Curated OER
Thoreau, Emerson, and Transcendentalism
Tackle Transcendentalist literature with these questions. This resource provides 14 essay questions that cover different works by Thoreau and Emerson. Class members may also access an online quiz on the selection using the link at the...
Curated OER
Writing Exercise: Renaissance I
Learners compose answers to three questions related to the rise of the Renaissance. They will compare and contrast the Renaissance to the Medieval Period, consider why ideas from classical civilizations reemerged, and think about the...
Curated OER
East Asia Country Project
Get your young historians thinking about East Asian culture and history during this partner research project, in which they analyze a variety of East Asian aspects to prepare for a presentation. After an initial "what do we already know"...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Study Help Essay Questions
Use these study questions to test your class on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. These mostly higher-level questions have the potential to be test questions, discussion questions, homework questions, or essay questions. The...
Curated OER
The Struggle to End Apartheid
Motivate your class with this learning exercise on apartheid. After responding to several pre-reading questions, learners read and mark 2 articles: 1 about the Soweto Uprising and 1 about Nelson Mandela. They then respond to 4 short...
Curated OER
Shari'ah: An Islamic Law Simulation
Consider the role that shari'ah played in the development of Muslim civilization during the Abbasid caliphate. Learners become acquainted with both the religious and scholarly basis of Islamic law to help them understand the differences...
Media Smarts
Facing TV Violence: Consequences and Media Violence
Make your class aware of the difference between media violence and real violence. Using prior knowledge, a video clip, and a worksheet, class members explore and discuss the unrealistic portrayal of violence in the media. Learners...
Curated OER
New York State Testing Program: English Language Arts Book 2
Practice listening and writing skills with this resource. This is a test created by the New York State Testing Program. Learners listen to a passage called "Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa" twice and write responses to the selection. They...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Night to Life is Beautiful
After reading Elie Wiesel's Night, watching the movie Life is Beautiful, and researching World War II, class members write a comparison essay on the book and film. This includes a prior knowledge activity, discussion in whole and small...
Curated OER
Paper Production
Students compare paper making by hand and by assembly line. In this manufacturing instructional activity, students compare and contrast the two main ways to make paper, by hand or by machine. Students research paper making and have...
Curated OER
Courtship and Marriage
Young scholars research the concept of courtship and marriage as it pertains to early New England and explore the values and culture that shaped our history. In this courtship and marriage lesson, students examine primary source...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Comparing Democracies
Could a president just ignore election results? In this analysis handout, scholars consider this question as they read background information on the 2008 elections in Zimbabwe. Two political cartoons poke fun at President Robert Mugabe,...
Curated OER
The Five Pillars of Islam
In order to better understand Muslim civilization, culture, and politics one must first familiarize themselves on the 5 Pillars of Islam, ideas which dominate much of Muslim societal and cultural norms. Provide your learners with a...
Curated OER
A Practical Experiment In Colonization
Role-play and simulation exercises are fantastic ways to help learners understand the reality behind many social and historical events. Pretending they are colonists, upper graders choose a location, create a history, establish laws, and...
Curated OER
Decimal Problems
In this decimals worksheet, students solve 18 different types of problems that include both decimals and non-decimals. First, they subtract the measurement problems given both in metric units and in US units. Then, students subtract the...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Tuscon Shootings
Approach the 2nd Amendment and gun laws through this political cartoon analysis handout, which outlines the tragedy of the 2011 shootings in Tuscon, Arizona in the context of gun control. Background information gives scholars access to 2...
Curated OER
Two Views of the Slave Ship Brookes
Actual ship diagrams and a table of voyage data gives young historians an authentic glimpse of on-board experiences during the Atlantic Slave Trade. The class examines a projected diagram of the slave ship Brooks, recording thoughts....
Curated OER
The Good, the Bad, and the Goofy
Upper elementary learners read about jobs on a cattle drive and the lives of cowboy during U.S. Westward Expansion. They create a "Help Wanted" poster for one of the jobs. After reading primary source accounts of cowboys, they write...
Curated OER
First Meeting of the Indians and the Europeans
Your class hears a Native American Indian point of view of Europeans' arrival in Louisiana. They assess how cultural perspectives (especially an insider's view) and native language can shape a story. Each pupil identifies the...
Curated OER
Two Settings
Learners respond to the text Riding Freedom. They will compare and contrast two settings by filling in a graphic organizer. They explore different settings, discuss the reasons why settings change, and draw conclusions using descriptive...
Curated OER
Who Fought for the Confederacy?
Did the Confederate Army really consist of southern volunteers? Using primary sources, historians examine the story behind the "Twenty Negro Law" and realities of conscription during the Civil War. A letter and a lithograph (included as...
Curated OER
African Ecology and Art
Explore Samburu culture as students examine art work by many artists and compare and contrast their styles. They view Kenyan images and find Kenya on the map. Students identify conflict in the animal world and draw animals and record in...
Curated OER
Defining Love
After reading and discussing Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, pupils compare/contrast the concept/theme of love within several multiple pieces of literature. They must support their claims with textual evidence. In addition, they analyze...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Concluding the Novel
As I Lay Dying is a beautiful book and a wonderful vehicle for understanding, interpreting, and comparing themes. The class reads and analyzes the novel, discusses possible interpretations, and characterizations. They compare the themes...