Interactive
PBS

Exploring the Drive to Create in Frankenstein

For Students 10th - 12th Standards
Is it hubris that drives the creative process? Is it the desire to be remembered long past death? An interactive asks readers of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Percy Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" to consider what this wife and...
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Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

George Washington: General, President, Slave Owner

For Teachers 8th
Times change; behaviors that were once considered acceptable can be seen in a very different light. Middle schoolers revisit the legacy of George Washington in a three-day lesson plan that uses primary sources to reveal Washington as a...
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Lines Written in Early Spring" by William Wordsworth

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
William Wordsworth's poem "Lines Written in Early Spring" lets learners sharpen their observation skills. Class members first closely examine the image "Flowers in Front of an Abandoned House in Demerino, Russia," listing what they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tall Towers

For Teachers K - 2nd
Linear measurement is the focus of this math lesson. Youngsters work in groups to build towers with blocks. They build towers represented on index cards and determine how many blocks taller one tower is.
PPT
Biology Junction

Water Biomes

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Water covers more than 70 percent of Earth's surface. Scholars learn about both freshwater and saltwater biomes in a simple presentation. They compare and contrast the differences in oxygen levels, food sources, and sunlight to better...
Unit Plan
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Curated OER

Earthquakes: First Grade Lesson Plans and Activities

For Teachers 1st Standards
First graders explore how earthquakes release energy in a set of hands-on activities. During the pre-lab, they discover how energy from an earthquake releases waves through the earth using a water-filled cup and...
Lesson Plan
Simon & Schuster

Les Miserables Classroom Activities

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Modern readers apply classic themes to Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables. After they discuss tricky vocabulary and plot elements from the novel, class members compare Hugo's written work to a stage or film adaptation of the...
Activity
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Pearl Harbor Activity #2: Why Do Words Matter?

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Words matter! That's the big idea behind an activity that asks scholars to replace words in FDR's "Day of Infamy" speech with synonyms. They then listen to a recording of President Roosevelt's address and compare his version to their own.
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Facing History and Ourselves

A Contested History

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Memories of and interpretations of history change—that's the key takeaway from a lesson plan that has young historians compare the story of the Reconstruction Era as told by the historians of the Dunning School to the view of scholars...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Women in the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Vivandieres and cantinieres, nurses and soldiers, loyalists and unionists. A primary source set provides young historians an opportunity to investigate the many roles women played in the United States Civil War. 
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

The Immigrant Experience

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
The Buttonhook by Mary Jo Salter is the focus of a unit that explores the immigration experience to Ellis Island. First, scholars bring in an artifact that represents their heritage. A group-exercise allows them to share and discuss...
Lesson Plan
Newseum

Weed Out Propaganda

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Young scholars study four essential propaganda techniques: Simplification, Exploitation, Exaggeration, and Division (S.E.E.D.). Individuals select an example of propaganda from the past and present then compare how the key elements have...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Emancipation Proclamation: Expanding The Goals Of The Civil War

For Teachers 8th
Should Juneteenth be recognized as a national holiday? To prepare to take a stance on this question, young historians first analyze the Emancipation Proclamation and compare it to Lincoln's first Inaugural Address. Scholars then read an...
Lesson Plan
Newseum

Give Women the Vote? Analyzing Suffrage Propaganda

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Propaganda is often used to shape public opinion. Scholars investigate the persuasive techniques used by the pro- and anti-suffrage movements. Groups compare how these devices were used during the suffrage movement with how the same...
Handout
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Tutankhamun

Pharaohs, Pyramids and the World of the Gods

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Your young historians will learn all about the pharaohs, pyramids, and gods of ancient Egypt with these informational text worksheets, each of which are accompanied by hands-on, follow-up activities.
Lesson Plan
American Institute of Physics

African American Physicists in the 1960s

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...
Lesson Plan
MENSA Education & Research Foundation

Kingdom Animalia: Classifying Animals

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Six lessons, extension activities, and an assessment make up a series of lessons curated to reinforce the concept of classifying animals. Each informative and interactive lesson attributes to the knowledge of the seven levels of...
Lesson Plan
Pace University

Urban Communities

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
Urban communities are the focus of a series of lessons created to meet specific needs using differentiated instruction. A pre-assessment designates scholars into three groups based on their ability level. Small groups take part in...
Lesson Plan
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Election Issue Comparison Chart

For Teachers 9th - 12th
As part of a study of the issues raised in the 2020 presidential election campaign, class members investigate and then create a pro-con comparison chart that reveals each candidate's position on a variety of issues.
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: “Thanksgiving” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Victor Laredo's painting "On the Beach" and Ella Wheeler Wilcox's poem "Thanksgiving" allow young scholars to use their noticing skills. Class members identify elements of the painting the artist uses to create the feeling of...
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

What Is Poetry?

For Teachers 7th Standards
The first activity of 12 in a poetry unit asks class members to develop their own definition of poetry. After crafting a response, they examine a variety of examples and decide if the resources are or are not poems.
Lesson Plan
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Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

The Revolutionary Times as Seen Through the Eyes of Women

For Teachers 8th Standards
The role of women before and during the American Revolution changed dramatically. To gain an understanding of these changes, middle schoolers analyze primary source documents, including letters from women that supported the patriot cause...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A set of 14 primary sources provides background for a study of Lorraine Hansberry's drama, A Raisin in the Sun. Featured are images from stage productions of the play, white supremacy protests, a clip from a television interview, and...
Lesson Plan
Newseum

Persuasion Portfolios

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
After class members brainstorm a list of current social and political issues, groups each select a different topic from the list to research. Teams create a portfolio of at least 10 examples of stories about their issue, stories that...

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