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Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: Joseph Glidden's Barbed Wire

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Barbed wire may have made cattle farming easier, but it brought to an end the free-roaming days of the plains. No longer could Native American groups continue their nomadic lifestyle, and the days of cowboys herding large groups of...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Suffragist Susan B. Anthony: Petitioning for the Right to Vote

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
What is the best way to get a point across: a petition or a protest? Using primary sources, including a petition from Susan B. Anthony and a photo of a White House protest from the early 1900s, young historians examine what women did to...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: J.W. Davis and Levi Strauss's Fastening Pocket Openings

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Commonplace today, the zipper and button construction of blue jeans was a major innovation. Using the patent for the J.W. Davis and Levi Strauss innovation, individuals comb an image of the fly for clues. Afterward, they discuss its...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Believe it or not, the plugs and wires on Alexander Graham Bell's patent application for telegraph improvements has a direct connection to devices today. Young historians examine the fine details of the patent application. After they...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Patent Analysis: Thomas Edison's Lightbulb

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Watch lightbulbs go off in learners' heads as they look at a patent for Thomas Edison's most famous invention. After examining the light bulb patent, young historians speculate on how the invention changed life in the 1880s and its...
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Lesson Plan
Nemours KidsHealth

Germs: Grades 3-5

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Infection prevention is the focus of two lessons. In activity one, scholars take a brief quiz, survey peers, and discuss prevention techniques to stay healthy. Lesson two examines how germs work—transmission, symptoms, treatments, and...
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Lesson Plan
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Teaching Tolerance

Where We Stand

For Teachers 3rd - 8th Standards
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Academics learn strategies to share their opinions and agree or disagree with others in a respectful manner. The resource provides scenarios to help individuals form opinions and share them with...
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Activity
US Department of Commerce

Apportionment: Grades 3-4

For Teachers 3rd - 4th Standards
Apportionment is a big word for young pupils. Use a helpful cartoon video and worksheet with data set to help them understand how the census fuels representative democracy. After examining how the census determines the number of seats a...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Post-1865: Effects of the War

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
What did Lincoln want? Historians still debate this question, and perhaps people will never fully know. Class members examine the legacies of the war, including the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. The lesson plan also...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Creating a Historic Site Lesson Plan

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
What makes a place historic? Using events from their own lives, learners consider this question, then deem places from their world historic. They then curate the experience for visitors, creating signs and other materials for their...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Preserving the Memory

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Civil War battlefields themselves are under siege by development and other forces. Using materials from the Battlefield Trust, individuals explore local areas that face threat and write letters to support their preservation. An...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1864-1865: Bringing the War to an End

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
The Civil War—in its breathtaking ferocity—came to a close in 1864. However, turmoil echoed throughout the country's politics, including the presidential context between Lincoln and McClellan. Performing chronology and primary source...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Civil War Play

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
Everyone has a role to play. Young scholars step into history by taking on the roles of soldiers—both male and female—during the Civil War using a fictionalized play of what life was like on the battlefield. Pupils also examine the roles...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1861: The Country Goes to War

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
What was it like to know the Civil War was coming? Using a graphic timeline activity and excerpts of speeches from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, learners consider the early days of the conflict. The resource includes prompts for...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Life at War

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
It looks like a cracker, but hardtack was anything but. The staple of the Civil War soldier's diet is one of many aspects of military life that scholars consider using letters from soldiers back home and images from slavery. A PowerPoint...
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Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

1862: Antietam and Emancipation

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
The Emancipation Proclamation shifted the tone and purpose of the Civil War. Using a primary source analysis, pupils consider the significance of the document. A second activity investigates the founding of the United States Colored...
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Unit Plan
New York City Department of Education

Grade 3 Literacy: Investigating Sharks

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Shark! Scholars read about sharks in Facts about Sharks by Susanna Batchelor. They then pretend they are shark scientists and choose a shark they want to study. Learners research their sharks and record information in graphic organizers...
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Lesson Plan
National Woman's History Museum

Women of Wonder: Who Do I Admire?

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
Celebrate superwomen during Women's History Month with a lesson that showcases a variety of female role models. Following a whole-class discussion on superheroes, role models, respect, and admiration, scholars listen to several...
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Unit Plan
Purdue University

Animal Diversity and Tracking

For Teachers K - 5th Standards
What exactly are those glowing eyes in the night? Learners run an experiment to attract local wildlife and then document the number of visitors by identifying their tracks. They then analyze the data to draw conclusions about the types...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading about Freaky Frogs: “The Amazon Horned Frog"

For Teachers 3rd Standards
The Amazon Horned Frog is the focus of a activity designed to encourage readers to ask and answer questions. A frog-themed poem opens the door to a whole-group discussion. Following a read-aloud of an informational text, a three-page...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Asking and Answering Questions: Studying the Skin of a Frog

For Teachers 3rd Standards
English language arts and science combine in a lesson that focuses on asking and answering questions about frog skin. Discussion, a read-aloud, and partner work lead the way towards a three-page worksheet that tests learners'...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading about Freaky Frogs: “The Water-Holding Frog"

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Boost reading comprehension skills with a lesson all about freaky frogs. A poem hooks scholars and takes them into a reading of an informational text followed by peer discussions. A three-page worksheet focuses on text features and...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Reading about Freaky Frogs: “The Glass Frog”

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Freaky frogs are the focus of a lesson plan designed to boost reading comprehension skills using text features and asking and answering questions. Informational text and a poem supply scholars with animal-related vocabulary and facts. A...
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Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Mid-Unit Assessment: Close Reading of the "Spadefoot Toad"

For Teachers 3rd Standards
A mid-unit assessment challenges scholars to use their close reading skills to identify the main idea and key details. After reading a brief excerpt, learners answer a series of questions—multiple-choice, short answer—complete a graphic...