Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
European Explorers
To compare how the Spanish, French, and English approached the exploration of North America, class groups examine primary source documents and become experts on one of four explorers: Francisco Coronado, Robert LaSalle, Samuel de...
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Then and Now: Public Health from 1900 to Today
Throughout the 20th Century, the world has become a healthier place. By examining the public-health issues and diseases doctors faced during the 1900's, students will compare and contrast life from today vs. life in the 1900's. Their...
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Exploration of 'pill bugs'
Fifth graders define words. They create a dichotomous key. After carefully examining pill bugs, 5th graders record observations. They compare and contrast habitats of pillbugs.
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The Colonization of the United States
Bring the Age of Exploration into the 21st century with this ancestry activity! Learners get a chance to explore the complex genealogy of the Spanish settlers through watching two video clips (approximately five minutes each) featuring...
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5 Broken Cameras: How Storytellers Shape the Story
5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...
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A Togolese Tale: The Big Fire
Students identify common elements found in folk tales and read a Togolese folk tale told by Fred Koehler. They analyze the folk tale for its elements and compare and contrast it with well-known Western folk tales.
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Geography, Climate, and Community in the Dominican Republic
Students examine primary source materials on the Dominican Republic in an exploration of how environment influences lifestyles. They compare and contrast life in the Dominican Republic with life in the United States.
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Same, But Different
Students compare and contrast specific characters in the book, "Old Henry." They discuss similarities and differences between people and define character traits. They assess one's own character traits and have a class discussion about...
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Lesson Plan: Spain has its own immigration issues. How does it compare to ours?
Students investigate the issue of immigration in North Carolina and Spain. They compare/contrast immigration in both and exchange opinions about possible solutions. In addition, they write an essay proposing North Carolina solutions...
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Lesson Plan Project
Students demonstrate the composing of a string quartet piece by working together in small groups to write a short composition based around a pentatonic scale for all four instruments. They evaluate their peers compositions by...
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ALIKE, DIFFERENT, OR BOTH?
Students compare and contrast two characters from the play The Diary of Anne Frank on a Venn diagram and write a paragraph showing similarities and differences.
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Ellis Island/Angel Island
Fourth graders research Ellis Island and Angel Island. In this library media lesson, 4th graders use resources from the library to locate facts about Ellis Island and Angel Island. Students construct a Venn diagram to compare and...
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Political Issues Survey
Fifth graders develop and conduct a survey regarding issues in a current political campaign. They distribute and collect the surveys, input the data using a spreadsheet program, and compare/contrast the recorded results.
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Graphing and Analyzing Biome Data
Students explore biome data. In this world geography and weather data analysis instructional activity, students record data about weather conditions in North Carolina, Las Vegas, and Brazil. Students convert Fahrenheit degrees to Celsius...
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How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations
Students explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing poems...
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Communication Comparisons
Students investigate various methods of communication. In small groups, they conduct Internet research, compare/contrast three methods of communication, and complete a graphic organizer.
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Poetry - Landscape, Comparison, and Critical Response
Young scholars compare and evaluate landscape poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, students read poetry by Owen Sheers that describes place/landscapes. They read and compare two similar poems before looking at visual images related to the...
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Insect Models
Students construct an insect model. In this "insects" science and art lesson, students complete a KWL chart about 'insects," then view several interactive websites to become familiar with insect traits. Students construct an insect model...
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African Americans in California’s Heartland – The Civil Rights Era
Events related to the Civil Rights Movement in Sacramento, California during the 1960s offer class members an opportunity to compare the nonviolent resistance approach favored by Dr. Martin Luther King and the NAACP with those of the...
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Teaching Selected Poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems
Students explore the basic elements of poetry through Appalachian life poetry. In this poetry lesson plan, students read seven poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems and complete poetry analysis activities for each poem.
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Dark Days on the Prairie
Fourth graders research the location and causes of the Dust Bowl in 1935. In support, they interpret photos from that period in Oklahoma history, They also compare/contrast the American Dust Bowl to the dust storms that occurred in...
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Trade and Travel on the Overland Trails
Pupils compare and contrast trade routes. In this trade route lesson, students explore the Oregon Trail and the Santa Fe trail. Pupils compare and contrast the purposes for these trails.
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Comparing the Oneota of Wisconsin to the Aztecs of Mexico
Students study the Oneota Indians of Wisconsin. They compare and contrast them to another group of natives in the Americas around the same time. They conduct intelligent discussion of the Oneotas that gives evidence to support statements.
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George and Sam Save for a Present
Third graders develop their algebraic thinking by recognizing a variety of patterns using concrete objects, numbers, tables, and pictures. For this George and Sam Save for a present lesson, 3rd graders communicate their mathematical...