New York City Department of Education
Myself and Others
Self reflection is an important skill to reinforce in our children, and it's especially helpful to help them realize who they are in the context of their environment. A collection of lessons about self image and community encourage...
Newseum
Fake News Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources
Unfortunately, fake news, fuzzy facts, and bogus news stories are not new phenomena. Class members use a "Fake News Through History" worksheet to analyze historical examples of false, invented, made-up news. Researchers share their...
Curated OER
Australian Aboriginal Art And Storytelling
Students explore Aboriginal storytelling traditions through the spoken word and through visual culture. They listen to stories of the Dreamtime told by the Aboriginal people and investigate Aboriginal storytelling in contemporary dot...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Refugees from the Caribbean: Cuban and Haitian “Boat People”
Should refugees fleeing poverty be allowed the same entrance into the United States as those fleeing persecution? High schoolers read about US foreign policy in the late 20th century regarding refugees from Cuba and Haiti, and engage in...
University of the Desert
Fact and Opinion within the Media
How can the media foster cultural misunderstandings? These activities encourage learners to distinguish between fact and opinion in the media
Curated OER
A Comparison of Dunbar and Central High In Little Rock, Arkansas
Young sociologists analyze the needs of white and black students. They discuss how Central and Dunbar High Schools are alike and different before 1957. They write an essay comparing the two schools.
Positively Autism
"Going to Church on Easter" Social Story
The social skills story, "Going to Church on Easter," lets kids know what they might expect and how they might be expected to behave at a church service.
Student Achievement Partners
Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston's "Farewell to Manzanar"
Passages from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar provide the context for a study of the historical themes of experiencing war, resilience during war, and understanding the lasting trauma of war. Appendices include extension...
Federal Reserve Bank
The Rising Cost of College: Tuition, Financial Aid, and Price Discrimination
Are average college tuition and fees really rising in the United States? Here is a fascinating take on the rising cost of college tuition and how price discrimination may explain what is often seen as an insurmountable cost for...
Curated OER
Same News, Different Stories
Learners compare the news angle, information sources and construction of different news reports about the death of Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. They analyze how various media outlets report on a different news story.
Curated OER
Homes of Yesterday and Today
Students explore homes as shelters while they built writing and technology skills. In this homes of yesterday and today lesson, students produce books using digital photography. Students develop vocabulary while researching how homes are...
Curated OER
Good Apples
Students investigate diversity. In this diversity lesson, students look at a variety of apples in order to compare and contrast their physical characteristics. They apply the concept to people by listing how people are the same and...
Curated OER
Schools Around the World
Young scholars discover how schools around the world are the same and different. In this international school activity, students learn about different types of schools from all around the world and the items and activities within these...
Curated OER
Differences Make Us Special
Learners explore the similarities and differences among their classmates. They are introduced to the Civil Rights Movement-that all people be treated equally and fairly. Students discuss the importance of appreciating individual...
Curated OER
How Cultures Differ "Two Different Perspectives on the Same Event
Students read excerpts from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze and discuss his difficulties in learning the language, cultural clashes and how cultural perceptions shape our understanding of the world.
Curated OER
Diaries And Memoirs
Learners analyze how personal diaries and memoirs record actual events. They compare and contrast diaries and memoirs from the Holocaust. They engage in journal or diary writing as a way to explore one's own feelings and self.
Curated OER
Water Uses and Children's Lives in East Africa
Students explore water usage around the world. In this "water" social studies instructional activity, students brainstorm ways in which water is used. Students visit the Water in Africa website to view pictures of water usage...
Curated OER
Molly Pitcher -- "Out of Many, One"
Students research, brainstorm and analyze the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. They critique a piece of artwork depicting a scene from the Revolutionary War. Each major battle is plotted on a map to show a visual...
Curated OER
Your World, My World
Students investigate what is the same and what is different in the daily lives of children around the world. In this citizenship activity, students develop compassion for others through understanding how their lives are the same and...
Curated OER
Good Apples
Students choose an apple from a larger group of apples and examine it closely. They return their apples to the group and then attempt to identify their own. They discuss how this activity applies to human similarities and differences.
Curated OER
Small Actions with Big Results
Students explore philanthropy in literature. For this literature lesson, students read text from three different genres that all have a moral. Students compare and contrast these pieces of literature, focusing on the character traits...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Power of Images
One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...
Pulitzer Center
The Paradise Papers: A Lesson in Investigative Journalism
The Paradise Papers, a year-long research project from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism (ICIJ) exposed how political leaders, business people, and wealthy individuals used offshore entities to avoid taxes and hide...
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...