National First Ladies' Library
The Education of Freedmen...and Women and Children
Pupils examine political debate surrounding Freedmen's Bureau, use primary sources to explore trials and successes of effort to educate newly-freed slaves of all ages, research reasons for creation of Freedmen's Bureau, discuss President...
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Vietnam and the Long-term Effect of War
Students examine the effects of war on civilians. In this Vietnam War lesson, students research and discuss the reasons the Vietnam War began, why America became involved, and what some of the long-term effects of this war were.
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Thoreau, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Learners explore the concept of non-violent resistance. In this political philosophies activity, students study the political tactics of Mohandas Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau, and Martin Luther King, Jr. in order to discover how each of...
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Rhetorical Devices
Twelfth graders identify and analyze examples of rhetorical devices as valid or invalid inferences. In this text analysis lesson, 12th graders research a controversial topic in teams and identify rhetorical devices for the topic....
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Going Green
Students create an action plan to learn how to preserve natural resources for future generations. In this environmental conservation lesson plan, students research the topic of preserving the natural environment and write a definition...
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Marine Protected Areas
Learners design a research project about a Marine Protected Area they chose. In this marine biology lesson, students gather fish count and catch data then graph them. They create an information poster about their findings.
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War Stories
Students watch the film "The Perilous Fight: America's World War II in Color". Using the film, they work together to develop proper interview questions to use while talking to World War II veterns. After the interview, they research...
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Tales of Truman's Travels Fifty Years Ago
Fourth graders study President Truman and the Whistlestop Campaign. For this US history lesson, 4th graders complete a KWL about President Truman and write letters to stops on Truman's Whistlestop Campaign. Students create a presentation...
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Zoo Animal Facts
Learners create a fact sheet naming an animal's habitat, distinguishing characteristics, eating type, country of origin, and any interesting information that they research. They illustrate their fact sheet and sheets are compiled into a...
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The Career Project
High schoolers research different careers they are interested in. They plan goals in those careers and present their findings to the class. They are scored on their presentation by a rubric that is included in the lesson.
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You Don't Know What You've Got Until It's Found
Learners consider what can be learned through the study of artifacts, focusing on those of ancient Egypt. They research famous ancient Egyptian sites to prepare for the development of proposals for exhibits in a fictional museum.
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Harvest Celebrations Around the World
Students, working in groups as cultural anthropologists, research harvest festival around the world. They design a Harvest web page based on their research.
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"And That's The Way It Is..." Today in History
Students research an event in history from different perspectives. They discuss the characteristics of a nightly news broadcast and create their own based on the history event they researched. They work together to produce this...
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Famous People Lesson Plan
Students brainstorm a list of the achievements of people in their lives. In groups, they discuss the decisions that help people meet their goals later in life and identify values that help one overcome obstacles. They use the internet...
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What Was it like to Live During the Depression?
Fourth graders research a variety of sources to discover information about how the depression effect people in Michigan. They follow a research outline while working in small groups. They design a presentation that describes live during...
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Arts Directors
Students reflect on a personally meaningful live performance and the circumstances necessary to create art. They study about the current leadership crisis facing the Met, Carnegie Hall, and the Public theater. In groups, students...
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Sharks
Students create a model or drawing of a shark species showing its specific adaptations. In small groups, they research the shark species on the internet looking for adaptations of teeth, body shape, coloration and fins. There is a...
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My Neighborhood:
Learners act as tour guides for their communities after conducting research about their neighborhoods. After conducting research, students write stories and create maps of their communities to share with classmates and community members.
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Everybody Fiesta: A Unit on Hispanic Celebrations
Students study Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Three Kings Day. They research the holidays on the Internet and write compare/contrast essays. Using Microsoft Word to type their essays, they incorporate images that represent the holidays.
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Parts of Speech: Active Verbs
Students use White Fang to help them study active verbs. In this grammar lesson, students define active verbs and find examples in the the novel White Fang. Students then use ProQuest to research a place they'd like to visit. Students...
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Fighting Invisible Enemies
Students examine antibiotics, what they do and what things were like before we had them. In this antibiotics lesson plan students research bacteria and antibiotics then as a group prepare a written report.
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Lesson Six: Nonfiction Text Elements (Part One)
Students examine nonfiction text elements in preparation for writing a nonfiction book about Lewis and Clark. In this social studies/language arts lesson, students discuss the term research and complete a cluster map. Additionally,...
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Cargoes from Three Continents Ancient Mediterranean Trade
Sixth graders begin the lesson by researching the different types of ships and shipbuilding techniques used to help trade in the Mediterranean Sea. Using different objects, they determine what one can tell about a society and discuss...
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Explorer Trading Cards
Fourth graders make Explorer Trading Cards. They work with a partner and research information about the explorers.