University of Pennsylvania
Using Political Postcards to Teach a Revolution of Political Thought
Discuss how political postcards affected everyday people's thoughts and beliefs. Pupils continue a unit on the Dreyfus Affair as they engage in class discussion, watch a video, view a PowerPoint presentation, and fill out worksheets to...
Curated OER
Disaster Relief - Power, Generosity and Leadership
Middle schoolers explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students discover philanthropy's role in 4 economic sectors. Middle schoolers examine how organizations responded to the Hurricane Katrina devastation...
Curated OER
Property, Theft and Generosity
Students examine excerpts of Lewis and Clark's journal entries during their expedition. They identify any disputes with the Indians over land and discuss how they might have been avoided. They add entries to their journals.
National Gallery of Art
Islamic Art and Culture
Provided by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, this resource for teachers examines Islamic art, including calligraphy, arabesques, and geometric designs. A recounting of the spread of the faith and the tumultuous political...
Curated OER
Share Tactics
Learning how to share with one's classmates is a very important skill to have in school. Here, the technique of sharing is taught. Pupils receive one piece of paper and are put into groups. Each group only has six crayons. They must...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark: Property, Theft and Generosity
Students participate in a simulated trade session similar to one that may have occurred at Wyam during the Lewis and Clark expedition. They determine how trade with the native people allowed the expedition to be successful.
University of Pennsylvania
Mock Trial of Alfred Dreyfus
What if scholars based mock trials on history? The fourth installment of a five-part series on the Dreyfus Affair asks learners to read various pieces of evidence before conducting a mock trial for a French officer. Teams answer...
Curated OER
Newspaper Stories
Students examine the structure of the newspaper. In this newspaper lesson, students look at the different types of articles about giving, sharing, and acts for the common good. They realize the types of voice that are used in the...
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Everyday Heroes
Learners research how Ernie Pyle's descriptive narratives and "every man's" perspective of the war allow them to examine personal traits such as courage and heroism. The activity can be extended to include more examples to teach...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Analyze the use of balanced sentences and parallelism in a narrative. Included in this resource is a narrative about serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan titled, "The Train Ride Home". Middle and high schoolers review...
Curated OER
Pizza Biography
A biography writing lesson plan with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how...
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Hurricane Katrina Relief
Students research philanthropic organizations that helped after Hurricane Katrina. They organize a collection drive to contribute to the nonprofit organization. They reflect on their efforts.
Curated OER
The Importance of Being Flexible and Open-minded as a Visitor to Another Culture: Lesson 2 For "The Train Ride Home"
Learners examine the advantages of being flexible when visiting or living in a different culture. They read and discuss a first-hand account by a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan, and write a letter from the point of view of a...
Curated OER
Sleuthing A Writer's Skills
Students read The Train Ride Home by Robin Solomon. For this literature response lesson, students will inspect the writing of Solomon to determine how she established a certain tone through her word choice and paragraph structure....
Curated OER
Restaurant Tipping Lesson
What do you do after a good meal, tip the server of course. The class calculates the appropriate tip to leave at a restaurant given certain bills. They identify the bill before and after tax and find the correct tip. A great way to put...
Curated OER
Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Learners examine the story for use of balanced sentences and parallelism-two literary devices-and then practice using those devices in writing of their own. They combine the simple sentences grammatically into one correct sentence. A. I...
Curated OER
Sleuthing a Writer's Skills
Students examine the author's lively text to determine how she achieved her many literary effects. They discover the author's techniques in describing people and events, in setting tone, and in establishing pace. They reflect about the...
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Poetry for the Common Good
Learners identify examples of philanthropy in poetry or song. For this philanthropy lesson, students examine several poems such as Give by Carrie A. Thomas and identify concepts of philanthropy in the poem. Learners construct their own...
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Ilunga's Harvest Lesson
Students examine the culturally based impulse to share with others versus the impulse to watch out for oneself or one's immediate family. They probe the deeper meanings of "Ilunga's Harvest" and examine the impact of the events in...
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Rosie's Roses Lesson Idea: Practice Hearing the R
Students focus on the sound of the letter /r/ after listening to Rosie's Roses by Pamela Duncan Edwards. In this letter /r/ lesson, students identify animals in the book that contain the /r/ sound. They sort /r/ words into groups by the...
Curated OER
Ilunga's Harvest Lesson
Learners study the concept of culturally based impulse to share as opposed to watching out for oneself or family by reading and responding to "Ilunga's Harvest."
Curated OER
Feudalism
Students have tournaments in teams after learning information about The Middle Ages. In this Middle Ages lesson plan, students learn that tournaments are mock battles, but that they will have these battles by answering questions in teams...
Curated OER
Get Ready, Set, Go
First graders learn the importance of listening carefully and why to follow oral directions carefully by playing Simon Says. They learn the importance of waiting your turn.
Curated OER
The Buddha And His Many Different Forms
Students examine the historical Buddha and Buddhism through in-class discussions, visual artifacts, and the practice and performance of the play "The Enlightened One". Evaluation occurs after performance of the play.