Curated OER
Cyberspace Safari
Middle schoolers go on an information gathering hunt on the Internet to study West African empires. They work in teams; meteorologists, bankers, writers, and archaeologists. They collect data on all sorts of topics related to West...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Issues of Asylum in the U.S.
Who gets to come to the United States? Examine cases of individuals seeking asylum with an informative reading passage that includes examples, statistics, and representations of public opinion regarding asylum. Groups then go on to...
Curated OER
Westward Ho!
For any teacher of American History, The Lewis and Clark Expedition is a watershed event that should be shared with your learners. This is a very good lesson on the Expedition, and the events that led up to it; including The Lousisiana...
Curated OER
Good Sportsmanship Leads to Home Run
Pupils share examples of good sportsmanship, then read a news article about a team helping an injured player score a home run. The teacher introduces the article with a discussion and vocabulary activity, then students read the news...
Military Kids Connect
Military Life 101
Here's a very powerful video that deserves a place in a Veterans Day lesson. Four young girls talk about what it's like to have a parent deployed and how they support one another during the deployment.
Curated OER
Rockefeller's Revenge: Exxon and Mobil Unite
Study the impact and possible outcomes of the Exxon-Mobil merger in your language arts, social studies, or economics class. Secondary learners evaluate a series of graphs, write a paragraph interpreting the data, and engage in class...
Curated OER
Blogging to Create a Community of Writers #6: Writing a Review
Looking for a good social media lesson for your class? Then, this lesson is for you! They study various written reviews, then must choose an item to review of their choice. They can choose from: a book, restaurant, CD/musical...
Curated OER
I Can Be Whomever I Wish
Famous people who have overcome obstacles are the focus of this language arts and social studies lesson. Pupils are introduced to the concept that they have the ability to overcome obstacles in life. They read selections embedded in the...
Curated OER
The Importance of Initiation
The four-faced Hamat'sa mask is the inspiration for a lesson on ceremonial art and the process of initiation. The class examines images of the piece, then discusses how the mask represents ceremonial initiation. They get imaginative...
Smithsonian Institution
The Birth of an Icon: Learning and Performing the Origins of the Drum Set and Early Jazz Drumming in New Orleans, Louisiana
Bass drum, snare drum, tom-toms, cymbals. Perched behind their drum sets, wielding their drum sticks and wire brushes, drummers lay the grove and are the heartbeat of a band's performance. A dynamic lesson introduces young musicians to...
Curated OER
Action/Reaction: Art and Politics
Students examine three images that were responses to social and political turmoil World War I and II. In this political art lesson, students analyze and discuss the example art. Students create a word poem, a collage, and their own...
Curated OER
Come Tool Along With Me
Young scholars create metallic Bas-relief scultures using basic art supplies and the technique of "tooling" in this Art instructional activity with croos-curricular connections in Social Studies and Math. A scoring rubric is included for...
Curated OER
"Construction Work" Art Activity
Students explore architectural styles and define architectural terms. They construct a building using various architectural elements, and display their buildings, identifying each of the architectural components they used.
Wish for the Future
Wish for the Future
What would be your class's ideal world 30 years in the future? What about 100 years? Use a series of activities to discuss globalization, sustainability, scientific contributions to society, and the global community of which your...
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...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 3
Middle schoolers complete a writing assessment task to demonstrate their ability to craft a narrative based on a variety of informational texts. They view West of the West's documentary Magic Isle, read three print resources about...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Upton Sinclair, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harvey W. Wiley
Though Upton Sinclair's novel The Jungle shocked the American public into a thorough examination of the meat-packing industry, the author was disappointed that his book's main argument—the exploitation of American immigrants—was not...
Denver Art Museum
My Animal Symbol
Here is an art lesson that combines visual arts and language arts into one very nice package. In it, youngsters study a fascinating painting called Painting of Bear and Sun Dances. They begin to understand the importance of...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 4
After watching West of the West's documentary on Catalina Island, The Magic Isle, class members research how Walt Disney's and William Wrigley's different visions impacted the island.
American Battlefield Trust
Antietam 360
It was the single bloodiest day in Civil War history. Now, class members have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Antietam using an interactive website. Supplemental resources include...
Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
Missouri Department of Elementary
My Problem…Your Problem…Our Problem
Encourage sixth graders to take responsibility for their actions and become a problem solver. Pupils discuss new problems faced in sixth grade then identify ones that involve other people. A worksheet guides their practice in conflict...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Express Yourself!
Encourage scholars to express themselves with help from an engaging song. Sung to the tune of "London Bridge is Falling Down," participants sing phrases that offer tips for dealing with emotions—sad, happy, worried, proud, mad, and...
Curated OER
Lesson: Lisa Signal: Altering Perspectives
Kids make big artistic gestures, just like the abstract artist, Lisa Signal. They use her work as inspiration for making simplistic, abstract, statements in an artistic way. They analyze her work, then walk through an unfamiliar...