Curated OER
The Wyandotte Constitutional Convention: The Issue of Suffrage
Seventh graders discover details about the Wyandotte Constitutional Convention. In this Kansas history lesson, 7th graders tackle civil rights concerns as they draft persuasive speeches to secure the rights of young voters in the state.
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Thoughts to the President
Students write a persuassive paragraph to the President stating their opinion on a topic. To do this, they start the message with a topic sentence such as "War is _____." The blank should contain a word or phrase expressing the student's...
Curated OER
Seeing the Forests for the Trees
Students explore changing logging practices in the Congo Republic and research the many roles of tropical forests as a natural resource. To synthesize their understanding, students write letters to loggers in Africa, urging them to adopt...
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Saving Hawaii
Students engage in a instructional activity about the a proposal for a sanctuary in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They write a letter to the President of The United States in opposition to the proposal based upon classroom...
Judicial Branch of California
A “Commemorative” Bill of Rights
It's 1943, and Jewish people in Denmark are in hiding from the Nazis. What protection can the United States offer them? By examining the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights, scholars consider the protections afforded to those...
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Voting and the U.S. Constitution (Past, Present, and Future)
High schoolers discuss the 26th Amendment, then write letters to a future guest speaker. Students listen to the guest speaker and ask them questions about voting and voter turnout. High schoolers then create handbills urging citizens to...
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Freedom to Worship
Students investigate reasons why people sought freedom to worship in the United States and some of the difficulties and issues facing them in their immigration. As immigrants, they write letters to family members in the old country.
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Rainforest Problem
Third graders use a hypothetical story in order to create a context for the lesson. The story presents a problem that needs to be solved. They write a letter to a government official as part of the lesson.
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Women: Struggle and Triumph
Students perform research using primary resources in order to create a knowledge base for the place of women in society. The sources are synthesized by students to reveal the true story of the extraordinary women of America.
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"Hey, Mr. Producer!"
Students examine the economic roller coaster involved in the production of a Broadway musical. They read online articles to investigate similarities and differences between nonprofit theater production and Broadway, or commercial,...
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Populism and Governor Lewelling
Seventh graders investigate the impact of the Populist Party. In this Kansas history lesson, 7th graders examine historical documents that enable them to find out what the Populist Party stood for and how Governor Lewelling dealt with...
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Saving An Endangered Species
Second graders participate in a fundraiser for an endangered species. They evaluate websites for animal adoption/sponsorship, select an endangered species, and develop, advertise, and implement a fund-raising plan for their selected...
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Argumentation and Logic
Students recognize inductive and deductive reasoning and analyze common fallacies in critical thinking. In this argumentation and logic lesson plan, students use role playing activities and specific instances of inductive and...
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Create a Budget
Learners develop a budget spreadsheet to manage finances for their business. In this finance lesson plan, students use a spreadsheet program to create a budget with credit and debit columns. There are step-by-step directions...
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When Life Serves You Lemons!
Students build their own lemonade stand. In this problem solving lesson plan, students measure the materials needed to build a stand and make lemonade. They find the cost of producing the lemonade and the profit they will make.
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The Write Stuff
Fourth graders share a previously written portfolio piece and the class guesses the genre. Students use tally marks to keep track of how many of each piece there are in class. Once the data collection is complete, 4th graders create a...
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Journal Writing Idea - Pets
Carve out some time for your youngsters to write in their journal. Today, they write a story about pets. They learn the value of a journal and how to keep up with it, and they enhance story development by planning their story before...
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The Rest Cure: Gender in Medicine and Literature
Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...
Prestwick House
Writing Arguments in Response to Nonfiction
Emotional appeal or argument? That is the question. An informative lesson helps your class recognize the difference between a logical argument and an emotional appeal and learn how to craft an argumentative response. Writers develop a...
Curated OER
Whose Afraid of Contemporary Art?
Have your class create original modern art sculptures. Learners analyze and discuss "The Profile," a sculpture by Martin Puryear. They work in teams to develop a proposal for a large outdoor sculpture in the community. Presentations...
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The Princess's Point of View
Everyone wants to be part of a royal family. Let your pupils experience the privilege of royalty by rewriting the story The Frog Prince from the point of view of the princess. While the story line remains the same, perspective is bound...
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Forest Grump
Pupils consider the definition of an ecosystem, its parts, and how these parts can be affected when the ecosystem is endangered. They examine dangers being faced by the Canadian boreal forest by reading "For Billions of Birds, an...
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English and Literacy: Children's Rights - Expanded Paragraphs
Students write expanded paragraphs about children's rights. For this writing and children's rights lesson, students listen to Caroline Castle's, For Every Child, noting the points about children's rights on each page. They discuss each...
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Wherefore Art Thou, Art?
Students analyze various perspectives on the controversial "Sensation: Young British Artists From the Saatchi Collection" art exhibit on display at the Brooklyn Museum of Art.