Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Priorities and Power: Migrants and Voting

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers examine the African-American migrants entry into the political process. They summarize their findings in a short essay.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

For Teachers 9th - 11th
Students investigate the global importance of the African and Asian countries that export petroleum. They access the OPEC website and research this organization. They answer questions and write an essay about alternative energy sources.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Under the Spell of Spiders

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Students will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Sahara: Home of the Tuareg

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students research and analyze the Tuareg and other groups as well, including their own, and examine the impact culture has on environment.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: African Floor Maps

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students explore the African continent and identify the various countries there. They examine the history, geography, environment, and inhabitants of the countries. Students create maps of Africa using a variety of materials.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching About Trade in the Ancient Mediterranean

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders examine the trade routes in the Mediterranean of the Ancient world. In groups, they view slides of artifacts while answering questions on a worksheet. After watching a video, they discuss how each object was found and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Stories of the Wrights' Flight

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners examine and compare primary and secondary source accounts of the Wright brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

the International Criminal Court's History And Uses

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers analyze and come to explain the history behind the formation of the International Criminal Court, along with the recent controversy facing the Court; and current crises that warrant the Court's attention.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lewis and Clark: The Language of Discovery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars replicate some of the trailblazing methods of Lewis and Clark on a fifteen-minute "writing journey" through the school or neighborhood.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Apes To Man

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study primates and their evolution history.  For this role play lesson students view a video on evolution then demonstrate how primates walked and other observations they noticed in the film. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fighting for Democracy, Fighting for Me

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students consider how African American responded to social injustice. In this social injustice lesson, students compare and contrast the visions of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois for obtaining civil rights for African Americans.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jackie Robinson, Civil Rights Activist

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students analyze the life of Jackie Robinson and determine which characteristics contributed to his success as the baseball player who broke the color barrier and as a political activist.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Learning About the Civil Rights Movement Through Photographs

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students examine the racial inequality that existed in the United States before the Civil Rights Movement. After listening to song lyrics and viewing photographs, they discover the importance of the movement in helping society move...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Antisemitism in Early America

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the rise of antisemitism in the United States in the early 20th century. After reading a passage concerning one man's ordeal, 11th graders discuss how the civil rights of minority groups has been viewed in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

In the Struggle for Equality and Justice for All

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners focus on the struggle for minorities rights. They describe the civil rights movement of the late 1950's and the 1960's. They trace the roots of the movement in the second-class treatment accorded many black Americans and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Suffrage? Understanding the Right to Vote

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students discover one of the restrictions forced on women of the early 1900s. In this civil rights lesson, students investigate suffrage and why women were not allowed to vote in the early twentieth century. Students create a mock...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dubois and Washington Venn Diagram

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Pupils compare and contrast the visions of W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington. In this African American history instructional activity, students read biographies about both men and create a Venn diagram about the men.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

New Movements For Social Justice: The Latino Struggle for Equal Rights

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students examine myths and stereotypes about Hispanic immigrant groups. They appreciate and share the strengths of their diversity and view films that challenge ideas about education and cultural values. They explore the Latino Rights...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Family Quilt

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the artwork of Faith Ringgold. They create their own quilt pattern on fabric and piece them together to create a class quilt. They compare their similarities with one another.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Philanthropic Literature: Quilt to Freedom

For Teachers K - 2nd
A reading of Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson launches this study of slavery, freedom, and the Underground Railroad. After a discussion of the importance of showing respect for others and of helping each other in...
Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Watching Crystals Grow

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the social and political events in Virginia linked to desegregation and massive resistance and their relationship to national history. They examine the "Jim Crow" laws and how they affected the lives of African Americans...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

G8: Classroom Activities

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Learners explore the G8 Summit. In this current events lesson, students research the provided web links to learn more about the summit. Learners research issues to be debated at the summit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Commonalities and Differences from Africa to Cleveland as Evidence Through the Gullah Community Connection

For Teachers 10th - 11th
Students explore Afro-American history. They identify the commonality between African, Carolinian and Cleveland Black culture. Students explore the water cycle, oceanography, hydrology and bio-geochemical processes. They discuss the...