Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Talking Goat

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars read and analyze an African folktale. They read and discuss the folktale, analyze a map of Africa and Liberia, complete a worksheet, answer discussion questions, and analyze the patterns and analogies of the folktale.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Working With Environmental Issues

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students begin the lesson by completing a survey about how much and what types of water they drink on a daily basis. Using a worksheet, they calculate the amount of water an American uses each day and the amount their own family uses. In...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nomadic Life Lesson

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the imagery in a rich, spare poem about an interlude between two women of different cultures in rural Niger. They read "Interview With Susan Rich." and discuss how the interview might help in understanding the poem.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Scenes from Cameroon

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students examine art by a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon. Using the artwork, they identify three physical land features. They use sand and other materials to create their own day or evening scene in Cameroon. They share their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Sharing Really Means

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students read the story "Sharing in Africa". As a class, they brainstorm a list of holidays and celebrations in various cultures and identify the Congo on a world map. To end the lesson, they focus on one paragraph of the story,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Building Bridges for Young Learners--Culture

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students explore the concept of "culture." In this cross curriculum literacy and world history lesson, students listen to a letter written by a child from Namibia, then compare and contrast life in Africa with their own life. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Water: From Neglect to Respect

For Teachers 5th - 8th
The goal of this collection of lessons is to make middle schoolers more aware of the ways in which they are dependent upon water to maintain their standard of living. Learners compare water use in Lesotho to water use in the United...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Hare and the Water: A Tanzanian Folk Tale

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...
Lesson Plan
Peace Corps

Introducing Culture

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Growing up within a culture leaves a lot of ideas and values unspoken. Take a closer look at the cultures in which your learners live with a discussion activity that addresses cultural identity and traits of those living within the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Is Tanzania

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students explore Tanzania. In this geography skills lesson, students read This is Tanzania by Richard Lupinsky, Jr. and discuss the impact that volcanoes have had on the nation. Students analyze the imagery in Lupinsky's piece and create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Elizabeti's Series--Classroom Guide

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders explore the books in the Elizabeti Series. In this reading comprehension lesson, young readers discuss pre-reading focus questions about their feelings on the first day of school. They investigate the book and describe the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do You Really Know What Wealth Is?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students explore what it means to have wealth in Mali and in the United States. In this economics lesson, students read "Music in the Fields." Student groups answer discussion questions.  Students reflect on the purpose music serves...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"Oh, Kingdom in the Sky"

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners write a poem. In this historical figures lesson, students learn about Mary Ann Camp, read an interview, read vignettes about life in her host countries and read her poem "Oh, Kingdom in the Sky." Learners answer questions about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Seeing the World in New Ways

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine the Muslim culture in Morocco. In this global studies activity, students read Three Lessons by Craig Storti. Students compare the culture of Morocco to their own as they write stories pertaining to lessons they have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recognizing How Another Culture Differs From One's Own

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students determine what it means to be on time. In this cultural comparisons lesson, students compare the notion of punctuality between the United States and Guinea. Students read "Being on Time," by Kimberly Ross and discuss the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using a Mentor Text to Develop a New Style of Writing

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine some of the author's writing traits and then make an effort to incorporate his style into their own writing. They show how richly written literature can be used as a mentor text, or model, for improving one's own writing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using Effective, Evocative Writing as a Model

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze the author's style to learn techniques for strengthening their own writing. They re-read "Music in the Fields" and highlight images that create vivid pictures in their minds-places where Young "shows, not tells" and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using an Author's Clever Strategies in One's Own Writing

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine specific clever strategies of the author and incorporate them in their own writings. They emulate Storti's strategies in writing an arresting lead and share their pieces in a class discussion, allowing them to critique...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Talking Goat Lesson

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students analyze the meanings and patterns of a folk tale. They respond in their reading journals to the following prompts: How do you feel about the way "The Talking Goat" ended? Why? Which did you like better: your group's predicted...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Modern Connection to Genocide

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students investigate the genocide that occurred in Rwanda. They read and discuss an article, watch a Frontline video, complete a worksheet for the video, and write a letter to the Rwandan government or United Nations about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Modeling Our Writing Style After Another Author's Style

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students reread "The Senegalese Miracle" from a previous lesson. As they read, they must underline as many images related to their senses as possible and share their findings with the class. In partners, they practice chunking...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

This Is Tanzania

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Pupils begin the lesson by locating Tanzania on a world map. While reading an article, they note what the author's opinion is of the people who live there and discover the connection the people have with the land. They examine the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The New Frontier and the Great Society

For Teachers 8th - 11th
In this 1960s American history worksheet, students identify the 7 terms that best match 7 descriptions, eliminate 3 false statements, and identify 2 historical themes pertaining to Kennedy's new frontier and Johnson's Great Society.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Martin Puryear's Ladder for Booker T. Washington

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the art of Martin Puryear. In this visual arts lesson, students analyze the sculpture "Ladder for Booker T. Washington". Students consider how the sculpture reflects the life and contributions of Booker T. Washington....