Curated OER
Family Album
Kids of all ages discover their family histories through pictures. First, flip through the PowerPoint provided (or consider making one of your own). It should show pictures of your family and have clear, easy to understand sentences that...
Curated OER
Role Models
First graders identify heroes by researching their family history. In this personal heritage lesson, 1st graders define the term "hero" and the characteristics that represent it. Students research family resources and family trees in...
Curated OER
"Me and My Family Tree"
Young scholars explore genealogy by reading a family history book in class. In this family tree lesson, students read the story Me and My Family Tree by Joan Sweeney and discuss their own family history. Young scholars identify what the...
Curated OER
Long Ago & Maybe Far Away
Students organize and make plans to interview their relatives about their family history and view any heirlooms, diaries or photographs their relatives may have kept over the years. They write and illustrate the story of their family's...
Curated OER
Family Culture:
Students tell about their family heritage by writing a story and illustrating it with a picture of a family item.
Curated OER
Lesson: A Garden Party of My Own
Kids look at a beautiful work of art to practice grammar, make connections from life to art, and sketching. They identify all the parts of grammar they see in the image, discuss what they see and do on a picnic, and then draw an imaged...
Curated OER
Family's Tree House
Students research their family history and graph it in a family tree format. They appreciate similarities and differences in various cultures and customs by comparing and contrasting their family trees. They then create an original...
Curated OER
Depicting Motherhood in Family Stories
Students explore triptychs. In this art history instructional activity, students define the terms "photograph" and "triptych". Students discuss changes that occur between mothers and daughters and create an original triptych using...
Curated OER
Lesson: All in the Family
Who was the Radcliffe family? Young learners find out about the life and times of a family from long ago. They analyze the family portrait, write a story about the family, and then use their story to create thought or word bubbles which...
Curated OER
Depicting Motherhood in Family Stories
Students examine the roles of mothers and grandmothers by looking at black-and-white photographs of one American family and comparing that family's multi-generational story with their own. In this mothers and grandmothers lesson plan,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
History in Quilts
Learners investigate the use of cloth-based art forms intended to pass down traditions and history. They research types of quilts, quilt characteristics and then identify how Freedom Quilts were historically used in the US.
Curated OER
Creating Identity Posters
Students discover the identities of their classmates. In this tolerance lesson, students create individual posters showcasing their identity, history, and family background. Students examine the posters to get a better understanding of...
Curated OER
Quilting
First graders investigate the color spectrum by painting their own pictures. In this artistic expression lesson, 1st graders discuss their own families and create ways to express their culture and family history on a picture quilt....
Curated OER
Family Origins and American Cultural Pluralism
Students explore, analyze and discuss family origins, special legacies, and racial/cultural groups in literature and art that exposes them to positive examples in African-American history and culture. They encounter examples from dance,...
Curated OER
Family Portraits
Young scholars discuss, analyze, and interpret "Portrait of a Dutch Family" by Fans Hals and then create subject specific projects for assessment. This cross-curricular lesson is well-suited for Language Arts or Visual Arts classrooms...
Curated OER
Native Lands: Indians in Georgia
Students investigate the Native Americans of the Muscogee Creek and their use of the land. In this U.S. history lesson plan, students investigate the importance of the deer for the Muscogee Creek peoples' way of life and the many uses...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Celebrating and Remembering
Help scholars understand the history, geography, traditions, and art of Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Find background information for your reference as well as a detailed cross-curricular lesson plan. Learners compare...
Curated OER
We Can Win Too
Young scholars explore world history by illustrating an image. In this Mexican culture lesson, students identify the history of the holiday Cinco De Mayo and discuss the challenges the Mexican army faced. Young scholars illustrate a...
Denver Art Museum
My Animal Symbol
Here is an art lesson that combines visual arts and language arts into one very nice package. In it, youngsters study a fascinating painting called Painting of Bear and Sun Dances. They begin to understand the importance of traditional...
Curated OER
Stories in Quilts
Have your class analyze the narrative art in quilts. They identify elements in this domestic art and the stories they tell. They define a story quilt, view an example, and analyze the work of Harriet Power. This is a great instructional...
Smithsonian Institution
Our Story: Duke Ellington and Jazz
Get parents or guardians into the swing of things with a jazzy homework assignment. A detailed six-page guide provides before, during, and after reading suggestions for Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, Andrea Davis...
Curated OER
Pilgrim's Progress- Get on the Boat
Students investigate the Pilgrims and their journey. In this history lesson, students role play the journey of the Pilgrims and discuss the conditions of the Mayflower. Students record their feelings about the "journey" in a journal.
Curated OER
Zora Hurston Teacher's Guide
Students explore American culture by reading classic literature in class. In this African-American history lesson, students read the story Zora Hurston and the Chinaberry Tree while identifying the work and contributions of the real life...
Curated OER
Family Picture Quilt
Learners explore family backgrounds and traditions while discussing how memories are preserved. In this patchwork quilt lesson, students create a keepsake by compiling pictures, drawings, and magazine clippings of things that are...