Roald Dahl
The Twits - Mrs Twit Gets a Stretching
A cork, a rubber snake, and a bucket of mud may not seem like the best materials for washing a car, but they are in The Twits. The fifth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has readers role play...
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
Museum of Tolerance
The Price of Personal Responsibility
A reading of Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" launch a discussion about the price one is willing to pay to...
Museum of Tolerance
Developing Media Literacy
To protect young people from questionable content, many schools limit access. This resource suggests that because learners can so readily avail themselves to unrestricted Internet access, it is vital for 21st century...
Museum of Tolerance
Influence of Media
We are bombarded with media images expressly designed to influence viewers. Learning how to analyze the intended effects of these images is essential and the focus of an activity that asks viewers to use the provided questions to guide...
Curated OER
Fur Trading
Learners take on a role such as a farming community, hunting community or a trading post. They decide which products they focus on and then trade with the other groups.
Curated OER
Tips for Improving Transition
Vary, bury, pull, fit. These tips for improving transitions in writing are found on a template designed as a teacher resource. A clever way to make memorable these suggestions for improving transitions in writing, the language in the...
Museum of Tolerance
Documents That Shape Society
The Bill of Rights is a foundational document of American democracy, much like the Nuremberg Laws were a foundational document of the Reichstag of Nazi Germany. But that's where their similarities end. Engage high schoolers in a...
American Museum of Natural History
Paleontology Books
A list of 11 books about paleontology offers titles, authors, and a brief description of the tale.
PBS
Twirling in the Breeze
Blow classes away with a hands-on lesson investigating wind speed. Learners use common materials to design and construct anemometers. They then test their anemometers and collect data on the wind speed created by a fan.
American Museum of Natural History
Make Your Own Dino Stationary
Scholars follow five steps to create dinosaur-themed stationery using basic computer skills.
Polk Bros Foundation
American Presidents
Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...
Channel Islands Film
Arlington Springs Man: Lesson Plan 4
West of the West's documentary Arlington Springs Man introduces viewers to the remarkable finds on Santa Rosa Island. Archaeologist have discovered on this small island that is part of the Channel island chain, human and pygmy mammoth...
Museum of Tolerance
Where Do Our Families Come From?
After a grand conversation about immigration to the United States, scholars interview a family member to learn about their journey to America. They then take their new-found knowledge and apply their findings to tracking their family...
Curated OER
Lights, Sounds, Fabrics and Designs: Careers in the World of Design
Students investigate the broad range of jobs that can be found in the world of design. Students explore sound design, language architecture, etc. Students design a resource book and post it on a website for others to share.
Museum of Tolerance
Cultural Research Activity
Class members explore cultural diversity through a variety of texts that showcase the importance of traditions. Then, they interview their family members to research their own cultural background and write their findings on quilt...
Museum of Tolerance
Disenfranchised People of the New Nation
Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were...
Curated OER
Predicting the Past
Students study how archaeologists record the past. They discuss archaeology and artifacts. They view a list of artifacts discovered by Marquette at the Illinois Village and answer questions regarding them. They complete a test about...
Curated OER
Put a Woman on a Stamp
Students nominate a woman to appear on a postage stamp. They explore the contributions of American women. Explain to students that the U.S. Postal Service issues 25 to 40 new commemorative stamps each year.
Curated OER
The See Family
Third graders examine photographs as primary source documents. Students are broken into groups and are given photographs of the See Family.
Curated OER
Historic Cemeteries: "History Written in Stone"
Students explore the history of their community through researching grave markers. They visit a local cemetary, partcipate in a cemetary scavenger hunt, conduct a survey for various graves, and write an essay describing their cemetary...
Curated OER
Signs and Symbols
Sixth graders carefully analyze a triptych of the nativity, paying close attention to the lines, shapes and symbols included in the artwork. They explore the role of the Catholic church in society at the time the piece was created and...
Curated OER
The Impact of Cultural Values in EArly Industrial England
Tenth graders analyze works from the period of the Industrial Revolution in England and identify the cultural values depicted and inferred that paved the way for the Industrial Revolution to occur at this time. They create captions that...
Curated OER
Documenting the Great Depression
Students compare and contrast two photographs from the Great Depression, and identify the ways in which the photographers depicted the hardships of everyday life during this period. They hypothesize about the story behind each photograph...