Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drumbeats and Heartbeats

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students explore some of the battles of the Civil War through music, literature, and art. The use of the drum on the battlefield and the reflections and emotions of the drummer boys are examined.
Unit Plan
San Francisco Symphony

Biographical Slideshow

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Biographies can be a fun topic for any history project. Learners choose one famous person that lived between 1865 and 1930 to research. They gather information, work on reading comprehension, and use what they find to create slide shows...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The John Travolta Syndrome

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students examine the influence of music and film on contemporary fashion. For this popular culture lesson, students research select films featuring John Travolta. Students research selected time periods in American history as well....
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo Without Stereotypes

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Put more meaning into your Cinco de Mayo party with geography lessons, literature, and more!
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baroque Composers

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders study Baroque composers. In this music lesson plan, rotate trough three stations, collecting information on particular Baroque composers. Worksheets, information cards, and procedure included.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mississippi Delta Blues Moves: Second in a Series of Three with Barb Hoffman and Steve Hoskins, MGM

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students complete a graphic organizer reviewing Barb Hoffman's prior lesson," Slave Songs (1840-1876)" as well as listen to and discuss Delta Blues music samples. Students research one Delta Blues singer and write a "color coded"...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lift Every Voice and Sing

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students analyze sculpture, poetry, and music to gain an understanding of historical events. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at African-American history as they examine "Lift Every Voice and Sing'"...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bob Dylan: No Direction Home

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students hold panel discussions on selected topics about the 1960s and their impact on modern-day events. As visual reinforcement, they watch the film about Bob Dylan and research the music of the period as well as his musical...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Arts of the Gilded Age

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the art forms of the Gilded Age. In this integrated arts lesson, students research the art, music, dance, and drama of the historical era and then create their own personal projects that exemplify the time period.
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

The Collaborative Works of Rodgers and Hammerstein: Show Business

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students study the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein in an historical context of the development of American musical theatre as an art form. Students explore "roots" of the genre as it evolves in last half of the 19th and first two decades...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The New Deal: North Carolina's Reconstruction

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders study North Carolina's reconstruction through an interdisciplinary project that emcompasses social studies, language arts, visual art, music, and technology.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Songs of Unrest - Lesson 4

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students identify popular songs from 1968 and make connections with the year's current events. They pretend that they are producing a new CD. The CD includes four songs that comment on today's social issues. They write the liner notes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Urban Concentration and Racial Violence

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students research one of the many urban race riots in U.S. history, from the New York City riots during the Civil War to the "Red Summer of 1919" or the hate-strikes of 1943. They present their findings in the form of a newspaper's front...
Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

1960's Protest Songs

For Teachers 4th - 8th
By learning about 1960's protest songs, and the politics of the era, students can broaden their understanding of music and history.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and  investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Letters from the Japanese American Internment

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Learners examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Westward Movement

For Teachers Pre-K - 8th
Students study the westward movement through examining stamps. For this westward movement lesson plan, students draw conclusions, determine cause and effect relationships and examine the westward movement of the United States by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Under the Spell of Spiders

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

How Size Shapes Animals

For Teachers Pre-K - 3rd
Learners investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. In this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once learners create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fossils Footprints Across Time

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plants and Animals, Partners in Pollination

For Teachers 4th - 7th
Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Learners bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. In this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...