Curated OER
Evolution of Mass Media after 1920
Eleventh graders study the importance of media through American History. In this American History activity, 11th graders develop teamwork skills discovering information regarding an assigned time period. Students predict and analyze...
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Promote Your Media Center!
Students use a webquest to use Research Process Model (RPM), and the information they gather to prove to everyone what a wonderful and helpful resource the Library/Media Center really is.
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Farewell to the Former Library Media Specialist
Students write a letter to their former library media specialist incorporating brainstormed ideas of what they have liked about the library media center. In this way students let the teacher know about what has been done in the past and...
Facing History and Ourselves
Verifying Breaking News
The attempts of journalists to verify the events surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown take center stage as individuals analyze three of the initial newspaper accounts of the story. The whole class discussion then focuses on the...
Curated OER
Familiarization Fun: Using the Media Center
Students participate in a scavenger hunt to locate the different sections of the media center and determine the purpose for each section. They build a jigsaw puzzle as they find each major section of the library such as the reference or...
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Evaluating Media Materials
Students demonstrate the ability to select and evaluate media materials. They demonstrate comprehension when listening and reading for literary experience, to be informed, and to perform a task. Students evaluate a fiction book based on...
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Primary and Secondary Sources - 7th
A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Audacity of a Vote: Susan B. Anthony’s Arrest
Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a instructional activity that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech...
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Dewey Decimal Game
Engage all the upper elementary classes in your school in a game to learn Dewey Decimal Classification. On 5 or 6 consecutive visits to the library, teams from each class learn how the system works, locate books in each category, and...
New York Public Library
What's for Lunch?: New York City Restaurant Menus
Do you remember the days when a cup of coffee cost five cents? At A.W. Dennett restaurant in 1894, you could buy a five-cent cup of coffee and as well as a five-cent slice of pie to accompany it. The menu from that year is a primary...
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Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas
You can keep this printable idea sheet and use when you're in a tight spot. It contains cross-curricular ideas that span every subject while relating to the African tale, "Anasazi the Spider."Â Learners will act, write, move, count, and...
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How Do I Write an Article Critique?
Your middle and high schoolers have written tons of summaries, but can they give a strong critique of an article they've read? Identify the differences between summary writing and critiquing. Choose an interesting article and have...
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What Is the Attraction of the 1950s?
Fifth graders, using HyperStudio or PowerPoint, select the ten most important events that happened in the 1950s.
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Recognizing Reference Sources
Fourth graders investigate five different reference sources in the Media Center: Atlas, Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Card Catalog (Look Up Station), and the Internet. They decide which is the BEST source to use to answer specific questions.
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Orientation to the Library
Students design a library orientation that would be helpful for a new student. They explain the organization of their school library and demonstrate how to access information.
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Investigating Brass Instruments and Pitch
Students observe the sounds of different brass instruments in order to understand how to create different pitches. In this musical lesson, students create a "brass" instrument from everyday household objects. The students discuss the...
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Language Arts: Paraphrasing Research Material
Students visit the school media center to research their favorite historical figures. Following a discussion of paraphrasing, they find information in library materials about their figure. Once students compile their information, they...
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Philanthropy in History
Students understand the importance of books in past and present societies. In this philanthropic lesson, students compare Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Franklin's perspective on the importance of everyone being able to read. Students...
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Social Studies: World Cultures and the Library of Congress
Students use the Library of Congress Website to locate information for a world cultures project. They select countries to research, investigate visa information, currency, climate, and accommodations. Students follow the directions on...
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Locating Information Quickly in a Variety of Resources
Here is a lesson which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to find information...
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Native Americans in Arkansas: The Quapaw
The Quapaw Indians of Arkansas are the focus of this American history lesson. Learners discover many aspects of the Quapaw culture, such as their dwellings, social organization, food, and how the tribe was eventually driven out of...
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Chuck Close Up Close
Young scholars practice the art of storytelling using realistic art. They pick one illustration of a character in the book and create a story about the possible life he lived. The important details that are needed is the name,...
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Japanese and American Values
Ninth graders compare and contrast the values that Americans and Japanese people deem as important. They use the internet and the school media center to find the information in order to answer research based questions.
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KWHL Questioning Strategy Instructions: Siddhartha
". . . gentlenenss is stronger than severity, water is stronger than rock, love is stronger than force." Prior to beginning Siddhartha, employ a KWHL strategy to provided your class members with the background knowledge of Hinduism,...