Curated OER
In Touch with Apples
Students read "How To Make an Apple Pie and See the World", the story of a girl who traveled the world to find the ingredients to make her apple pie. They conduct a series of interdisciplinary activities including testing their senses,...
Channel Islands Film
Cache: Lesson Plan 4 - Grades 4-5
After viewing the West of the West's documentary Cache, individuals craft either a newspaper article chronicling the discovery of the cache on San Nicolas Island, a historical narrative of the placement of the cache in the cliff side, or...
Museum of Tolerance
Citizenship Then and Now: Comparing Ancient Rome and Contemporary American Society
Class members research citizenship in Ancient Rome and in the United States and use the provided graphic organizers to compare the rights and responsibilities of citizens in these two democracies.
National History Day
Why Did the United States Enter World War I in 1917?
World War I was the first major conflict on a global scale. Using primary documents, learners determine why the United States chose to enter World War I when it did. After analytical writing and group research, the causes of America's...
Curated OER
Animal Diaries
Launch this lesson plan with Doreen Cronin's Diary of a Worm! Discuss the format and content of a diary, and ask learners if they've ever kept a diary before. Then, after an introductory discussion, have learners choose an insect or...
Curated OER
Flying Freudian Fun: A Look At Ethical Decision Making
There are not many more apt examples of ethics gone awry than William Golding's Lord of the Flies.. Ninth graders focus the ethics of decision making with the examples provided in the plot. They focus on the...
Curated OER
Everyone Sang - Moods in Poetry
Start by reading the poem "Everyone Sang" by Siegried Sassoon. The archive also houses an audio clip, so consider playing that instead of reading it aloud. After hearing the poem twice, middle and high schoolers will discuss a list of...
Curated OER
Checking Sources For Accuracy
Middle schoolers will paraphrase a resource without plagiarizing. Then rewrite after reading text. They then evaluate the site or reference they are using for accuracy. In the end, they complete a note-taking organizer.
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
Curated OER
History of Coal in the United States
Students examine a timeline of coal mining in the US and research how the policies of coal dependent companies have changes over the last 50 years.
Curated OER
The Effects of Photosynthesis on Plant Growth
Students are able to draw a diagram of the light reactions and briefly describe what is occurring throughout the process. They are able to explain where each reactant/product in the photosynthesis equation comes from/goes during the...
Curated OER
Great Expectations: Group Writing
Examine the differences between totalitarianism and democracy in this writing lesson. Using the same format and theme from Great Expectations, young writers work in pairs to compose their own short stories. They follow guidelines for the...
Curated OER
Amos and Boris: Text Study
Twenty insightful questions follow a read aloud of the story, Amos and Boris by William Steig. Scholars then show what they know through completion of a cause and effect chart, reading fluency assessment, and a written...
IPDAE
Themes in Short Stories
"What is the theme of this story?" The very question can spark fear in the minds of readers and incinerate confidence. Here you will discover an exercise that shows how writers use the tools of setting, plot, conflict, and...
Curated OER
Strategies for Organization and Elaboration of Personal Narrative
Personal narrative writing is usually a favorite form of writing for youngsters because they get to write about a personal experience. The lesson here asks pupils to take a piece of narrative writing and improve it by following...
Curated OER
Samuel Pepys
Young writers examine the world of diaries. They study the diary of the famous Samuel Pepy, and discuss why it's so important. Together, as a class, they create a diary that describes what happened in school on a certain day. The catch...
Curated OER
Narrative Nuts and Bolts
After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...
Curated OER
California Artists
Fifth graders identify and compare works of art from various regions of the United States. Telecollaborative partners, from different states, work together to complete this assignment. Using the internet, 5th graders research a specific...
Curated OER
Journal Writing in American Studies
Students write their thoughts about political cartoons, photographs, and articles in their journal and then discuss them in class.
Curated OER
George Winter Lesson Plan 3
Bring language arts and U.S. history together in this lesson, which prompts middle and high schoolers to gather biographical information about Abraham Lincoln. They compare and contrast information written about his childhood and discuss...
Curated OER
Early Exploration of North America
Third graders "travel" from Europe to North America as Columbus did. They organize the information into chronoglogical order.
Curated OER
Revolution! Freedom for All?
Twelfth graders examine the causes of freedom by revolutionary patriots. In this Civics and Economics lesson, 12th graders analyze primary sources. Students work cooperatively to write a freedom declaration for their group.
Curated OER
Reading the Coyote School News: Lives of Ranchers in Southern Arizona
Fourth graders examine the effects of Mexican-American ranching on life today.