Annenberg Foundation
A Growing Global Power
How does a nation turn into a global superpower? The 16th installment of the 22-part series on American history investigates the rise of the United States to global importance in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Groups...
Annenberg Foundation
The New Nation
The conclusion of the American Revolution brought about a new conflict—choosing the stye of government for the newly formed United States. Using the views of both Federalists and Anti-Federalists, learners work in pairs and groups to...
Curated OER
Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Exploring the Lives of Black Women During the 19th Century
Young scholars learn how to read and interpret various primary and secondary sources and how to use them to draw conclusions about the issues that the authors faced during the nineteenth century. They read historical narratives...
Curated OER
Comparing Themes Across Texts
Read various texts to compare the themes across each text. Learners write a journal entry describing the most beautiful scenery they've seen and use a map of the United States to locate the Sequoia National Park and Muir Woods. They then...
Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
San Bernardino Co. Supt. of Schools
Was Julius Caesar a Good Leader for Rome?
Learners consider the various perspectives that different groups in Roman society may have had for Julius Caesar, such as Roman soldiers, senators, the working class, and slaves. The primary activity involves a reading of Caesar's...
Curated OER
As You Like It
High schoolers use online resources in order to examine patterns of imagery in As You Like It. By comparing these patterns to those of other Shakespeare plays, students draw conclusions about the different reasons Shakespeare uses...
Curated OER
A Sense of Place
High schoolers evaluate stories, customs, and pieces of literature and draw conclusions about people who have lived in New Mexico. They analyze how water helps define the character of an area.
Curated OER
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery
Students read selections from the Declaration of Independence, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Wilmot Proviso of 1846. They contrast the maps of 1820 and 1854 to analyze developments in the national debate over slavery. They...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Ocean Acidification
Human impacts on the environment can sometimes be difficult to measure, especially under water! An activity centered on ocean acidification gives science scholars the opportunity to examine the effects of carbon dioxide on marine life....
Curated OER
A Race to Watch: Campaign 2008, The Role of Technology and the Internet
Pupils listen to a statement about the role the Internet plays in the political process and respond by placing a card under the appropriate agree/disagree sign at the front of the room. Students brainstorm reasons to select their choice....
Curated OER
Identifying Science Fiction
Students discuss works of science fiction that they read, highlight aspects that made each a part of science fiction genre, identify formal literary elements, and discuss ways each can be developed through science fiction.
Curated OER
Weed Management Conflict
Students read and discuss conflict resolution scenario relating to weed management, role play members of different interest groups, prepare presentations and present to City Commissioners, and choose best land-use option.
Curated OER
Making Connections
Students identify the main ideas in a passage from literature, and in a painting, and justify their conclusions using logic and language arts skills.
Curated OER
Fathers and Sons in Henry IV
Learners explore the power struggles in England's history using Shakespeare's Henry IV. In this Shakespeare instructional activity, students write answer to journal questions about the play and discuss specific passages. Learners work as...
Curated OER
Sex Stereotypes in Society
Students analyze a collection of advertisements or photographs in a text or magazine and identify the stereotypes used or possible biases of the editors. They discuss how these stereotypes are formed, and the ways in which they impact...
Curated OER
Civil Rights Violations In America, A Historical Review
Learners analyze an event where a person or groups of people were singled out because of their race, religion, nationality or sexuality. They interpret the song "Scarecrow" by Melissa Etheridge and apply the lyrics to the events they...
Science 4 Inquiry
Enzymes in Action
Enzymes play a role in almost every function in the human body. Scholars explore three variables related to the use of enzymes. They observe a catalase reaction, experiment with substrates, and examine reactions rates.
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing lesson. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The lesson includes several options to complete...
California Academy of Science
Nuclear Energy: What's Your Reaction?
OSHA confirms that rules governing worker safety at nuclear power plants ranks higher than worker safety in offices. Scholars must consider safety, cost, alternatives, and other factors before recommending whether a town should build a...
Curated OER
Turning the Tide in the Pacific, 1941-1943
Students explore the overall strategies pursued by the Japanese and the Allies in the initial months of World War II. What each side hoped to accomplish what what actually happened forms the basis of a comparison made in this lesson.
Curated OER
An Early Threat of Secession: The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Nullification Crisis
Students examine the controversies over slavery's expansion and how the federal tariffs further entrenched the dividing line between northern and southern interests.
Curated OER
A House Dividing: The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America
Young scholars explore the debates over American slavery and the power of the American federal government for the first half of the 19th century and how the regional economies and political events produced a widening split between the...
Curated OER
Slavery's Opponents and Defenders
High schoolers explore the wide-ranging debate over American slavery and the lives of its leading opponents and defenders and the views they held about America's "peculiar institution."