California Department of Education
Evaluating Web Sites
If it's on the Internet, it must be true—right? How can someone tell if a website contains less-than-truthful information? Savvy surfers evaluate sources in the fifth of a six-part college and career readiness instructional activity...
National Woman's History Museum
Country to City
After reading a series of primary source documents, groups compare the lives of and opportunities available to rural and urban women in the 19th century to rural and urban life in the 21st century. As an exit ticket, individuals craft a...
Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They then...
Curated OER
Online Behavior: Privacy and Ethics
Over the course of three classes, tech-saturated youth review their cyber portraits, map their virtual lives, examine their relative anonymity, and establish a "virtual conscience" to guide choices that foster privacy protection and...
C-SPAN
Debates
How do the presidential debates of 2016 compare to the debates from the 1980's? What about the 1960's? Evaluate a chosen candidate or issue from the 20th and 21st centuries with a lesson plan focused on political debates. Middle and high...
The Guardian
A Timeline of Women's Right to Vote
Which countries implemented women's suffrage before the 19th amendment went into effect in the United States? Which countries still do not allow women to vote? Watch the global spread of women's rights in an interactive timeline that...
Curated OER
Curriculum Guide For Teaching Texas History
Follow Texas history from Native Americans all the way to the 21st Century. Teachers analyze the creation of a year-long course on Texas history and use a wide range of teaching subjects and materials to guide them through the state's...
Curated OER
The Colonization of the United States
Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...
Rockefeller Archive Center
Understanding Mass Media News
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted lesson...
Curated OER
Public Speaking and Persuasion - Improve Your School!
Present vital information and persuade your audience. The class views and discusses two video segments regarding a Chinese school government election. They prepare and deliver persuasive speeches that require them to describe how they...
Curated OER
Learning, Communication, and 21st Century Skills: Students Speak Up
Learners brainstorm to come up with examples of things they do with computers and write them down for the class to observe. They then raise their hands to respond to each survey question, tallying their answers on the board and engage in...
TCI
Celebrating Our Constitution
School House Rock's "Preamble" launches a study of the Preamble of the US Constitution and the relevance of this 200 year-old document today.
New Hampshire Bureau of Adult Education
Dystopian Literature: from Fiction to Fact
Imagine an entire course devoted to dystopian literature. If that concept appeals to you, check out this course that uses 1984 as the anchor text and includes classic short stories as well.
Curated OER
Technology in the 21st Century
Pupils participate in a discussion on how breakthroughs in communication technology shape the future of the world.
Curated OER
Frontline Muslims: Overview of Muslim History and the Spread of Islam from the 7th to the 21st century
Students gain insight into how and when Islam was spread to various regions from the 7th century to today. They are able to identify and asses the importance of cultural and political factors in the spread of Islam and the effect it has...
Austin Independent School District
Forearm Pass/Setting
Here is a beautifully designed volleyball lesson plan on the forearm pass/bump and overhead pass/set. It includes a detailed multimedia presentation and set of instructional guidelines, skill cues, and lists of strategies for...
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.
Facing History and Ourselves
Preparing Students for Difficult Converstaitons
Many of the issues facing 21st Century learners are challenging and even discussing these issues can be a challenge. So how do teachers prepare learners for these difficult conversations? How do instructors create a safe classroom where...
Media Smarts
Authentication Beyond the Classroom
In an age of fake news, alternative facts, and Internet trolls it is essential that 21st Century learners develop the skills they need to authenticate the facts in viral news. Here is a great way to begin with a resource that provides...
Curated OER
Fabulous, Fractured Fables
Elementary schoolers develop an awareness of the literary form known as the fable. They explore how authors write fables to pass along moral lessons. After reading and discussing many famous fables embedded in the plan, learners attempt...
Curated OER
Learning with Roald Dahl
Engage critical thinking, comparison skills, and 21st century learning while celebrating a beloved author. Each idea found here provides ways to incorporate beloved Rol Dahl titles and new learning mediums.
Curated OER
Eloquent Words
Logan’s Lament, a speech delivered by Mingo Chief Logan in 1774, provides pupils with an opportunity to not only study the historical events surrounding the battle between Native Americans and the Europeans for the West Virginia...
Annenberg Foundation
Analyzing Artifacts
If only a mask could talk! Using the interactive tool along with historical thinking skills, pupils uncover the meaning behind the various materials the resource presents. History becomes more relevant as the artifacts tell their stories...
Curated OER
Women Writers and Dissent in 20th and 21st Century American Literature
Tenth graders read examples of writings by women authors showing their dissent. After completion of their reading, they brainstorm on why they believe female authors have criticized society. In groups, they use the Internet to research...