Curated OER
The Art of El Anasui: Creating a Mural with Discarded/Recycled Objects
Students create murals that feature recycled objects. In this West African art lesson, students examine artwork by El Anatsui and his commentary on social issues. Students then create murals in the style of El Anatsui using discarded...
Curated OER
Human Settlement and Movement
Students are introduced to the way humans have settled and moved throughout history. In groups, they compare and contrast the settlement and movement of two different ethnic groups. They discover why some are more dominate in an area...
Curated OER
Immigrants to Kansas: Why Did They Come
Students explore U.S. History by researching Kansas. In this immigration lesson, students discuss the benefits of immigrating to a state like Kansas in the 1800's while writing their thoughts and research in a reporter's notebook....
Curated OER
The Roman Calendar: The Fabric of Our Time
Fourth graders explore the Roman origins and evolution of our calendar.
Curated OER
Views of the American West: True or False?
High schoolers explain that a landscape painting may or may not accurately represent a specific place. They identify techniques that create the illusion of three-dimensional space on a flat surface.
Curated OER
Japan: Images of a People
Students learn the geography of Japan and its location in reference to the United States.
Curated OER
Lift and Drag: Principles of Flight and the Soaring Imagination
Learners construct models of early gas balloons and gliders. In this balloon and glider lesson, students create models of early gas balloons and gliders, discover how the forces of lift and drag effect aircraft in flight, and put on...
Curated OER
Suffering and Sunset: An African American Artist's Impression of World War I
Students study paintings by a Pennsylvania artist, Horace Pippin, to explore African-American contributions in World War I. They create presentations based on their impressions of the artwork.
Curated OER
Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Students read the novel "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry". Using the text, they gather information on how and why the Civil Rights Movement began. They use excerpts from Martin Luther King Jr's speeches to discuss the issue of equality....
Curated OER
The Freedom to Fight
Students study the African American troop experiences in the Civil War. In this American history instructional activity, students examine primary and secondary sources regarding the experiences and contributions of African American...
National Endowment for the Humanities
From Courage to Freedom: Slavery's Dehumanizing Effects
Learners analyze slavery and its effects on humanity using Frederick Douglass' autobiography. In this slavery instructional activity, students analyze instances of reality and romanticized myth using a slave narrative. Learners explore...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart: Oral and Literary Strategies
Readers are first introduced to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart by making a map of Africa. They will better understand the novel's historical and literary contexts, European and African literary traditions, and how...
Curated OER
Baga Drum
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
Curated OER
Investigating Human Behavior
Students explore the Holocaust and themes such as prejudice and discrimination.
Curated OER
Keep Your Eye On the Prize
High schoolers learn about citizens who were actively involved in the civil rights movement, and the strategies they used to overcome the Jim Crow laws that were so prevalent in the 1960s. They investigate the voting amendments of the US...
Curated OER
Comparing/Contrasting Northern Life to Southern Life
Students compare and contrast the lives of African Americans who moved North vs. those who stayed in the South during the era of Jim Crow Laws.
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Confronting the Murder
The 1955 murder of Emmett Till is often regarded as the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Learn more about the brutal crime—and, as many believe, the miscarriage of justice—that began a national conversation...
Curated OER
Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
Curated OER
Land, Liberty and the Struggle for the American Dream
Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class. In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...
Curated OER
Tracing Genetic Ancestry Using DNA Microarrays
High school learners read and discuss an article about genetic ancestry and genetic ancestry testing. They complete a paper and pencil activity that mimics the function of a DNA microarray and consider the ethics of genetic testing in...
Curated OER
Rosa Parks Changed the Rules
Students listen to a story about Rosa Parks and examine the bus seating rules of the 1950s. In this civil rights movement instructional activity, the teacher reads students a book about Rosa Parks, then students complete a worksheet...
Curated OER
Thanks Be To You
Students research U.S. history by completing a worksheet activity in class. In this historical figure lesson, students identify the contributions and risks taken by the former African-American leader Martin Luther King Jr. Students read...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Slavery and the American Founding: The "Inconsistency Not to Be Excused"
High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery lesson, students investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution, and the intent of the...