Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Great Expectations
Learners can use this worksheet to discuss the expectations placed on the Obama presidency. Included are two cartoons to analyze, a web site to visit, several great discussion questions, and a short activity. This is one worksheet that...
Curated OER
Political Cartoons: Literacy
Readers decode and deconstruct political cartoons to heighten critical thinking, extra-textual literacy, and making meaning from symbolism and metaphor. A compatible activity to use in English class when your 8th or 11th graders are...
Curated OER
Sentence Completion 6: Low-Advanced SAT Level
Consider using this activity, another in a series of sentence completion exercises, as the basis of a lesson on test taking or comprehension strategies, as a critical thinking exercise, or as extra practice for up-coming standardized...
Curated OER
People of the Arctic
Read to learn all about the religion and belief systems of the Arctic-dwelling Inuits. This resource includes an easy-to-follow reading passage that is seven paragraphs in length, and five great critical thinking questions.
Curated OER
Why Did King Henry VIII Divorce Catherine of Aragon?
Why did King Henry divorce Catherine of Aragon, and how did he make divorce possible? Young historians will read through each informational slide to learn the story of Catherine of Aragon, King Henry, and Anne Boleyn. They will then...
Curated OER
Nov. 4, 2008 | Obama Is Elected President
Read this interesting background information regarding the presidential election of 2008. Your class will read the provided passages and then answer four critical thinking questions that require them to consider the reading and what they...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment
Pain and suffering do not have to be inevitable in a study of Crime and Punishment. A carefully scaffolded instructional activity introduces readers to the divided natures of the characters in Fyodor Dostoevsky's complex novel....
Curated OER
Daily Life in Spanish St. Augustine 1565-1763
How do we know so much about the past? A student-crafted presentation provides viewers with images of artifacts from St. Augustine, Florida that give historians and archaeologists clues into lives already lived.
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Essays
One of these things is not like the other. But, so what? Why is it important to examine the similarities and differences between two entities? Here's a presentation that shows viewers how to go beyond a mere listing to create and...
Digital Public Library of America
Ida B. Wells and Anti-Lynching Activism
A packet of 13 primary sources provides young historians with insight into the anti-lynching activism of civil rights Ida B. Wells. Included are images of Wells, her letters, a political cartoon, newspaper lynching announcements, and a...
Digital Public Library of America
The Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Escaping Enslaved people attempting to escape didn't need a ticket to ride on the Underground Railroad. Here is a packet of primary sources that reveal the kind of courage and determination they did need to face the challenges to gain...
Newspaper Association of America
Cereal Bowl Science and Other Investigations with the Newspaper
What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...
Digital Public Library of America
Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi
Good primary resources, offering different perspectives on important issues and events, are hard to find. A packet of 12 primary source images, videos, audio recordings, records, and newspaper articles related to the 1960s civil rights...
Academy of American Poets
Teaching the Vietnam War with Poetry and Archives
The language of and the perspective of photographs, poems, and official reports differ. After a close reading of two photographs, two poems, and a military report about the Vietnam War, individuals adopt someone's voice or something from...
National Woman's History Museum
How Do We Remember and Honor the Contributions of Women in Public Space?
Public art, especially monuments and memorials, are designed to celebrate and honor those who have made significant contributions to a community or even an entire nation. Here's a instructional activity that asks scholars to consider who...
Curated OER
Word Pair Analogies 10: Low-Advanced SAT Level
Analogy exercises are a great way to build vocabulary and critical thinking skills. To select the pair of words that represents the same relationship as the initial pair, learners are instructed to construct a bridge sentence that...
Curated OER
Dance Challenge: Calculate and Compare Speed by Measuring a Series of Dance Movements
Really neat! Kids choreograph a dance phrase and then measure the distance and speed of the phrase using a timer and a meter stick. They collect the data on a table which they use to determine an average. A series of observation and...
Curated OER
Trey and Dave go to Africa: Music
Trey from Phish and Dave from the Dave Mathews Band took a trip to Africa to explore music, culture, and history. Your class watches this episode from VH1's Music Studio to understand how African culture and music have influenced modern...
Curated OER
Anne Frank: Critical Thinking
Students read a story by James Clavell about propaganda and they discuss how it was used in the story. In groups, they decide what they would do if faced with certain situations.
Curated OER
Writing Exercise: Protestant Reformation I
Use this writing exercise to help learners develop an understanding of the Protestant Reformation. They answer two critical thinking questions related to the success and conditions that mad the reformation possible.
Curated OER
The Third Estate
Kids read a translated version of Abbe Sieyes' document, The Third Estate. This document is shown in its original form and as an English translation. After reading the text they answer three critical thinking question to show their...
Curated OER
Benito Juarez
Read and work to understand the words of Benito Juarez. An excerpt from the primary source document La Reforma is the focus of this worksheet. Learners will read the excerpt, then answer three critical thinking questions.
Curated OER
Detective Fiction: Focus On Critical Thinking
Turn your 6th graders into detectives while growing their love of reading. Using critical thinking skills, they will be able to describe the five basic elements of detective fiction, read detective novels, make predictions, use the...
Curated OER
Lesson: Sensing a Different Way
Problem solving and creative thinking are top priority in an interesting lesson. Learners explore how they can think creatively to use four common objects in three different ways, they discuss senses and using senses differently to...