Curated OER
A Second Visit To Old Sturbridge Village-The Story Tour
Students conduct research on 1830s families and early New England culture. They conduct research on the Old Sturbridge Village website, participate in an online chat with a costumed interpreter, and continue to develop possible plots to...
Curated OER
Primary and Secondary Sources - 7th
A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...
Curated OER
African Ceramic Portrait Vessel
Middle schoolers create a piece of art inspired by traditional African pieces.
Overcoming Obstacles
Creating a Win-Win Situation
As part of a study of ways to resolve conflicts, class members examine the characteristics of win-win solutions and then practice win-win negotiations. They also examine the role of a mediator in conflict resolution and then script and...
Curated OER
Teaching Spanish Heritage in the Context of the Ancient Mediterranean
Students identify and interpret Spanish heritage, including the Mediterranean culture, language, history, trade, and migration. Following, they began an in-depth study of Egypt, the Middle East, Greece, and Rome and were able to make...
Curated OER
Publisher Brochures
Students create brochures on subjects they are studying in Publisher. For this nonfiction writing lesson, students use Publisher to create a brochure telling all the main ideas of a topic they are studying. Students use text boxes, fonts...
Curated OER
Renaissance: Rebirth to Revolution
Sixth graders use a variety of resources to research the Middle Ages and Renaissance over a nine-week period. Working in cooperative teams, they become experts on specific topics. Students hold a Renaissance Faire and role-play as...
Curated OER
Dancing with Dionysus
Sixth graders research Ancient Greek culture by acting in a play for the festival of Dionysus. In this Greek culture lesson, 6th graders study an ancient Greek map and the Sarcophagus Dionysus from the Walters Art Museum website....
Curated OER
Making Plans
Students gain an understanding of the U.S. Census. In this civic lesson plan, students use real-life problem-solving skills and census data to choose a site for new school.
Curated OER
A Flip of Life in the 13 Colonies
Fourth graders create a flip book illustrating the 13 original colonies. They study the growth and development of each of the three groups of the original colonies. They use maps to observe and interpret geographic information and...
Curated OER
Religion and Peace
Students explore peacemaking efforts. In this religion and ethics lesson, students examine the religious, social, and political values that accompany peacemaking efforts on a global scale. Students create and implement their own...
Curated OER
Conflict Resolution in the World Today: Introduction to Current World conflicts, their Antecendents, the Progression, and their Potential Conclusions
Students write a paragraph describing a conflict they had with a friend or a family member and a paragraph explaining how it was resolved. In this social science lesson plan, students share their paragraphs with a partner and then will...
Curated OER
Protest Songs
Students analyze and perform an American social protest song. They describe its historical setting, consider the effectiveness of the music and recognize that popular music is a reflection of American culture.
National First Ladies' Library
Terrorism and Tolerance
Students define the concepts of terrorism and tolerance using various resources. They examine the concept of stereotype, consider stereotypes often applied to Arabs, Middle Easterners, and Muslims, and attempt to discredit these...
Curated OER
Interfaith Dialogue
High schoolers explore interfaith dialogue. In this religion and ethics lesson, students examine the relationships among communities of faith as they design an interfaith association in their school community.
Curated OER
Religion and the Civil Rights Movement
High schoolers investigate the role of religion in the Civil Rights Movement. For this religion and ethics lesson, students explore the separation of church and state as they examine how religious faith has inspired social change in...
Curated OER
A Call to Jihad
Students view a video clip about Islam in the Middle East. They discuss quotes by Hussein calling for a jihad and what jihad means. They examine Hussein's leadership qualities as well.
Curated OER
Mapping the Library
Students compare their school library with another library such as: town library, for example, or a virtual library and identify the most important features. Students use their observations to create a map of the school library that can...
Curated OER
The Three Branches of Government (Legislative, Executive, Judicial)
Fifth graders compare the three branches of government to a three-legged chair. In this government instructional activity, 5th graders discuss the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, and checks and balances. Students study what each...
Curated OER
Italian-American Legacy
Students study the role of the Italian government in the migration, also their role in farm life and poverty. They discuss how the Italians supported their families and why they exited to other countries. They discuss how to begin a...
Curated OER
Social Studies" Turning Points
Students will understand how people are affected by places and events and will communicate their opinions in an essay including historical facts.
Curated OER
You Are What You Eat: Lessons from Alice Waters
Students view the AMERICAN MASTERS episode titled ALICE WATERS AND HER DELICIOUS REVOLUTION. They examine their own eating habits and determine how they can eat food that is both healthier and tastier. Through Guided Reading strategies,...
National First Ladies' Library
Secretary of Commerce
Middle schoolers gain understanding of economic history of United States in twentieth century by examining role of Department of Commerce. Student groups each analyze one quarter of twentieth century by researching role of Department of...
National First Ladies' Library
Latin: The Language of Ancient Rome
Middle schoolers gain understanding about where some of today's words originated by reviewing a list of Latin words and their meanings. They work in small groups to create dictionary pages which will then be compiled into a large...