Media Smarts
Movie Heroes and the Heroic Journey
An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...
K20 LEARN
I Need A (Super)Hero: Literary Elements And Narrative Writing
Need a hero? Super! Groups create their modern-day marvel and craft a narrative with all the elements required in such a tale.
Curated OER
Sculpting a Modern Hero
Young scholars examine the sculpture of the Greek hero Herakles. In this visual arts lesson, students choose a modern hero and create a sculpture that features the hero’s identity and attributes.
Curated OER
Sculpting a Modern Hero
Sixth graders examine the sculpture of the Greek hero Herakles (Hercules). In this Ancient History instructional activity, 6th graders discuss how heroes were depicted and what it meant to be a hero in ancient Greece. ...
Curated OER
Writing a News Story
Students practice using their target language by writing a news article. In this foreign language writing instructional activity, students create a fictional "hero" in their city which they write a fictional news article about in...
Curated OER
The Search for Shangri-La
What is your idea of paradise? Middle and high schoolers share their visions of paradise on earth in this lesson, in which they view a video segment about Shangri-La. Your high schoolers can discuss and then write about their ideas in a...
Avi Writer
Crispin: The End of Time
Crispin: the End of Time is the core text for this teaching guide, a valuable resource for those who use Avi's trilogy as whole-class reading, in book circles, or as independent reading.
Curated OER
Role Models
Sixth graders examine the characteristics of role models. For this biography lesson, 6th graders debate the qualities of role models. Students work individually to research a historical or modern role model and create a mini-bulletin...
GCSE Modern World History
Mao's China
Here is a great textbook chapter on China's establishment as a communist state in 1949 and the effects of World War II on the nation. The first page prompts learners to complete a timeline activity as they read the material,...
Curated OER
Personal Odysseys and Everyday Heroes
Ninth graders study Greek Mythology, focusing on Gods and Goddesses. They compare the modern day hero with the classical hero and examine how individual characters are based on their own personal odysseys.
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History by Heroes
Young scholars role play one of the Presidents between 1877 and today. Individually, they use the internet to research the President through official documents, political cartoons and various editorials. Throughout the year, they are...
Curated OER
A Different Kind of Rock Star: Part 2
Students examine our society's fascination with Mars. In this journalism lesson students read an article that outlines the various ways Mars has captured our imagination and are given topics for discussion and a chart to...
Curated OER
Modern-Day America: Ronald Reagan Presidency to 9/11
Young scholars examine contemporary America. In this contemporary American history lesson, students watch a DVD titled "Modern-Day America," discuss the events depicted in the video, and create memorials for those who perished in the...
Curated OER
The Stranger Redeemed: A Portrait of a Black Poet
Read and analyze poems by African-American authors. Using the text, they identify the various patterns, subjects, language and dialects used. Then team up to compare and contrast the various authors and define new vocabulary. The lesson...
Curated OER
Biography Flashcards
Students choose a modern biographical figure and research that person on the internet. They write a page summary of the person's life and collect images of their person to include in the report. They glue everything to tagboard to create...
Curated OER
Teaching Mythology Lessons in a Creative Way
The key to understanding mythology can lie in finding lesson plans that hook students on this fascinating part of history.
Curated OER
Man's Best Friend
Learners compare human and dog senses. In this biology lesson, students describe different ways that dogs help humans. They research and create a presentation about a modern dog hero.
New Museum of Contemporary Art
Lesson: Unmonumental: Fallen and Disappearing Monuments
Due to vandalism, war, and urban decay, many of the world's great monuments have fallen to ruin. Here is an interesting lesson that increases understanding of the dichotomy between what are intended as lasting tributes, and their...
Curated OER
Sequencing a Chinese Folktale
Students sequence the events of the popular Chinese folktale "The Terrible Nung Gwama" using a graphic organizer. This instructional activity takes 45-minutes and includes two possible enrichment activities.
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Maniac Magee: Questions to Foster Discussion
This resource provides 11 short answer questions and a couple of extension ideas related to part one of Jerry Spinelli's novel about a feisty runaway. Not reproducible, but the questions (which address vocabulary, inference, recall,...
Curated OER
Greek Mythology: Cultures and Art
Young scholars examine literary arts. In this Greek mythology lessons, students read Greek myths and select characters from the myths to study. Young scholars create watercolor illustrations of the characters, write short stories about...
Curated OER
Prometheus, the Firebringer
Students explore the world of Greek mythology by studying briefly each of the Gods.
They explore the visual world of Greek mythology in ancient art and architecture and create original play-lets based on authentic myths through creative...
Curated OER
Historical Witness: Social Messaging
Students examine the persuasive techniques of leaders. In this propaganda lesson, students discover the practices that Louis XIV and Caligula used to persuade others. Students watch "The Merchants of Cool" and discuss propaganda used...
Curated OER
Greek Mythology
Sixth graders investigate the concept of Greek Mythology and conduct research using a variety of resources. They read literature pieces and then write responses to the readings. Students also view a video in order to create the context...