Curated OER
Bali and Indio Pop
How has music influenced culture? This can be a great way to start this presentation on Bali and Indio pop. Balinese music from the past and how it has changed because of modern pop influences is covered in this informational resource....
Curated OER
Changing Places
Learners investigate the Chinese-American immigration experience. In this assimilation lesson, students watch "Becoming American: The Chinese Experience" and then participate in classroom activities regarding the topic. The activities...
Curated OER
Understanding Tiananmen Square
William Bell's Forbidden City is used as the basis of a study of China, Chinese culture and government, and especially of the events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Class members select a topic for Internet research and then prepare a...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Simple Suminagashi
Go ahead. Spill the ink! Combine the study of art, social studies, and science with a Suminagashi (spilled ink) activity that produces "unique and unreproducible" works of art.
Federal Reserve Bank
Ten Mile Day
Get your class working on the railroad with this detailed and interactive lesson. After reading and discussing Ten Mile Day, learners explore division of labor, human capital, and productivity with a hands-on group activity in which they...
Federal Reserve Bank
Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building
How tall is the Empire State Building? Lead your class through a collaborative estimation activity to determine the number of quarters it would take to reach the top and teach the following concepts: human capital, human resources,...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Importance of a Free Press
"Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;. . ." Why is this guarantee of free speech and a free press the First Amendment to the US Constitution? Why are these rights so essential to a...
Carolina K-12
Are You a Democrat or a Republican? Are You Really?
Have new or soon-to-be voters examine different political parties and their platforms as they figure out which one aligns most with their beliefs. After taking a few online quizzes, students split into pairs to discuss and then...
Carolina K-12
African Americans in the United States Congress During Reconstruction
The Civil Rights Act of 1866, which granted citizenship to all males in the U.S., resulted in the first African Americans to be elected to Congress. Class members research 11 of these men, the challenges they faced, and craft...
Teaching Ideas
The Victorians Pack
What was life like during the Victorian era? Images of crowded factories and lavish palaces may come to mind—and both would be accurate. Learn more about Britain during the 64-year reign of Queen Victoria with a series of informational...
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...
Global Oneness Project
The Nature of Happiness
The U.S. Constitution states that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. The United Nations' Global Happiness Index ranks countries according to the happiness of its citizens. As part of a discussion of the nature of...
Azusa Pacific University
Historical Landmark Project
Close a unit or the year with a five-step research project. Class members choose a US landmark, research the landmark, compose a report about it, build a model of it, and present their model and findings to the class. Each step is...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Eighth Grade
Middle schoolers are likely very familiar with the concept of bullying and cliques. Discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to handle peer conflict and feelings of exclusion with a poem that focuses on bullying, and a second lesson...
Population Connection
The Carbon Crunch
Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...
Google
Code for Equality
It's my belief that all learners should have equal access to computer science projects! Young computer scientists learn about variables, encapsulation, sequences, and objects in block-based coding. They create a collage by first...
Curated OER
Coming to America
Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...
Global Oneness Project
Deconstructing Consumerism
A short, engaging video provides a critique of the hyper-consumerist mentality that many think have taken over the Western world. After watching the video, pupils reflect on their own habits and use evidence...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Lean Mean Coping Machine!
Seventh graders are asked to choose and rank five scenarios from a list of ten that are most important to them. After explaining the reasons for the choices, they then identify the coping skills they used to make their decisions.
Global Oneness Project
Bearing Witness
A controversial construction project in South America, the Belo Monte dam, is endangering local cultures, ecosystems, and communities. High schoolers create a concept map based on an online article they read before engaging in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Hope to Cope: Coping Skills
Making decisions can be stressful, even for sixth graders. And even students this young have developed coping skills, some positive and some negative, to help them deal with stress. Class members are asked to identify several of their...
Curated OER
Changes In Change
Students research the changes in change over time. Students choose one coin to research and trace in history. Students graph out a time line on their coins. Students present their time lines to the class.
Curated OER
Bullying and Core Democratic Values
Middle schoolers explore the concept of core democratic values. After completing a survey of student populations regarding bullying, small groups analyze their findings and present their findings to the Student Council, principal,...
Curated OER
Muhammad Ali
Students analyze the lifetime accomplishments of Muhammad Ali in the area of sports and his role as a catalyst for social change.