First graders sing America the Beautiful and understand the words to the song.  In this singing social studies lesson plan, 1st graders become familiar with the images and vocabulary in America the Beautiful while singing the words.

Students explore African clothing. In this African culture social studies lesson, students brainstorm types of clothing they wear for different occasions. Students view photographs of Africans wearing Western clothing and "special...

Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.

Fifth graders choose a country associated with a family member and research its location, government, language, economy, history, holidays, foods, sports, and famous people. They write to inform using this data and draw a map identifying...

Fourth graders study the Civil War. They examine online photos that are connected to Indiana's role in the Civil War. They choose one of these photos and in a story circle, tell a story about it. They tell who is in the picture, what...

Students discover the reasons for the settlement of the Connecticut Hill Community. Through an examination of the climate, occupations of the inhabitants, and demographics, they discuss reasons people choose locations for settlement. ...

Students study what influenced and inspired Billy Wilder while determining the plot, characters, and historical context of the film Double Indemnity. They investigate the stereotypes of Film Noir and how it shows the media messages of...

Students examine word parts. In this word study lesson, students practice breaking words into parts and using their knowledge of Greek roots, prefixes, and suffixes determine the words' meanings.

What do you know about American Indians? Upper graders compose an informational essay based on the research they conduct. They choose a Native American group to study and, using the provided list of web links, gather information and...

Young historians interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources in this American Revolution instructional activity. They select topics from the time era that they are interested in researching....

What does it mean to be a hero? Who qualifies as a hero? In groups, middle and high schoolers brainstorm a list of heroes and create a list of characteristics that a person must possess in order to be a hero. Extend this lesson by having...

Students study the Gullah culture by watching a video about Gullah, Gullah Island. They discuss the customs and crafts of the people such as basket weaving, food preparation, pottery, and quilt making. While working in centers, they make...

Students explore Aboriginal storytelling. In this literature lesson, students read Knots on a Counting Rope and then create a story line as they discuss the attributes of Aboriginal culture. Students retell the story in their own words.

Under construction, this lesson focuses on Canto Familia, a collection of poetry about Gary Soto's experiences growing up in California's Imperial Valley. Representative of the experiences of many Latinos, the poems also address themes...

Have your young reporters research contributions of the ancient Egyptians, draft scripts, and broadcast their stories live on the Nile Network News. Depending on class size and age, topics may be brainstormed or assigned. The detailed...

The photograph, Nellie and her Italian Soda is viewed and discussed by the class. They are instructed to use the photograph as inspiration to write a poem about non-events, or things that are beautiful in every day life. Pupils use...

Students read The Train Ride Home by Robin Solomon. In this literature response lesson, students will inspect the writing of Solomon to determine how she established a certain tone through her word choice and...

High schoolers create original pieces of poetry and use this as a basis for a photography series using "pin-hole camera" techniques. This high school lesson plan is cross-curricular in scope.

Use the Civil War and important figures from that period to help your class write poetry. You'll need to create a list of similes and metaphors, but you could also consider having your learners create this the day prior. They will use...

Fourth graders create Venn diagrams to compare and contrast life in the United States and Japan. While the teacher holds up word cards, they decide where to categorize them under Japan, the U.S., or both. As students assemble their...

Students read an essay about folklife and record their thoughts in journals. After discussing the terms associated with the topic, they complete worksheets on types of folklife, pop, elite, and folk cultures. Depending on the age group,...

Students recognize injustice in the world. For this social justice lesson, students discuss the responsibility they have to be advocates for justice and kindness and identify a time when they felt they were treated unfairly.

Young scholars study Asian works of art and Japanese haiku. They then take this knowledge and create an original haiku in response to other works of art.

Learners investigate cultural art from Canada by reading about Maud Lewis.  In this Canadian history lesson, students identify the work of Lewis by visiting her magazine website.  Learners identify other heroes in Nova Scotia...