Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A New Red Menace?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students research and analyze the current political situation of North Korea. They read and discuss an article, conduct research, participate in a simulation of an international round table, and write a response essay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Site and Situation: Right Place at the Right Time

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars put their geography skills to work. In this geography skills lesson, students research maps and other primary and secondary sources to simulate the site selection process for the Pennsylvania Railroad Shops post World War...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shoot for the Moon

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders distinguish the different phases of the moon. In this astronomy lesson, 2nd graders study the history of its discovery and myths about its origin. They simulate how the moon's surface is illuminated by the sun.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Pursuit of Truth: Comparing Roger Williams and Martin Luther King Jr.

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders compare the life and times of Roger Williams and Martin Luther King Jr. In this life comparison lesson plan, 5th graders explore the key events that happened in each of their lives and fill out worksheets, write essays, and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introductory Lesson: Greece

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers get a taste of Greek culture. In this Greece instructional activity, students participate in activities that require them to study the religion, music, food, clothing, and history of Greece.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Ghosts of Rwanda: Reconciliation and Reparations

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine a specific case of genocide participation in Rwanda. Working in groups, they simulate the courtroom drama, from the positions of victim, perpetrator, and court monitor. They conclude by writing essays on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making a Rainstick

For Teachers K - 4th
Students construct a rainstick. In this music instructional activity, students investigate the history of the rainstick by reading the book Bringing the Rain to the Kapiti Plain by Verna Aardema. Students express their feelings about the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Feature Column: Virtual Field Trips

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students discover ways to stay healthy by utilizing Internet education software.  In this computer technology lesson, students investigate Internet programs that simulate a field trip by showing images and video.  Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Lewis and Clark: Tribal Cultures and Homelands

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students examine the attributes of the tribes that inhabited the Columbia River Basin. In this Lewis and Clark instructional activity, students participate in a classroom simulation that requires them to participate in a seasonal round,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Thanks Be To You

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students research U.S. history by completing a worksheet activity in class. In this historical figure lesson, students identify the contributions and risks taken by the former African-American leader Martin Luther King Jr. Students read...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to the Cold War

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students examine the domino theory. In this cold war lesson, students watch a video about dominos and then get into groups that represent different nations. Students will then act out a mock simulation of the containment and domino theory.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where's King Solomon when we need him?: Good decisions on resources

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars use geographic information to suggest how to manage natural resources through a simulation. They engage in a simulation, and decide how to protect, allocate, and exploit the resources of a hypothetical location.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Immigrant Experience

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars utilize oral histories to discover, analyze, and interpret immigration and migration in the history of the United States. A goal of the unit is fostering a discussion and encouraging students to make meaning of the bigger...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Religious Intolerance in Afchanistan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students, as a group, examine and discuss the destruction and planned demolition of Buddhist artifacts in Afghanistan by the Islamic Taliban government. They further research the issue and then hold a simulated summit with Buddhists,...
Workbook
Smithsonian Institution

Ceramica de los Ancestros

For Students 3rd - 6th
Scholars join a field expedition team to unearth a plethora of treasures from Central America. Artifacts listed in alphabetical order come with an informational blurb and a picture designed for participants to color. Activity pages...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Do We Balance Environmental Conservation with Human Needs?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students role play a meeting between conservation biologists and local representatives who want to advance the livelihood of local population. In this history lesson, students research the necessities and conservation issues of given...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

An Irresistable Offer?

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Young scholars identify inducements the emperor Constantine offered people to move to his fledgling capital city of Constantinople and compare similar situations offered by the American government in our history and by local governments...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reliability Check of Power Grid

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students complete a simulation on power grid reliability check. In this physics lesson plan, students discuss the consequences of power grid failures. They complete a simulation worksheet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Black Plague

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students participate in a simulation game to experience the societal effects of the Black Plague during the Medieval Period. Information garnered during the game is used to discuss the current state of communicable diseases in our world...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cave Paintings

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Learners examine various types of prehistoric art. In groups, they research the purpose of the drawings and use the internet to research the various ancient human groups. To end the lesson, they draw animals compared to the prehistoric...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Competing For Food

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars examine the hunting and gathering aspects of the Washoe culture. They are assigned roles, and participate in a simulation of surviving through the seasons by competing for food with other people and tribes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Full Military Experience

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders watch electronic field trip entitled Call to Arms, and simulate daily life of eighteenth-century soldier, including marching, camp building, cannon firing, and sharing common meal. Student groups form regiments by signing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mars Geologic Mapping

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify and interpret photographic details of a Martian surface image, design, and create a simple features map. They identify and interpret the geologic history of a part of Mars' surface and then, analyze and discuss the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How does it feel? Why is the Civil Rights Movement so Important?

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study the Civil War. In this US history lesson, 5th graders simulate what life was like during the Civil War by having two groups with one group given more materials than the other group. Students then draw a...