Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Surprise!: Challenge Activities (Theme 2)
Surprise! is the theme of this series of challenge activities. The surprise comes from the information your scholars will discover when researching topics such as alligators and crocodiles, living in other countries, becoming a...
Curated OER
Career Planning and Research
What do you want to do when you finish school? Most high schoolers have an idea of what they'd want to do, but little idea of how to achieve this goal. After researching a career of their choosing, learners identify qualifications,...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...
Smithsonian Institution
Conflicting Voices of the Mexican War
Americans wanted to fulfill Manifest Destiny, and this pattern continued with the Mexican War. The resource specifically teaches about the Mexican War through a variety of exercises including a research project, group work, brainstorming...
Curated OER
Note-Taking: K.I.S.S. "Keep It Short and Simple"
Note-taking is an essential study skill, and it needs to be taught! In the context of a research project on energy sources, learners find multiple sources, evaluating, paraphrasing, and citing them correctly. Two lists with note-taking...
Curated OER
Plagiarism: Avoiding Accidental Internet Plagiarism
Demonstrate how to cite information from Internet sources without plagiarizing. If your class is working on an Internet research paper, and you have observed learners cutting and pasting directly from the Internet, the activities and...
Curated OER
Introducing Biographies - Getting to Know You
Students explore several different types of biographies to determine their area of interest, choose one notable person they would like to explore, complete online tutorial on biographies, and use written and Internet resources to...
Curated OER
It's All Greek to Me!
While the ideas for Ancient Greek research are solid, there is little detail to help make your job easier. The focus here is familiarizing your class with online databases and print resources in their school library. After direct...
Curated OER
Networking the Internet: A Dynamic Research Tool
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the research of finding information to help them develop new science projects. They conduct research using a variety of resources that includes e-mail and discussion groups.
Curated OER
Researching information on and Images of Contemporary Native Americans
Research information and find pictures of Contemporary Native Americans in order to help 3rd graders understand what images are available from a variety of resources. They will present their research and pictures to the class. In turn,...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Picture It: JFK in High School
Elementary schoolers learn about young John F. Kennedy. After a teacher-led discussion about his high school years, pupils examine a photograph of Kennedy and four of his friends taken on the grounds of the Choate School in Connecticut....
Curated OER
European Explorers: Research Project
What will your students choose to include in their explorer's treasure chest? Youngsters research an early European explorer and gather items to reflect their research, such as a detailed map of the explorer's voyages, portrait,...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: The Great Debate—Bottled Water vs. Tap Water in Our School
Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...
Curated OER
Orientation to the Library
Students design a library orientation that would be helpful for a new student. They explain the organization of their school library and demonstrate how to access information.
Curated OER
Learning Library Skills during Technology Transitions
Making the transition to a higher-tech school library or computer lab? This plan suggests 5th graders undertake a scavenger hunt and make a PowerPoint to educate younger schoolmates about how to use information resources in an...
Steppenwolf Arts Exchange
Fahrenheit 451: Study Guide
Here's a must-have packet for your curriculum library. If you are interested in Fahrenheit 451, if you are interested in Ray Bradbury, if you are interested in censorship, if you interested in programs that make a difference, then...
PBS
Act of Duty
PBS provides educators with this "Utilization Guide," a four segment program that covers the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. The 42-page packet includes lessons, background...
Curated OER
Funding "Great" Schools For All in America
Students use research skills and primary sources to complete a equal educational opportunities scavenger hunt activity in pairs. They locate key facts, examples, and information about the inequities in U.S. schools and create projects...
Big Kid Science
Eclipse Classroom Activities: Cultural Significance Project
What better way to celebrate eclipses than across cultures? Explore myths of solar and lunar eclipses from ancient cultures like the Chinese, Ancient Greek, Mesoamerican, Incan, Egyptian, Ancient Babylonian, and Middle Eastern. Learners...
Carnegie Library
Creative Writing: Middle School Lesson Plan
Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers.
Curated OER
Virtual Tour of John F. Kennedy Library
High schoolers take a virtual tour of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. In this Kennedy presidency lesson, students access the library via the Internet and take notes on the experience. High schoolers write essays using the...
Curated OER
Animal Adventurers - Animal Research Reports
First graders research different animals and create reports based on their research. In this animals lesson plan, 1st graders use graphic organizers, worksheets, quizzes, the library, internet, and more.
Curated OER
College Research Skills: Evaluating Reliable Online Sources
Students analyze Public Art in preparation for college discussion, research, and writing, and create their own artistic creations. In this art and college prep lesson, students develop an original research question to explore an art...
Curated OER
Ancient Greece Research
Sixth graders explore ancient Greece. In this ancient civilizations lesson, 6th graders research how ancient Greece influenced modern societies. Students prepare PowerPoint presentations to share their findings with their classmates.