Curated OER
Rotational Hex Designs
Learn about the Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, Rotational Hex Design. This image-rich presentation provides a comprehensive description of the origin and meaning behind these interesting totems. Instructions to create these symmetrical...
Curated OER
Teaching Controversial Science Issues Through Law Related Education
Discuss the differences in dialogue and debate when considering a controversial topic. Your class can work in small groups to complete a guided discussion of this controversial topic and then participate in a simulation of the Scopes...
Idaho State Department of Education
Lessons for Social Studies Educators
Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...
Curated OER
Reading Club: Sex Ed
If you teach health, sociology, ethics, or a class that addresses controversial issues, this resource related to schools' sex education programs may be useful. The New York Times' Learning Network provides a lengthy article on a unique...
Curated OER
Freeform Pennsylvania Map
In this Pennsylvania map worksheet, students research, study and label twenty important cities, physical attributes and the neighbors that surround Pennsylvania on a Pennsylvania map.
Curated OER
The Most American Thing in America: The Chautauqua
Students explore the Chautauqua movement. In this Pennsylvania history lesson, students use primary documents to explore what the Chautauqua was and how it made a difference in the American way of life.
Curated OER
Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education
Learners analyze photographs that feature segregation. In this human rights lesson, students examine photographs of a segregated movie theater, a Ku Klux Klan gathering, a segregated business sign, and an illustration from "Harper's...
Curated OER
Voices at Whisper Bend
High schoolers examine life in Pennsylvania during and after World War II. Using primary source documents, they compare the unity of the United States during World War II and the Iraq War. They also discover how citizens adapt to the war...
Curated OER
Families and Neighborhoods
Students distinguish where their homes are in relation to the city of Pittsburgh. In this geography instructional activity, students read the book All Families Are Specialand find their city on a map of Pennsylvania. Students locate...
American Battlefield Trust
Gettysburg Virtual Tour
Step into one of the most iconic battlefields of the American Civil War with an educational interactive resource. Young historians learn about key moments, locations, soldiers, and turning points in the battle with a clickable map and...
Curated OER
The Finish Line
Students investigate the philanthropy of various cultural traditions. In this cultural education lesson, students read a handout about Native American, European American, and African American traditions and identify the philanthropic...
Curated OER
Pennsylvania Walkers Club
Students participate in an school-wide walking club. Students choose a destination in Pennsylvania they would like to visit. After plotting the best way to get their using a map, the walk each day and record their distance in miles on...
Curated OER
Pennsylvania Boxing: Living the American Dream
Learners reflect on fictional and real boxers from Pennsylvania. In this history instructional activity, students read, reflect and discuss the historical period following World War II and observe the boxers that were famous from...
Curated OER
Corporal Punishment
Nineteen states legally permit school officials to physically punish children. Scholars learn more about the topic as they use the website to prepare for a class debate or discussion. Pupils read background information and discover the...
Curated OER
The Walking Purchase of 1737
Students review the main points of the Walking Purchase of 1737. In groups, they describe how the Iroquois, Minisink, and Delaware Indians felt about the purchase and compare and contrast the different views. They write and perform a...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Getting to Know You
Students demonstrate the importance of friendship. In this character education lesson, students read the book Will You Be My Friend? and invite college level students into the classroom. Students discuss what they have in common with the...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Letter Regarding the Whiskey Rebellion
Analyze the federal government's direct response to the Whiskey Rebellion through this fantastic primary source analysis activity worksheet.
Curated OER
German and Irish Immigrants in Antebellum America
Learners research how immigration changed the lives of Americans during 1850-1860. They study immigrant communities in rural America and research Irish and German-born residents of Augusta County, Virginia and Franklin County,...
Curated OER
K is for Keystone
Students are introduced to the history of Pennsylvania. After listening to a story, they discuss each letter and sound and practice saying them. As a class, they complete a quilting project in which they discover the coal mines and steel...
Curated OER
India: Outsourcing of Jobs
Students examine the significance and effects of outsourcing jobs to India and Malaysia. They conduct Internet research, create a map and a timeline, write an editorial of their view on the use of outsourcing, and participate in a class...
Curated OER
The Burning of Chambersburg
Students research primary documents to identify when Confederate troops burned the city of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. They describe how the city was damaged and create a fictionalized newspaper account of the city's burning.
Pennsylvania Bar Association
The Pied Piper vs. The City of Hamelin
How would the Pied Piper recover his damages from the deceptive citizens of Hamelin if the story took place today? Explore one of the Pied Piper's options with a short play that depicts a court case in which he sues the city of Hamelin...
Curated OER
I Am Special and You Are Special Too
Pre-schoolers identify things that make them a special individual. In this diversity lesson, they read the book Little Gorilla and discuss ways they are special and unique. Children create a birthday party for "Little Gorilla" and...