Curated OER
Modern Makeovers
Students consider what "modern" means and explore memories and opinions about the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. They design or renovate a local building for the 21st century.
Curated OER
Celebrating the Smithsonian's Birthday
Students examine online objects from the Smithsonian website and use them as subjects and inspiration for creative writing exercises.
Curated OER
The Art of Romare Bearden
Young scholars examine the works of artist Romare Bearden. In an online activity, they scrutinize his work, "Tomorrow I May Be Far Away." by moving the mouse over it. Students also compose poems inspired by one of Bearden's works.
Curated OER
Eloquent Words
Logan’s Lament, a speech delivered by Mingo Chief Logan in 1774, provides pupils with an opportunity to not only study the historical events surrounding the battle between Native Americans and the Europeans for the West Virginia...
Curated OER
Flower Symbolism
Fourth graders identify flowers as symbols in art forms. They focus on the Victorian era and create their own flower design for use in visual art or literary forms.
Curated OER
Iran Hostage Crisis: Reading Primary Documents
Following brief instruction about the Iran Hostage Crisis during Jimmy Carter's presidency, small groups read three-page sections from the diary of hostage Robert C. Ode. They write editorials from the perspective of either U.S. citizens...
Curated OER
Spider Poems: The Spider and the Fly
Students review the information they gathered on different websites to write a poem about spiders. They use other websites to gain more information if needed. They share their poem with the class.
Curated OER
The Spider and the Fly
Students incorporate the knowledge they learned about spiders on the ISM Web site, Spider Collection, and other Web sites they viewed on
spiders to write a rhyming poem (possibly choosing a poem type illustrated here) about an aspect of...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension Activity
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read 3 different passages and answer a set of multiple choice questions for each. Answers can be submitted and scored on line.
Curated OER
Anne Frank: One of Hundreds of Thousands
Students conduct research to put Anne Frank's diary into historical context. They use maps, timelines, essays and websites to examine the early victories of the German army, paying special attention to the Netherlands and experiences of...
Curated OER
Playing Hot and Cold
Students read about homeothermy. Through research and poster projects, they gain insight into the diversity among mammals and the ways specific mammals survive in their native climates.
PBS
1000 Words
A picture really can speak a thousand words—no matter how old! Scholars become history detectives as they learn how to analyze historical photos and evidence to uncover the past. The fun hands-on activity makes history come alive through...
Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 2: How Do We Determine the Value of Education?
Have women always had the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts? Young historians read an 1819 essay by Emma Willard on the state of female education in the 19th century before discussing their views regarding women's...
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 3: What Makes Attitudes Towards Education Change over Time?
The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...
Berkshire Museum
Meet a Naturalist: Researching, Writing, Interviewing
Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...
PBS
Women's History: Glass Windows; Glass Ceilings
Discover stories about women's history in beautiful stained glass windows. The second in a three-part series teaches scholars about a famous artistic style of stained glass windows and the influential women that used art to impact...
Curated OER
Prairie Activity: Imagist Prairie Poems
Students write an imagist prairie poem. They explore various websites, view images of prairies, read examples of poems, and write an original poem that creates a mental image in the mind of the listener through the use of descriptive...
United K12
Jan Brett Author Study
Expose young children to the wonderful works of author and illustrator Jan Brett using a few of her stories such as Armadillo Rodeo, The Mitten, or Daisy Comes Home through a unit study.
PBS
Who Knows Best
Finding an expert in a given field when conducting research can be a challenge. This guide provides step-by-step directions as well as links to resources that help young sleuths find the authorities and experts they need. As a bonus, two...
Curated OER
Depression Era Art
Students choose Depression era art to print out from the Internet. They write paragraphs about how the artists interpreted facts about the Depression in their art. The paragraphs and prints can become a student art critic book.
Curated OER
Sadorus Photograph Collection Activity: Analysis of an Historical Photograph
Young scholars retrive social, cultural, and historical information from a photograph by analyzing the contents. Data about the subject's culture, people, events, and place is explored.
Curated OER
Women's Roles: Then and Now
Fourth graders investigate women's roles during the frontier era in what is today's West Virginia. In this US history lesson, 4th graders discuss similarities and differences of women's roles in the past with what women's roles are in...
Curated OER
Keeping Us in Stitches Activity: Interviewing a Quilter
Students investigate the process of quilting. They conduct Internet research, brainstorm and develop a list of questions to ask quilters, and interview a quilter about the process of making a quilt.
Curated OER
Understanding Artifacts
Young scholars will develop a greater awareness of the things surrounding them and will be able to build a bridge between their own material culture and that of an imaginary figure from the past. This lesson focuses on the significance...