Curated OER
Fallen Angels
Students read the novel, Fallen Angels, and examine the theme of coming of age during the Vietnam War. They create timelines of the 1960s, highlighting important issues of the era. They write research papers focusing on one particular...
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"Jazz is About Freedom": Billie Holiday's Anti-lynching Song Strange Fruit
Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...
Curated OER
Using Primary Sources to Discover Reconstruction
Fifth graders discover how reconstruction had an impact on racial issues in the United States. In this Reconstruction lesson, 5th graders are introduced to primary vs. secondary resources and then rotate through stations to view...
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Viking History
Students learn about the history of the Vikings by watching videos, reading books, and writing journal entries pretending they were Vikings. In this Vikings lesson plan, students also make a long ship out of a milk carton.
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Lesson 9- Billy Wilder: Film Noir Inventor and Genius
Students study what influenced and inspired Billy Wilder while determining the plot, characters, and historical context of the film Double Indemnity. They investigate the stereotypes of Film Noir and how it shows the media messages of...
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Sharing Our Legacy of Giving
Middle schoolers explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students research or interview a local philanthropist. Middle schoolers write a biography about the philanthropist and share it with others.
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Clay Animation
Eighth graders create a visual story without using words. A study of the history and process of clay animation is explored and discussed. Students storyboard a plot of a story and students divide up into groups designing characters and...
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The Diary of Anne Frank
Sixth graders read and discuss the book, The Diary of A Young Girl, by Anne Frank, analyzing the autobiographical writing style of journal writing. They write their personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences of their own daily...
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Ideal Weight, Cultural Stereotypes, and Eating Disorders
Students explore the societal stigma that accompanies people who are overweight. In addition, students research current medical thinking on "ideal weight" and identify how the perception of body image can lead to eating disorders.
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Mormon Era
Young scholars learn the history of the Mormons and are able to explore items made during the Mormon era by creating their own by hand.  In this Mormon Era lesson, students create covered wagons, can lanterns, candles and sourdough bread...
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Mars rovers' Next Stop: IMAX
Students read an article and discuss it.  In this Mars rover activity students complete an activity that allows them to see things through a different viewpoint.