Lesson Plan
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Changing Images of Childhood in America: Colonial, Federal and Modern England

For Teachers K - 4th
Students compare and contrast maps of New Haven, Connecticut from today and the past. After taking a field trip, they draw sketches of the types of architecture and discuss how the buildings have changed over time. They read journal...
Lesson Plan
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Walking Down Main Street: The Changing Times of a Railroad Town

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students explore the historic district via a scavenger hunt. For this community history lesson, students complete a scavenger hunt using historic postcards and clues as guides. Students create a timeline demonstrating changes of the area...
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People Change the Landscape

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students examine ways in which humans have brought change to the natural environment. In this ecology and literacy lesson, students listen to the book Island Boy by Barbara Cooney. Students observe and define map-reading vocabulary as...
Lesson Plan
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Westward Expansion : Mapping

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders travel along exploring the expeditions of John F. Fremont. In this Westward expansion lesson plan, 5th graders gain understanding of the events that shaped the west through the use of maps. Students use mapping skills to...
Lesson Plan
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Understanding Climate

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders create two dioramas out of household materials to compare the influence of various factors that impact climate. Each group discuss how the change in factors influenced the climate, flora, and fauna of their area.
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Survivor

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders investigate changes in the ecosystem within the school year. They see that ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms are dynamic and change over time. They, in groups, collect data in quadrants in the fall,...
Lesson Plan
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Exploring History Through Photographs

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders compare and contrast photographs from the 1800s to those of 2003. In groups, they create drawings of how society has changed over time and use maps to locate local streets. Individually, they practice measuring the...
Lesson Plan
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Artists, Architects, and Architecture

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students are introduced to the concept of architecture and how it has changed over time. In groups, they discuss how the places people have built reflects their values and needs. They use the internet to research the history of...
Lesson Plan
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ABC Scavenger Map

For Teachers K
Students explore phonetics by participating in a class game. In this alphabet sounds lesson, students collaborate in a ABC's activity where they identify a random letter, the sound it makes, and place it in it's correct spot on a mat....
Lesson Plan
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The Delicate Balance - Iowa's Natural Resources

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Discover the natural resources in Iowa by studying it's history. In this environmental lesson, your students will observe a topographical map of Iowa and identify where its most valuable resources are. They complete an Iowa name...
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The Gullah People of the Sea Islands

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders examine the lives of the Gullah-Geechee people. In this unique cultures lesson, 8th graders explore music, language, and slavery of the Gullah-Geechee people from the southern low-country in the United States. Students...
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Inuit Lesson

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate the Inuit People. In this Inuit lesson, students locate where they live on a map, outline their history and describe their lifestyle. Students play Inuit games, practice using the Inuit alphabet and examine the...
Lesson Plan
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Observing Weather

For Teachers All
Students investigate the weather by reading children stories.  In this weather observation lesson plan, students read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and several other stories about weather before they create a KWL chart....
Lesson Plan
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The Alphabet is Historic

For Teachers K - 9th
Students describe how the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans passed down the alphabet through the generations. They compare and contrast the letters from early alphabets to the one of today and discuss how they are different. Using a map,...
Lesson Plan
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Strawberry Girl: Life on the Frontier

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore geographic changes by researching the state of Florida. In this Florida history lesson, students identify the storms and disasters that have created sinkholes in portions of Florida. Students read the book Strawberry...
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Sky 2: Shadows

For Teachers K - 2nd
Students explore space science by participating in a shadow experiment. In this sky observation lesson, students identify how the sun creates different sized shadows by moving across the horizon. Students utilize yard sticks, markers,...
Lesson Plan
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Historical Atlas

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders evaluate how revolutions have affected the world throughout history (i.e. boundaries of nations, culture, economics, etc...) through the research for and creation of a historical atlas for assigned countries.
Lesson Plan
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Science Trail

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun lesson, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Young scholars create a sundial and observe the...
Lesson Plan
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Music from Across America

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners complete a unit of lessons on a variety of types of American music. They record their impressions of music samples on a worksheet, identify types of instruments, and choose a musical selection for their family to respond to.
Lesson Plan
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From Sheep to Rug

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Ever wonder where wool comes from? How it is used to make a woven rug? Introduce the Native American craft of rug making to your preschool or kindergarten class with a discussion. Learners examine and discuss images of a Native American...
Lesson Plan
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Finding Meaning in the Badge

For Teachers Pre-K - K
Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The instructional activity is discussion-based and requires learners to...
Lesson Plan
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Traveling Southern Style: A Lesson on the Jim Crow Laws

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders create a poster of a travel route. In this discrimination lesson, 3rd graders read The Gold Cadillac and use it to discuss the problems African Americans faced while traveling south in the 1950's. Students compare three...
Lesson Plan
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Greeks Around the World: A Case Study on Greek Diaspora

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students gain an understanding of the concept of Diaspora relating to Greeks. They use guided discovery to apply the geographic inquiry model to an examination of the reasons for Greek Diaspora.
Lesson Plan
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African American Life in the Pee Dee Before the Civil War

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine the life of the African American in the Pee Dee region during slavery.  In this slavery lesson plan, 3rd graders explore primary and secondary documents related to the topic and create a timeline of when...