Curated OER
Our Global Community
First graders experience literature which shows how communities live around the world. In this global community lesson, 1st graders read books such as Whoever You Are, by Mem Fox and create a work of art based on their feelings about the...
Curated OER
Pay it Forward
Students explore the basic concept of micro-financing. For this economics/literacy lesson, students listen to One Hen by Katie Smith, in which a small loan changes the life of the main character. Students employ comprehension strategies...
Curated OER
Posters with a "Twist"
Students examine how posters can depict history and reflect societal issues of an era. They apply principles of poster art to create original posters reflecting society in 19th century England.
Curated OER
Connection to the Past
Students learn basic interviewing and biography writing skills. They first identify a senior citizen in their community who remembers the Great Depression.
Curated OER
Reporting A Story: A School Newspaper Activity
Students collaborate to document cultural groups within the school or community. They create a newspaper chronicling different groups within the school.
Curated OER
Traverse City Trouble Makers
Students investigate how to become advocates in an authentic environmental issue, in this case the invasion of the zebra mussel invasion of the Great Lakes. They complete graphic organizers during Internet research, while reading...
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Who's Town is This, Anyway?
Fifth graders work in cooperative groups to simulate a town government as they consider an important change in their community growth. They analyze a real problem in the community and then determine their goals to fix it and make a...
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Examples of Sharing as Told Through a Native American Legend
Students explore community problem solving. In this cross-curriculum literature and social studies activity, students listen to The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tomie DePaola and discuss how a Native American community problem was...
Curated OER
The Lorax
Third graders identify environmental problems. In this natural resources instructional activity students participate in several activities that support critical thinking about the environment and natural resources. The students write,...
PBS
Be the Press: Local Interviews, National News
High school learners research an issue that is important to them and apply the research to write a newspaper article. After thoroughly researching their topic, young scholars strengthen research, analyzation, and writing skills, by...
Curated OER
PSAs: The Way We See It - Uncommercials
Students work in groups to identify a topic or issue that they feel passionate about and produce a short PSA for the topic. In this PSA instructional activity, students select an issue or social problem to research. Students create a...
Curated OER
Land Use and Lawmaking in California
Students investigate the laws of using land. In this California Government lesson, students examine the many uses of land in California and find an environmental issue they care about. Students write a letter to a politician based on...
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The Dangers of Illiteracy
Students consider a fictional situation in which literacy could spell the difference between life and death. They apply their knowledge of how reading empowers people by creating a literacy program that addresses the special needs of a...
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An Apple A Day
Third graders brainstorm a list of how they can tell if someone feels bad about themselves. As a class, they describe three different apples shown to them. Individually, they cut out shapes of apples and color them to place them on a...
Dream of a Nation
Big6 Research Project
Do research projects at your school look like a class of eighth graders staring at a blank screen? Use the Big 6 research method to guide middle schoolers through the process of finding a topic, searching for and evaluating sources,...
K12 Reader
Three Levels of Government
Help your learners work their way through a reading assignment for informational text. Using context clues, they answer five comprehension question based on a short passage about the three levels of government: local government, state...
Curated OER
The Photographs of Dorothea Lange
Students research social-documentary photography using Dorothea Lange’s documentary projects. In this photography analysis instructional activity, students analyze examples of photographs by Dorothea Lange and research one or more of...
Curated OER
Ethics In The Science Classroom - The Landfill
Students discuss the risks a landfill may pose to a community. The setting is a school board faced with a decision about whether to close a school until the landfill is capped (a 3 year period). They are asked to determine how they would...
Curated OER
Helping Ourselves: Why Philanthropy Works
Students discover the concept of philanthropy. In this civics lesson, students investigate the role of philanthropy in our society, and how it makes life better for all.
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American Aloha Lesson Plan: Perpetuating Indigenous Cultural Traditions in Diaspora
Students examine the culture and decline of the culture of native Hawaiian people as the islands were colonized. They study issues of cultural identity for Native Hawaiians.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Elections and Public Policy
Students explore the methods employed by political parties to influence voters. By creating presentations, they illustrate how voters can critically interpret that information. Students compare and contrast the influence of various...
Curated OER
From Crowded Classrooms To Broken Streetlights: Exploring Ways To Effect Change in Our Communities
Students discuss issues of concern to their communities and explore the variety of avenues available for concerned community members to address these issues and effect change.
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Rosa Parks
Students examine the actions of Rosa Parks. They identify the reasons why philanthropy is good for the community and individuals. They write a letter to someone they admire because of their qualities.
Curated OER
The Lorax
Third graders identify and list five problems presented in The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. They relate these problems to current environmental issues and debate how to make a difference then participate in different activities to improve their...