Curated OER
Johnny Appleseed or John Chapman: Which Character is Your Favorite?
Students study the life of John Chapman and compare it with the fictional character, Johnny Appleseed. Students listen to books about Johnny Appleseed, and watch a video and PowerPoint if available. They make a KWL chart, make an online...
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Literature: Isabel Allende
Students watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.
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California: Land and People
Fourth graders research information about some of California indigenous tribes to find out as much as possible about the first people found in the four regions of California. They research the history of a selected tribe and their...
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Here Comes Winter!
Students investigate winter behaviors in animals. They describe winter and write about the characteristics of the season by drawing and labeling a winter picture. Students then conduct research on a chosen animal and create a chart. ...
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It's Just a Barn
Investigate Pennsylvania Barns. Have your class consider the elements common to Pennsylvanian barns and why they are significant to the food production process. They write summaries of Frederick Watts and his impact on agriculture.
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Shakespeare: Advice From 400 Years Ago
Students will: Analyze an extract of a document from 1616 concerning male adolescent behavior. Decide if the advice offered is sensible. Determine if the content of that document is relevant to contemporary adolescent males. Compare the...
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Made You Look
Students spend some time in the world of marketing and advertising by analyzing and creating slogans and campaigns geared toward adolescents. Students work with a partner to create their design and share with the class
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Community Treasures (Rivers and Trees): An Integrated Curriculum Unit
Third graders demonstrate an understanding of geography and its effects on lifestyles and culture. Then they apply basic economic terms and principles
and identify the United States government and history. Students also identify and...
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My Spacecraft to Saturn
Students discover problems that NASA must deal with on a daily basis. They work together to think of solutions and sketch their own idea of a spacecraft. They discover the concept of engineering.
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Mission Accomplished
Second graders describe the impact of certain figures in United States history, including Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They describe experiences of early American explorers and compose narratives from the perspectives of others.
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Beyond Louisiana
Students examine the challenges that faced the United States as a new nation, especially those related to exploration, expansion, and international affairs. They study the chronology of events related to the expedition of Lewis and Clark.
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Take It Or Leave It
Third graders examine the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark, and discuss "needs" versus "wants". They listen to a story, plan for a journey like Lewis and Clark, create a list of supplies, and...
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Painted Dreams
Third graders explore the importance of art in Haitian culture by analyzing the cause and effect within the story, "Allie's Basketball Dream." They examine all the aspects of the story and characters including their goals, dreams,...
National First Ladies' Library
Searching for China: A Full WebQuest
Young scholars research the six key aspects of Chinese culture. They examine problems and issues from different perspectives and look in to the nature of international relations in an interdependent world. All of this is accomplished by...
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Raising the Titanic
Ninth graders research the history of a person who was aboard the Titanic and write about the part he/she played in the world's greatest maritime disaster.
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Fish Stories
Students conduct background research about a Pacific Rim country to develop a premise for a documentary film about the fate of traditional fishing industries in the area.
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Rural Voices Through Photography
Students research the history of the Depression particularly in the ways it was documented by photography. Then they take their own pictures in the style of one of the best documentarians, Dorothea Lange.
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Worth a Thousand Words
First graders examine the significance of the American bison to the American Indians of the Great Plains. They create a story in pictographs in the style of American Indians of the Plains.
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Which Would You Choose?
Fourth graders investigate two types of water vessels that were used by Lewis and Clark during the exploration of the Louisiana Territory. They interpret data to determine which vessel was more efficient.
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Over the Rivers and Through the Woods
Sixth graders examine the purpose of the keelboat used by the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark expedition. They assess its strengths and weaknesses for navigating different rivers, and describe its overall purpose for the...
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The Change of a River
Young scholars describe the changes that have affected the Missouri River over the past 200 years by identifying transformations in this area's atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. They research online in groups assigned...
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Keeping Warm When it is Cold: How does a polar bear keep warm?
Students make a model of a polar bear and discuss why fur/skin color is important. They also perform a simple experiment using black and white socks to determine how color affects temperature.
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A Sense of Place
Students identify and describe one or two places significant to them using vivid language. They describe one of those important places in accurate, evocative language showing an original perspective.
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A Zoo Book for All
A visit to the local zoo launches an integrated life science/ language arts research project into the habitat, feeding habits, offspring, lifespan, and other interesting facts about animals. Each group selects two animals to photograph...