Activity
Teaching Tolerance

Identity Artifacts Museum

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Who are you? It's a simple question, but younger learners have the opportunity to express their complex identities by making artifacts that represent parts of their identities. After engaging in the activity, they share who they are with...
Lesson Plan
Teacher.org

The History of Thanksgiving

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
The first Thanksgiving is the focus of a lesson that boosts reading comprehension and interview skills. Half the class reads about Pilgrims while the other half reads about the Native American, Squanto. After answering questions, pupils...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pudd'nhead Wilson: Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Get your pupils thinking about some of the big ideas present in Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson with this anticipation guide. Learners decided if they believe a series of statements are true or false. A discussion follows.
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African American Inventors in History

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A two-part activity introduces young historians to the work of famous African American inventors. Groups first research and develop a presentation of an inventor that includes biographical information and information about one of their...
Lesson Plan
Advocates for Youth

What Does It Take to Be a Good Parent?

For Students 7th - 12th
Are the teenagers in your class ready to become parents? Have them complete a few life-planning activities, including a parental interview, a role-play exercise, and the classic flour sack baby exercise, before allowing them to assess...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

The Power of the Majority over Thought

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
While Alexis de Tocqueville mourned a lack of "freedom of discussion" in America in the early republic, today's pupils are concerned about peer pressure. Using excerpts of de Tocqueville's writing and discussion questions, scholars...
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Election Day, November, 1884" by Walt Whitman

For Teachers 6th - 12th
To begin a study of Walt Whitman's poem, "Election Day, November 1884," learners first call out a word or two that describes their reaction to the recent presidential election. They then read an encyclopedia entry about the Presidential...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Birmingham, 1963: Spring Jubilation Part 2

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
The release of Martin Luther King, Jr. from the Birmingham jail, the Children's March, and the bombings of the Gaston Motel and the home of Reverend A.D. King's home. As part of a study of the civil rights movement, class members...
Activity
IB Psychology

Key Terms Traffic Lights

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How much does your class know about psychology? What about empirical evidence? If they could use some time to learn the essentials of psychology, use a quick reference sheet to note what they know before the test, after the unit, and at...
Unit Plan
US Department of Agriculture

Serving Up My Plate

For Teachers 5th - 6th Standards
Within three nutrition-themed, inquiry-based learning opportunities, pupils take notice of their eating habits; delve deep into the five food groups, gain experience in planning meals, participate in a taste test, and explore ads...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Word Problems

For Teachers 8th Standards
Use several skills to solve word problems leading to systems of equations. Scholars define variables and write equations to model situations described within word problems. Pupils solve the resulting system of linear equations using...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching With Documents Lesson Plan: "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy"

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Your class examines F.D.R.'s speech for examples of repetition, alliteration, emotionally charged words, etc. They listen to the speech and interview a person who heard it delivered. They finish by writing an article about the experience.
Lesson Plan
West Contra Costa Unified School District

Solving Radical Equations

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
How can you make solving radical equations more engaging? Provide your math class with a hands-on activity that focuses on solving radical equations with flash cards. A warm-up and exit ticket flank direct instruction of the steps...
Lesson Plan
PBS

The Supreme Court: Define and Classify the Powers Associated with Federalism

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Federalism may sound to some like one, big vocabulary word ... but it is much more than that. A short video introduces class members to the powers associated with the Supreme Court and its role in balancing the powers under federalism.
Lesson Plan
Newseum

From the Front Page to the History Books

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young journalists compare news coverage of four major events with how the same events are covered in historical accounts. The ensuing discussion asks class members to compare and contrast the role of a reporter and the role of a historian.
Lesson Plan
Newseum

Bias Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young journalists use the E.S.C.A.P.E. (evidence, source, context, audience, purpose, and execution) strategy to evaluate historical and contemporary examples of bias in the news. The class then uses the provided discussion questions to...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

"From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," Claudia Rankine

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Claudia Rankine's poem "From Citizen, VI [On the Train the Woman Standing]," asks readers to consider direct and more subtle forms of prejudice. After discussing the format of the poem, its tone, and the emotions expressed, class members...
Unit Plan
Columbus City Schools

It’s Electric!

For Teachers 7th Standards
Shocking! Who knew so many great ideas existed for teaching middle schoolers about electricity? Find them all within this energetic framework. You'll light up at the variety of printable and web-based resources within! After building...
Activity
NASA

The Types of Clouds and What They Mean

For Teachers K - 3rd
Learn to forecast the weather using cloud types. Budding meteorologists identify cloud types and learn to use a dichotomous key. As scholars develop observation and identification skills, they discover how different cloud types cause...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech as Visual Text

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young historians watch a video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech and answer questions that test their knowledge of the event. After discussing the fact sheet, they reread the speech, select a phrase or...
Writing
Curated OER

Freedom for the Chilean Miners

For Students 7th - 9th
Have your class read this seven paragraph article about Chilean miners who were trapped and freed from a mine. There are five comprehension questions, a verb-to-noun matching exercise, a role-play suggestion, and a creative writing task...
Lesson Plan
Nebraska Department of Education

Coat of Arms

For Teachers 8th
After discussing the significance of a Coat ofArms, eighth graders design their own to represent their strengths, values, goals, and culture.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Writing Process- Prewriting Using Collaboration

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
After a class discussion on strategies pupils can use to pre-write, learners are given a topic which they use to guide them in selecting a book to read. Everyone uses a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to write down information from the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Drama

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Introduce your class to drama! You cast each pupil as a different character from a story you have read. They are given a general outline of the scene, act out the scene multiple times, then discuss the weak and strong aspects of each...