one photograph and, using the copy and paste features and simple drawing tools available in Microsoft Word, students identify...
Curated OER
Springfield Digital Storytelling Project: Landform Riddle
Creative projects and collaborative learning are hallmarks of 21st Century learning skills. Using an iphone, 6th graders create an iMovie which shows a student composed riddle. The riddle needs to be about one of the landforms they have...