Curated OER
What's In Your Bag?
Guess what is in the bag! Use this lesson at the beginning of the year to discuss appropriate items for 4th grade students to have in school. Each group develops a list of appropriate items as well as inappropriate items, and discusses...
Digital Public Library of America
Teaching Guide: Exploring Little Women
Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...
Describing Egypt
Horemheb - (18th Dynasty)
Who was Horemheb and why is his tomb so famous? An fascinating resource uses virtual reality tools and even comes equipped with the ability to use a VR headset. Learners view information panels to the side of the location to understand...
Curated OER
Protest Music Video
Students use iMovie to express the meaning and context of a protest song from the '60s or '70s. They explore different views of the protest movement and gain an understanding of the emotional and political overtones of the times.
Curated OER
Options and Extras!!! Learn All About It!
Eighth graders are asked what is the process of transitioning and why is it important? They listen as the counselor reviews the information from the pervious lesson. Students review peer sharing about what they have been taught and what...
Curated OER
The Great Migration
What a terrific instructional activity! Have your class learn about immigration using this resource. Fourth graders discuss the Great Migration in Ohio through art, writing, and discussion. Afterward, they create a presentation in which...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Ruta Sepetys
Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...
Curated OER
The Early 19c: The Creation of an American Culture
Full of good information and photos from the 1700's to the 2004 election, this powerpoint could be a great resource in a lecture about American nationalism. While the slides require commentary and smooth transitions (as well as a little...
Curated OER
Protest Music Video
Students create an iMovie that expresses the meaning of a protest song from the 1960's or 1970's. They investigate the emotional and political overtones of the times and use images to interpret the song's meaning.
Curated OER
Sybil Ludington's Ride - a poem
Fourth graders examine the role a teen from the Hudson Valley played in the American Revolution. They view the map of Sybil's ride and calculate the distance using the map's legend.
Curated OER
Past and Present
High schoolers research their community history and choose on aspect to create an iMovie on. They use digital photographs and old images of community place that show how they have changed.
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Grass Born to Be Stepped On
Students use the Internet and other resources to research an aspect of history that illustrates rights and responsibilities, including historical events, issues and ideas, and the people involved.
Curated OER
Cultural and Social Transformation since 1865
Students research the evolution of cultural and social issues in areas of Westward Expansion, Immigration, and Civil Rights. They practice writing clear details with supporting evidence and examples and evaluate ways of improving drafts...
Film Foundation
Film Language and Elements of Style
How do you read a frame? How do you read a shot? Here's a resource that shows viewers how to read films. As part of the study, class members examine the camera angles, lighting, movement, and cinematic point of view in Mr. Smith Goes to...
Curated OER
Where in the World Am I?
Students participate in mapping activities to explore an area from different spatial perspectives. In this mapping lesson, students define the terms needed to understand a map. Students use representations such as a balloon and a...
Curated OER
Fourth Grade Earning and Learning Podcast
While this lesson plan is connected to social studies curriculum that is not identified, the activity could be used as a template for a review of any material. The lesson plan focuses on a review of vocabulary relating to the economy....
PACER Center
The Peer Advocacy Guide
Teasing, mocking, and disrespect can be the hallmarks in the life of those with disabilities. Disrupt the cycle of abuse with a toolkit designed to turn peers into advocates for all those who are bullied. Everything needed to create a...
Curated OER
Ancient History Cyber-Journalists
Students describe and assess circumstances surrounding a major historical event from the ancient world by using Internet (and other) resources to research its location, people, and repercussions, & write a newsletter that summarizes...
National First Ladies' Library
Designing the Common School: The First Educational Reform
Middle schoolers perform preliminary research to explore education before public (common) education was in place. They design a public educational system of their own. Middle schoolers construct a report outlining challenges and...
Curated OER
Coming to America
Students present tableaus showing scenes from The Memory Coat, a book about immigration. For this tableau lesson, students examine the cover of the book and make predictions about what is happening and who the people are. They...
Curated OER
What's Mongolia Really Like?
Students look at rural Mongolian nomadic culture through the eyes of a Peace Corps Volunteer and examine the dynamics of a people in transition. They give one important reason for migration from a rural to an urban setting and explain...
Curated OER
Holocaust Research Project
Students research multiple aspects of WWII. In this Holocaust lesson plan, students will use several primary source documents to write a 3 page pater on subjects concerning WWII, such as Kristallnacht, Ethnic Cleansing and the Holocaust.
Curated OER
Continents and Oceans on the Move
Students create an awareness of the vast percentage of water covering the earth. They relate similarities/differences between topographical maps and other maps of various time periods. Students examine how to use a topographical map.