Curated OER
Immigration: U.S. Policy in the New Millennium
Students explore U.S. immigration policies. In this immigration instructional activity, students read about the history of immigration policies in the U.S., uncover controversial issues regarding immigration, and speak to immigrants as...
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Jim Crow Lesson Plan
Jackie Robinson's attempt to earn a spot on the 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers provides learners with an opportunity to examine the Jim Crow laws and revisit issues of segregation and integration. "The Unconquerable Doing the Impossible: Jackie...
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Special Edition Newspaper on the Trial of Julius Caesar
Tenth graders research the multiple perspectives held by the participants in the trial relative to the conduct and outcome of the trial. Practice writing pertinent and penetrating interview questions for oral interviewing. Take a...
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Poet Naomi Shihab Nye
Students read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
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The Last Great Race
Third graders identify and discover why the Iditarod race is done each year. They explore the historical significance of the Iditarod. Students also use web sites to research related topics, i.e. diseases (diptheria), geography of...
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Project Jukebox
Students analyze an interview with the Climate Change Project Jukebox in order to help them undertand how to use a concept map. For this writing and climate change lesson, pairs of students log onto the Internet site for Climate Change...
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Touring My County
Second graders research important events that occurred in their counties for each year they have been alive. They, in groups, categorize these events and develop notes to be used in the writing of an autobiography.
Curated OER
Ethnic Folklore in Your Classroom: Traditions, Tales, and Treasures from Tijuana to Timbuktu
Students create their own festival. In this folk life lesson plan, students research their folklore history by interviewing their parents and grandparents, organizing the data found, and presenting that material to the class. Students...
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Discovering Your Family
Students research their family dynamics and create a project for the lesson. In this family dynamics lesson, students discuss the importance of family and create a family tree. Students prepare essays on four of their family stories and...
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Ask An Expert
Young scholars invite community members to visit the classroom and interview them about water in the community. Students prepare for, conduct, and follow up an interview and record their responses in their Water Journals.
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The French in Texas
Fourth graders gain a broad understanding of early French exploration and settlement in Texas. They access websites imbedded in this plan. Using their notes, 4th graders work alone or with a partner to create an illustrated journal with...
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Composing Communities in College
Learners conduct research about a local community of interest using observation, interviews and written sources. They follow the writing process and produce an essay on the topic.
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How Hard Were the Times? Investigating the Meaning and Significance of the Great Depression
Students examine causes and effects of Great Depression and its significance on twentieth-century life, analyze value of various types of historical information, specifically primary sources, and relate events, issues, problems, and...
Smithsonian Institution
Solomon G. Brown: Letter Writing
Personal correspondence in the form of letters is not as common as it once was. This resource presents an opportunity for you to introduce your class to letter writing and cover topics in social studies. Learners read a letter written in...
Curated OER
Amazing Speeches
Students study the speeches of Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, and Chief Joseph. Students write a story set during the Nineteenth Century Era. Students present their story to the class. Handouts and worksheets are included in the...
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Is That How it Happened?
Younsters are exposed to classic stories of Arkansas Folklore including The Arkansas Traveller, and Davy Crockett. They discuss if the stories they hear are examples of folklore, or some other kind of story. Then, each puil is required...
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And the Streets Are Paved With Gold
Students explore immigrant experience at Ellis Island, New York, at the turn of the century, and answer questions that challenge them to use thinking skills from various levels of Bloom's taxonomy.
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The New England Fishing Industry:Sea Changes in a Community
Explore New England's economic and cultural past and possible issues New Englanders will face in the future. Middle and high schoolers research the fishing industry and the need for regulation. They analyze the topography of New England...
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Colorado Greats Trading Cards
Students research to find information about famous people from Colorado. They copy and save pictures from the Internet, then make a trading card containing important biographical data.
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What Can We Discover About Colorado?
Students locate Colorado and its neighbors on a map (either in a book or on the Internet). They create a graphic that illustrates what they know and want to know about the state (KWL); finally, they draw and label Louisiana maps.
Curated OER
Immigration for Grades 6-8
Students explore immigration. In this immigration lesson, students research the topic and compare immigration of the past to the present. They create a decade long timeline of immigration.
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Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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Fahrenheit 451
Pupils agree on a definition of censorship and then discuss incidents of censorship with which they are familiar. They might consider incidents in present-day America, elsewhere in the world, and in the past. Bradbury's novel serves as a...
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Analysis of Newspaper Articles
Learners investigate journalism by researching a list of articles. In this story analysis lesson, students read several current event articles and answer a list of study questions as a group. Learners summarize the article and share the...