Curated OER
Words Really Matter: Examining Language at School
Help your students gain sensitivity and become aware of the implications of the words they see, hear, and use about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. After making lists of words or phrases they hear or use in school...
Curated OER
US Immigration Policy: What Should We Do?
Young scholars evaluate immigration policies. In this global issues lesson, students analyze the long-term goals of divergent immigration policies as they role play the deliberation process.
Curated OER
Active Viewing: Savage Acts
Based on the documentary film Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs, and Empire, this lesson explores concepts of National interests and imperialism. They view sections of the film and share which images exemplify the meaning of each vocabulary term....
Curated OER
The Little Prince: Problematic Situation
Your plane has crashed in the Sahara desert. What do you do? Explore the possibilities with a role-playing activity based on Antoine de Saint Éxupery's The Little Prince. In groups, kids decide whether they would walk to find help...
Scholastic
Reading Poems From the Academy of American Poets Chancellors
Start a instructional activity on poetic voice with a peer to peer discussion on what characterizes the strength in the voice with which a writer chooses to express himself/herself. In pairs, readers are tasked with reading and creating...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Slave Narratives: Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and the Columbian Orator
Young historians practice in-depth, quality analysis of primary source texts in this three-lesson unit, which examines excerpts from the slave narratives of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, and Caleb...
Museum of Tolerance
Essential Vocabulary and Concepts
Genocide. Scapegoat. Propaganda. Words are powerful. Words carry the weight of history. To prepare for a visit to The Museum of Tolerance, class members consider the weight of meaning in words related to intolerance.
Teach Engineering
Engineering Brainstorming
Here is a instructional activity that offers a great hybrid of forming new skills and using current knowledge to come up with a plan. The class brainstorms information they would need to know or already know about hybrid vehicles....
Teach Engineering
How Antibiotics Work
Take two pills and call me in the morning. The first activity in a short unit of four introduces class members to delivery methods of medicines. The instruction introduces the question of which delivery method is best to get you feeling...
Minnesota Literacy Council
Introduction to Historical Thinking
Christopher Columbus: hero or villain? Prepare class members for the debate with activities that asks them to think critically about how history is reported.
National Humanities Center
Teaching Emily Dickinson: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
Three of Emily Dickinson's poems, "I like to see it," "Because I could not stop for Death," and "We grow accustomed to the Dark," provide instructors with an opportunity to model for class members how to use close reading strategies to...
C-SPAN
Make a “Deliberations” Site
Many hot button issues require deliberations, even in your classroom! Learners work in teams or as individuals to decide on a deliberation question to make into a Google site. They research the topics in depth, discuss both sides of the...
Annenberg Foundation
Industrializing America
Imagine an eight year old spindle boy working barefoot in a factory in the late 1800s. Scholars research the industrial period in American history in the 14th lesson of a 22-part series that explores the country's background. Groups...
Annenberg Foundation
By the People, For the People
A picture speaks a thousand words—no matter how old. The 18th installment of a 22-part series on the making of American history has scholars research the causes of the Great Depression and the factors of the New Deal. Using photographic...
Center for History Education
To What Extent Were Women's Contributions to World War II Industries Valued?
Women rose to the challenge when the nation's war effort called them—but were sent home when the GIs came back from World War II. Young historians consider whether the United States valued women's contributions during the war using a...
Curated OER
Are You Balanced?
Fifth graders discuss what it means to have balance in their lives. Individually, they are given a worksheet in which they list their activities and things they are involved in. To end the lesson, they place weights on each side of a...
Curated OER
Survivors
Seventh graders explain their understanding of their strength and how it is helpful in a group situation. They also complete graphic organizers by writing at least four of their own personal strengths. Students write about their...
Curated OER
The Quest for Magic Minutes
Seventh graders explore ways to manage their time. As a class, they brainstorm time-wasters that keep them from their responsibilities. In teams, they design one time-saver for each time-waster. Afterward, they design a commercial based...
Curated OER
Bursting Stereotypes
Ninth graders discuss the importance of respecting others. After popping balloons, they use paper strips to write words representing stereotypes for men and women. In groups, they share their list and identify those that could be used...
Curated OER
Sally's Super Day
Second graders engage in a lesson that is about having a super day with an example of a fictitious child. They read "Sally's Super Day" and reflect upon the events and how they affected the character and the outcome of the story. The...
Curated OER
STAR Deputies
Second graders engage in a lesson plan that is about the sharing of following rules to follow the law. They concentrate on the making of safe choices. Students use the examples to have class discussion. They also role play scenarios of...
Curated OER
Can You Erase the Damage?
Third graders examine the need to treat others the way they would like to be treated. They determine whether the damage from teasing and mean words can be healed. They discuss how people feel when they are teased and how to repair the...
Curated OER
Don't Tease Me!
Third graders observe as the teacher pretends to tease a student and try to describe what the problem is. They brainstorm times when they felt unsafe at school either physically or emotionally and write down their responses on the board...
Curated OER
What Does Respect Look Like at Home?
Fourth graders conceptualize the value of respect for self, and give examples and non-examples. They describe how things could have been done differently within the family or the community for non-examples. Students conceptualize the...