This lesson enables teachers to use blues music to explore the history of African Americans in the 20th century. By studying the content of blues songs, students can learn about the experiences and struggles of the working-class...

This lesson enables teachers to use blues styles and performers to think about various geographical regions of the United States. By studying different blues styles from the Mississippi Delta, Texas, and the Piedmont region of the...

Fourth graders complete a three-week unit about Laura Ingalls Wilder and pioneer life. They research the topography of Michigan in the 1870's, conduct Internet research, write journal entries, participate in polka and waltz dancing, and...

This lesson plan enables students to explore and measure the distance between blacks and whites in the past and present United States. By thinking about the intersections of whites, blacks, and others around the blues, students will...

Students read a work of fiction and investigate literary values and structure of the work. They demonstrate understanding of the family values, cultural and historical context of the novel;

Learners gain awareness of global patterns of food distribution. They are introduced to the concepts of food security and food insecurity. Pupils investigate the nutritional status of others around the world using information from the...

Students read the play "The Oxcart" in its English form. After examining the author's life and works, they are given a part as one of the characters to act out the play. They dress in full costumes and acquire the correct props in...

Learners watch a video and examine archival newspaper articles to study the different points of view about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. They examine the impact the bridge had on those living in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Young scholars complete a unit on fossils. They read and discuss informational handouts, define key vocabulary terms, answer discussion questions, create a geologic timeline and a timeline of their own life, analyze bones, and create a...

Students use mystery novels to focus on the history and ethnicity of different regions of the United States. As a class, they are introduced to the elements of a mystery and compare them to the other types of novels they have read. In...

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...

Students examine the use of quotas and Jim Crow laws. They discuss discrimination against minority groups both historically and in contemporary society. Students examine an affirmative action case and discuss the controversies involved.

Ninth graders use the internet to research the history of the Atlantic Canada Fishery and how it was different from today. Using this information, they write a research paper and share it with their classmates. In groups, they...

Students research the Columbia River Basin Ethnic History Archive (CRBEHA) and use a variety of primary sources to explore the history of blacks in the region.

Students discuss how the climate in their area affects they way they live their life. In groups, they identify the climate zones throughout the world and research one country of interest to them. To end the lesson, they make a brochure...

Students examine ethnic history of the Pacific Northwest in the period 1850-1950. They research documents and images in digital archives to explore immigration of various ethnic groups that settled in the region during this period.

Seventh graders discuss the unemployment trends of the 1920s-1930's. They look at it faces of the citizens that lived in the time period. Students work with visual clues to investigate about the living conditions during the Great...

Students analyze the Maine State Museum's exhibit 12,000 Years in Maine. They create an artifact and write a description of that artifact that demonstrates their understanding of the way technology shapes culture.

Students, in groups, research a certain form of transportation that has affected Maine's economic and cultural development. They write a persuasive letter that uses the research to support an argument.

High schoolers examine how the work (paid or voluntary) they do in the past, present, and future affects and is affected by the communities to which they belong. They realize that human beings' perceptions of one another based on age,...

Young scholars conduct a mock Congressional Hearing to decide whether or not Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during World War II should be provided financial restitution. They research and create a time line of...

Student review and identify the main marketing and promotional methods in the travel and tourism industry. They examine advertising, press releases, brochures, leaflets and other techniques. They complete an activity sheet while...

Fourth graders examine the how the land is used on the islands of Hawaii. Using this information, they discover how elevation affects how the land is used and represent this data in a visual form. They describe existing and alternative...