Curated OER
American Heroines
Third graders explore the heroines of the Revolutionary War. In this Revolutionary War lesson, 3rd graders read a passage about famous heroines and discuss the trade practiced during Colonial times.
The New York Times
Investigating the Heroin and Prescription Opioid Epidemic
How bad is the opioid crisis in America? Has it gotten worse in the last few decades? Why? High schoolers delve into these questions with a thorough and thoughtful lesson from The New York Times on heroin prescription opioids. Starting...
Curated OER
Tall Tale Rollers
Students explore American tall tales. In this tall tale lesson, students discover the six characteristics that are included in tall tales. Students survey their class to find each student's favorite tall tale character and organize the...
Curated OER
Technology Rich Native American Unit
Student groups retell stories from Iroquois storytellers. They role-play Iroquois women, men and children and explain their roles. They read "Knots on a Counting Rope" and make up their own stories. They create timelines. They visit a...
Curated OER
American Idols
Young scholars design a biographical web for a famous American figure. They identify key research questions and organize information as a prewriting strategy. This can be done individually or as a class, depending on your needs and...
Curated OER
Deborah Sampson: Revolutionary War Heroine
Eleventh graders read the story of Deborah Sampson, who helped bring freedom to the newly organized colonies in their fight for independence from England.
Curated OER
Perspectives of the American Revolutionary War
e purpose of this unit is for students to understand the American Revolutionary War and evaluate different perspectives relative to causes and effects of the war. The concept of perspective is examined in the concept of decision making.
Curated OER
Comparing African, American, and European Folktales
Students find compare an African, Native American, and European folktale. In this folktale activity, students listen to three different folktales before finding the similarities and differences in them. They complete a worksheet of...
Curated OER
Heroes and Heroines of the Underground Railroad System (UGRR)
Fourth graders choose one leader, either Tubman or Coffin, and write a persuasive summary paragraph that explains why the leader displays the character traits of a hero/heroine in the UGRR
Curated OER
Mary Ann Patten: Clipper Ship Heroine
In two groups, students research the history and current building of clipper ships. In this inquiry lesson, students present information and compare and contrast the technological revolution with the development of clipper ships....
Curated OER
Comparing African, American, and European Folktales
Students listen to John Steptoe's story, "Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters," and then identify similarities and differences between an African, a Native American, and a European folktale.
Curated OER
The True Story of Abbie Burgess
First graders read a story from their textbooks about women in the 1850's. They discuss what it was like to be a woman living in American during this time period. They brainstorm heroines of American history and then discuss woman...
Curated OER
By George, I Think We Have It: Bicentennial quarter reverse
Voting is one of the major reasons the US adopted public education. Educate your class populace, they will analyze the images on a bicentennial quarter and think about the contributions George Washington made to the United States. They...
Curated OER
Who's Talking the Talk and Walking the Walk?
Young scholars discover the characteristics that make a hero or heroine. They also look at how society recognizes its heroes and how the nation represents its values and beliefs by researching heroes from the past and present.
Curated OER
Amelia Earhart: Queen of the Air
Students watch a video about Amelia Earhart, an uncommon heroine, a legendary aviator and the center of one of the greatest mysteries of modern time.
Learning to Give
Asian Folktales
A great way to learn to understand people and their environment is to study their folktales. Stories from China, Vietnam, India, Iran, Persia, and Palestine offer an opportunity for readers to investigate the cultures of Asia. A list of...
Curated OER
Do You Prefer Your Children's Book Characters Obedient or Contrary? Opinion Writing
With this New York Times "Learning Network" exercise, high schoolers read an article about the death of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are and then respond to several prompts that require them to shape their own opinions...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Island of the Blue Dolphins
Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question to be...
Curated OER
Making Choices
Students explore the life of Harriet Tubman. They examine a painting of Harriet Tubman and consider the tools used to communicate information about her. Sudents describe how the color of a painting explains the mood of the illustrator....
Curated OER
Social Problems
An adult ESL class brainstorm what they believe to be the major problems in Namibia. In groups, they use the list of problems and put them into the order of the most critical and the reasons why. They research possible solutions and...
Curated OER
O Pioneers! Study Questions
In this online interactive literature activity, students respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about Willa Cather's O Pioneers! Students may check some of their answers online.
Curated OER
The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells
In this literature learning exercise, students respond to 46 short answer and essay questions about The Rise of Silas Lapham. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the selection at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Exploring Women's History
Students read and analyze Jessie Benton Fremont's travelogue of her trip out west in 1849 to identify the gender roles, social attitudes and class distinctions of the time. They then adapt the the travelogue into a film script.
Curated OER
The High and the Flighty
Students study women aviators and act out a talk show-style interview with one of them. They plot Amelia Earhart's flights on a map.