Santa Ana Unified School District
The Giver
Wouldn't it be great to live an a community without pain, without danger? Such a society is the goal of the community in The Giver. Using Lois Lowry's dystopian novel as the core text, class members read primary source materials about...
NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive essay...
Henry Ford Museum
Human Impact on Ecosystems
An environmenta science unit includes three lessons plus a cumulative project covering the ecosystem. Scholars follow the history of the Ford Rouge Factory from its construction on wetlands and how it destroyed the environment to its...
Chemical Education Foundation
Teacher's Guide to Science Projects
Do you find the idea of having a science fair with all of your learners intimidating? Use a guide that provides everything you need to know to make project-based learning manageable. The resource includes options for four different types...
Dream of a Nation
Creating Awareness through Action Oriented Writing and Research
Middle schoolers aren't too young to feel strongly about politics, social issues, consumer rights, or environmental problems. Demonstrate the first steps toward social change with a project about action-oriented writing. Eighth graders...
Water
Global Water Supply Middle School Curriculum
We take a steady shower stream and clean drinking water for granted, but in many countries around the world, the lack of water or a clean water supply is responsible for higher sickness and death rates. Taking a closer look at the water...
North Carolina State University
Exploring Genetics Across the Middle School Science and Math Curricula
Where is a geneticist's favorite place to swim? A gene pool. Young geneticists complete hands-on activities, experiments, and real-world problem solving throughout the unit. With extra focus on dominant and recessive genes, Punnett...
Curated OER
Voices from Little Rock: Understanding the Civil Rights Movement through Primary Sources
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement, class members examine documents associated with the Little Rock Nine, the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the US Constitution, and chapters from Melba...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Media Literacy
Young learners today are bombarded by media manipulation. Help them develop the skills they will need to become savvy 21st century media consumers with a unit on media literacy.
PBS
Act of Duty
PBS provides educators with this "Utilization Guide," a four segment program that covers the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam, and the Gulf War. The 42-page packet includes lessons, background...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
EarthViewer
Can you imagine Washington DC and London as close neighbors occupying the same continent? Learners will be fascinated as they step back in time and discover the evolution of the earth's continents and oceans from 4.5 billion years ago to...
National Library of Medicine
Electricity, Frankenstein, and the Spark of Life
Shocking! After viewing a short clip from the 1931 movie, Frankenstein and reviewing electricity references in Mary Shelley's novel, class members examine Luigi Galvani's and Alessandro Volta's observations on electricity and muscle...
Boward County Public Schools
Hoot Activities
If you're looking for engaging, cross-curricular, inquiry-based activities and projects to support your class reading of Carl Hiaasen's Hoot, you've come to the right place!
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 3 Day Lesson
Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...
Staples Foundation For Learning
The President’s Desk
What stories can a desk paperweight and picture frame possibly tell us about the president of the United States? Pupils are transported to the desk of President John F. Kennedy through an engaging interactive site. The guide offers a...
Foreign Policy Association
U.S. and Europe Online Lesson Plan
Class groups investigate the economic and political implications of a country's policies on genetically modified foods, craft a position paper detailing that policy, and share their findings with the class. Armed with this information,...
Poetry Society
War Horse and WWI Poetry
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library. As part of their study of War Horse individuals create an anthology of World War I poetry.
TCI
Dreams Progress
Has society progressed to the dream Martin Luther King Jr. expressed in his famous address during the civil rights movement? Learners work with a partner to analyze one excerpt from King's "I Have A Dream" speech and find a current image...
Curated OER
The Chronicles of Narnia
Designed to be used after a reading of C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and after a viewing of the film, the packet includes discussion topics, activities, and projects. A must-have resource for...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Citizen Letters to President and Mrs. Roosevelt Concerning the Depression
A letter addressed to President Roosevelt and another addressed to Eleanor Roosevelt offer insight not only into these two amazing historical figures, but also into the struggles people faced during the Great Depression.
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address
Young historians will learn not to fear primary source materials (or fear itself, for that matter) thanks to this resource that uses Franklin D. Roosevelt's March 4, 1933 Inaugural Address to model how to conduct a close reading of such...
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Excerpts from Fireside Chat on Economic Conditions
Franklin D. Roosevelt's April 14, 1938 Fireside Chat on economic conditions provides young historians an opportunity to polish their primary source comprehension skills. A great resource to add to you curriculum library.
Humanities Texas
Primary Source Worksheet: Udo J. Keppler, “Next!”
Standard Oil's stranglehold on the US government is the subject of a 1904 political cartoon. Kids use the questions on the provided worksheet to prompt their analysis of this primary source.
Brown University
Culture Connect: Experience the Culture of the World
A rich series of activities introduces learners to the concept of culture by closely examining the behaviors, practices, and art of three distinct peoples: the Highland Maya of Guatemala, the Hmong of China and Southeast Asia, and the...