Random House
Focus On: Censorship & Banned Books
Billy Collins' "Rain" introduces the Random House 104-page magazine for educators that focuses on censorship and banned books. The resource is packed with teaching guides, articles by noted authors, and links to organizations against...
Curated OER
Patriots and Loyalists
Learners examine portraits by John Singleton Copley and discuss how the subject's appearance communicates important information about his or her life. They write a diary entry from the point of view of a portrait subject.
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Understanding the 1855 Census Database
Use data from the 1855 New York census to better understand the Irish immigrant experience during the late 19th century. Young historians analyze information from the census and build three hypotheses regarding the residents of the Five...
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Delve into Mother's Day with Arts and Crafts
Mother's Day is right around the corner and these classroom-friendly activities will help you get ready.
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JAPANESE CULTURE
High schoolers explore the Japanese culture and stereotypes involving it.
Middle Tennessee State University
Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
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Cultural and Social Transformations Since 1865
Students research cultural and social issues in the areas of Westward Expansion, Immigration, and Civil Rights. They use their research to create a PowerPoint electronic book to be used by other students.
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Groups Coming to America
Fifth graders use text or other references to locate different types of information about the Mayflower and pilgrims. They create a presentation for lower elementary classes about the Pilgrims.
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Activating Background Knowledge
Students create a Venn diagram illustrating characteristics of the past versus characteristics of the present. They discuss the past and present and compare their Venn diagrams.
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Teaching With the Power of Objects
Students define value of an object. In this value lesson plan, students identify reasons for collecting objects, compile a personal inventory of items they find valuable, and then define why those items are valuable to them. In step two...
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Minerals, Crystals, and Gems
Young scholars discover the relationships between minerals, crystals and gems. They bring in rocks that they find at home, in the schoolyard, etc. and examine them and attempt to identify them. They set up a classroom exhibit that...
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"Hello, I Am Deborah Sampson"
Fifth graders learn the role played by individuals during the American Revolutionary War.
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Listen Up: Antigone Rising
Upper graders listen to and watch a documentary about an all female group Antigone Rising. They discuss how females are portrayed in the rock world, the type of music they play, their song lyrics, and what they note in the documentary....
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The Causes of Prohibition
Eleventh graders explore the origins of the Prohibition Movement in the United States. In small groups, they analyze the influence of World War I in the passage of the eighteenth amendment. Students explain how different demographics of...
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Literacy Lesson: Guided Reading
Here is a wonderful lesson designed for students with special needs. This well-thought-out lesson uses Big Books, familiar stories, and has a lot of review learning built into it. The book, The Keeping Quilt is used in the main part of...
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Personal Narrative Paragraphs: Class Quilt
Begin this activity by asking third graders to bring from home pieces of cloth that represent something important to them. (Have extras for students who need them.) They reflect on important events in their lives, compose narrative...
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How to Write an Essay: Secondary ed.
Whether introducing the structure of expository essays or reviewing the format with your high schoolers, take the time to check out this resource. Examples of seven common forms of introductory paragraphs and six types of conclusions, as...
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OCCUPATIONAL OXYMORON: Examining the Circumstances of the Hidden Working Poor
Students use the book, The WorkingPoor, as a basis for this lesson. They state their current understanding of poverty., work in groups to prepare presentations on different aspects of the working poor and give oral presentations.
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Hello, I Am Deborah Sampson
Fifth graders research a historical figure from the Revolutionary War, dress as that person, and present information on that person. In this Revolutionary War lesson plan, 5th graders are videotaped as they present to the class.
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Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: The Novel as Historical Source
Students examine historical fiction as historical sources. In this historical fiction lesson, students analyze excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as well as Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman in order...
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Donut Day
In this Donut day activity, students complete activities such as reading a passage, phrase matching, fill in the blanks, choose the correct word, multiple choice, spelling, sequencing, scrambled sentences, asking questions, surveying,...
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Piercing the World of Silence
Students explore the sign language alphabet. They examine the difficulties faced by handicapped persons, and are introduced to Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan and The Miracle Worker.
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The Harlem Renaissance
Learners, after researching/analyzing the movement "Harlem Renaissance" and Africa as well as reading literature from that time period, create lists of the major characteristics of the movement and its important writers. They bridge the...