Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching With the Power of Objects

For Teachers Pre-K - 3rd
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...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

What Does It Mean to Give Your Time?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers identify and consider what it means to sacrifice time and effort in helping others. Then they decide areas where their help may be needed, and pursue this area in the local community. Students also search the World Wide...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Poetry and Characters

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students investigate historical context by reading poetry.  In this language arts lesson, students discover the work of Michael Longley and examine his poem "Ceasefire."  Students identify the sonnets used in the piece and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Red Studio Shows the Way

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students look at the painting The Red Studio Shows the Way, and critique the art piece. In this critiquing art lesson plan, students discuss how the painting expresses ideas and feelings and history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Telegram from Senator Joseph McCarthy to President Harry S. Truman

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research the McCarthy hearings to determine the following: time frame of hearings, how they were broadcast, how the press reacted, and how the American people reacted in light of the Korean Conflict and the Cold War.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Folk Dances of Eastern Europe

For Teachers 1st - 9th
Students experience folk dance as a form of expressive art, and appreciate the rich cultural heritage of Eastern Europe.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Serial Forms/Material Difference

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Young scholars analyze pop art and discuss artists' choices for materials, line, color, and scale. In this art analysis lesson, students consider artists' choices and compare works. Young scholars make a two or three dimensional work of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

America in Film and Fiction

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers begin the lesson by reading a book on film study. After watching the movie "Citizen Kane", they work together to identify the issues concerning the United States before World War II. As a class, they discuss how the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

NGA Kids Inside Scoop Summer 2007

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students examine the art of Roy Lichtenstein. In this art instructional activity students study reworked images and adapted scenes from books made into movies.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dorothea Lange and the Relocation of Japaneses Americans

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed
Learners analyze Dorothea Lange's photographs about Japanese American relocation. In this art and history lesson, students analyze a photograph about the relocation of Japanese Americans. Learners discuss the impact of governmental...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bound for Britain

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students discover the great immigration to the United Kingdom by examining historic photographs.  In this world history lesson, students research the migration of West Indians to England in the early 1950's.  Students read...
Lesson Plan
Hyperion

Crispin: The Cross of Lead

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Avi's Crispin: The Cross of Lead is the focus of a teacher's guide that provides background information on 14th Century England, a plot summary, discussion questions, activities, and resource links. A must-have for those who use this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Catch-22

For Teachers 9th - 12th
During or after reading Catch-22, have your high school scholars complete this research project. First they'll brainstorm a list of people they might like to research, then they'll dive into your library's resources! There are...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Working on the Slant

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Compare and contrast a major news story from various newspapers. How does the perspective change? Are certain things included in some of the stories and left out of others? Have pupils complete a graphic organizer to compare how...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Your class examines F.D.R.'s speech for examples of repetition, alliteration, emotionally charged words, etc. They listen to the speech and interview a person who heard it delivered. They finish by writing an article about the experience.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Search for Shangri-La

For Teachers 7th - 12th
What is your idea of paradise? Middle and high schoolers share their visions of paradise on earth in this lesson, in which they view a video segment about Shangri-La. Your high schoolers can discuss and then write about their ideas in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Everyone Sang - Moods in Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Start by reading the poem "Everyone Sang" by Siegried Sassoon. The archive also houses an audio clip, so consider playing that instead of reading it aloud. After hearing the poem twice, middle and high schoolers will discuss a list of...
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

The Cuban Missile Crisis: How to Respond?

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
For 13 days, the United States stood on the edge of nuclear War. The Soviet Arms buildup in Cuba is the focus of an activity that asks groups to analyze how the governmental role each of John F. Kennedy's advisors played went on to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Black Death and HIV/AIDS: Which is the Worse Plague?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Exploring the similarities and differences between the Black Death and HIV/AIDS, students write persuasive essays answering which is the "worse plague." This cross-curricular activity between Language Arts and Social Studies addresses...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

History, Literature, Art: Connections

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders read either The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner, The Crucible, or Hiroshima, and examine connection between art and literature by relating particular works of art to their readings, relying on both visual and written...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Invasion of Iraq

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the war in Iraq. They use videos, newspapers, and other media to examine the circumstances leading up to the invasion, the war's major battles, and the post-war situation on the ground. Students read letters from Iraq...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Three: Poem Pieces

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students read and analyze stanzas of Civil War poem, The Flags of Michigan, to get perspective on what life was like and how Americans viewed Civil War, rewrite stanzas in modern language, and share new versions of poem with classmates.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropy in Michigan???Civil War Lesson 2: Forming Opinions

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students act out a section of the book Gentle Annie that is depicted in Chapter 4. They discuss the character position taken by each of the characters in the scene. They write a persuasive letter to one of the characters.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Struggling To Survive: Life In Sarajevo

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students gain an understanding of the impact that wars have on society. They use Web sites to gain information about Sarajevo, create characters using what they learn from watching video clips and viewing news footage online and engage...