Curated OER
Popular Music and Music Videos
This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...
San Francisco Symphony
Music and Early Man
Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...
Curated OER
A Family History
Students investigate their family history through pictures and writing. In this family history activity, students research family, culture, food, music, religion, and clothing. Students gather pictures of their family and events....
Curated OER
To the North: A Black Family Leaves Arkansas to Find Work in Michigan
Upper elementary and middle school scholars study the economic factors that caused so many Arkansans to migrate to different parts of the country looking for work. Use this history lesson plan to help your charges gain a better...
San Francisco Symphony
Music Reflects History
Exploring the baroque era can be exciting and fun when it's done thorugh the arts. Middle schoolers examine the music and art history of the baroque era through research. They use their findings and class notes to create an expository...
Curated OER
Grandparents' Day: Family History
Pupils explore Grandparents' Day. They interview their grandparents and select an activity to highlight their interview. They select a project including writing an essay, composing a song, creating a poem or scrapbook, or writing a...
Curated OER
Women's History
Students research famous women in history. In this Women's History month lesson, students choose one historical woman to research and use biographies and websites to gather information. Students complete an included research outline and...
Curated OER
I Went to the Crossroads: The Faust Theme in Music, Film and Literature
Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform or present their...
Curated OER
California Missions Project-Using Publisher
Students create a California Missions magazine that includes a Table of Contents, pictures, and websites. In this culture and history lesson, students research missions and write and create a magazine article about it.
Curated OER
Art Critic for a Day!
Middle schoolers practice evaluating art by creating a research project and presentation. They use the Internet and library to discover a piece of art or artist whom they feel has an impact on the world of art. Next, they create a...
Curated OER
The Sound of Music and Passage to Freedom
Seventh graders examine music examples to investigate a conflict in history about Hitler's invasions during WWII. In this music analysis instructional activity, 7th graders discuss vocabulary and the history for the Holocaust and...
Pace University
The Harlem Renaissance - The Journey to Freedom: An Interdisciplinary
The Harlem Renaissance if the focus of a carefully crafted, interdisciplinary unit designed to introduce middle schoolers to the contributions key figures made to American art and culture during the period. Class members select...
Curated OER
Aboriginal Web Design
Students explore world history by participating in a web design activity. In this aboriginal history lesson, students discuss the different jobs associated with designing a web site and identify the types of media that are often shown on...
Curated OER
Proud to Live in New Jersey
Students explore New Jersey. For this New Jersey social studies lesson, students define vocabulary and participate in activities centered around the agriculture, geography, industry, history, and culture of New Jersey. Students construct...
Curated OER
Bits of Braille
Intended to build an understanding of Braille in a general education classroom. They read the book Helen Keller then write their names using a braille website. Many interesting web links are included. Could be used for a general or...
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance Research Project
Students complete a group research project on the Harlem Renaissance. In this Harlem lesson, students pick from a list of topics all related to the Harlem renaissance. They create a PowerPoint presentation, topic outline, and bibliography.
Curated OER
Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River. In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River. Students document their...
Curated OER
Yankee Doodle... More than Just a Catchy Tune
Learners investigate the history of patriotic music and practice singing the tunes with classmates. In this U.S. History lesson plan, students examine lyrics of the traditional song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and discuss the differing points...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
Curated OER
Modern Minstrelsy: Exploring Racist Stereotypes in Literature and Life
Satires may be designed to expose a bias to ridicule but if misunderstood can they reinforce that bias? Langston Hughes poem, “Minstrel Man” opens a discussion of racist stereotypes, the minstrel tradition, and the musical, “The...
Curated OER
West Indies and The Caribbean: Sugar & Slavery
Students study the state of the world before the slave trade. They explain the geography and economics of the slave trade. They explore primary sources and how historians use these sources to create historical interpretations.
Curated OER
Making a Pinhole Camera
Students participate in a number of activities in order to study the history of photography and to examine the workings of a pinhole camera.
The New York Times
Super Brand
Children can recognize popular brands from an early age, but these images symbolize much more than what they advertise. Take a journey through the design of a logo with a lesson that focuses on the history and ubiquity of the Super Bowl...
Curated OER
Monet's Magical Garden
Students study classic paintings by masters like Monet. In this art history lesson, students listen to the story Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert and sing flower songs with the rest of their class. Students examine the painting The...