Curated OER
Family Traditions, Customs and Beliefs
Students discuss African childhood, explore family traditions, customs, and beliefs, examine African recipes, discuss differences or similarities in food preparation between the U.S. and Africa, and prepare a dish with adult supervision.
Curated OER
Publishing a Book Review
Pairs use desktop publishing software, as well as digital video and camera equipment, to craft a book review. These reviews are then shared with others in the school community through the class or school website.
Curated OER
Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Landscape Long Ago and Today
Combine a fantastic review of primary source analysis with a study of Captain John Smith's influence on the Chesapeake Bay region in the seventeenth century. Your young historians will use images, a primary source excerpt, and maps...
Curated OER
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...
Civil War Trust
Genealogy
The Civil War is undoubtedly a part of America's history, but could it be part of your pupils' history as well? Middle schoolers conduct research to discover a connection between their ancestors and the American Civil War. Whether...
Smithsonian Institution
Mary Henry: Journal/Diary Writing
A great way to connect social studies with language arts, a resource on Mary Henry's historical diary reinforces the concepts of primary and secondary sources. It comes with an easy-to-understand lesson plan, as well as the reference...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...
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
Welcome to New York State
Students choose one region of New York state, and create a travel brochure that includes information such as geographical features, tourist attractions, accesibility, economic features, and historical events that occured in that region.
Curated OER
Peer Pressure
Students talk about how their peers can influence their behavior. In this peer pressure lesson, students complete a KWL chart on peer pressure, read a handout on peer pressure and break into groups to discuss the information. Students...
Curated OER
"How Sweet It Is: Awareness Today Can Defeat Diabetes Tomorrow"
Learners explain the importance of having a healthy body and be inspired to make better choices. They research diabetes to become aware of its symptoms, dangers, and prevention. They identify the relationship between childhood obesity...
Curated OER
Building a Scale Model
Third graders create a model of the solar system. In this solar system lesson, 3rd graders create a scale model of the solar system. Working in pairs students solve mathematical problems to correctly measure the distance each planet is...
Curated OER
Who Will Get The Job? (Part 1)
Seventh graders are asked a variety of questions and identify the skills as job-task or not. As a class, they discuss how they could lose a job before they start working and review how to sell their skills for the job posting. To end the...
Curated OER
Lights, Camera, Campaign
Students employ their technology skills to produce campaign commercials. In this political campaign lesson plan, students discover the appropriate uses of video cameras and create fictitious campaign commercials.
Curated OER
Sex Stereotypes in Society
Students analyze a collection of advertisements or photographs in a text or magazine and identify the stereotypes used or possible biases of the editors. They discuss how these stereotypes are formed, and the ways in which they impact...
Curated OER
Comparing Themes Across Texts
Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...
Curated OER
Indian Women in Texas History
Fourth graders study Indian women in Texas. In this US history lesson, 4th graders discuss what each Indian woman's contribution was by completing a timeline and table. Students examine the Caddo Women's pottery tradition...
Curated OER
Western-Genre Films
Learners watch westerns and analyze them. They identify the plot, characters and the sounds in the film. They research icons of the American west and prepare a presentation. They share their presentation with the class.
Curated OER
Lead Poisoning A Home Health Hazard
High schoolers read background material on lead poisoning, assessing its impact on students. They locate local sources that might contain lead-based paint. High schoolers research what is being done in the community to alleviate the...
Curated OER
Founders of the Children's Rain Forest (Open Court)
Fifth graders read a narrative nonfiction piece describing the formation of the Students's Rain Forest organization from the SRA/McGraw-Hill Open Court Reading Anthology entitled, Cooperation and Competition. Founders of the Students's...
Curated OER
Port of Entry
Learners research patterns of immigration throughout American history. The focus is on the process of how immigrants came through Ellis Island. Students reflect upon the topic to develop critical thinking skills.
Curated OER
Funerals and Burial Rites
Ninth graders research burial practices that originated in West Africa and then migrated to the South Carolina and Ohio. They compare and contrast burial practices in both places. As students collect information and data, they organize...
Curated OER
Coming To America
Learners investigate the history of America with the help of children's literature. The story is structured as a timeline that begins at the time of Columbus and progresses to the present. The teacher reads the story with the class and...
Curated OER
Sam Houston for President...Again
Fourth graders discover the political career of Sam Houston. In this Texas history lesson, 4th graders research primary resources and create a modern-day version of Sam Houston's political campaign of the 1840s.