Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critical Thinking Strategies

For Teachers Pre-K - 12th
Teach your readers to be critical thinkers. A strategy is outlined that can be used to compare and contrast entities. An example lists four states. The learner removes one state that "does not belong" in the list for some reason, and...
Handout
Conneticut Department of Education

Instructional Strategies That Facilitate Learning Across Content Areas

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Imagine 28 instructional strategies, appropriate for all subject areas and all grade levels. Directed Reading-Thinking Activities (DRTA), Question-Answer Relationship (QAR) activities, KWL charts, comparison matrixes, classification...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Strategy for Elementary Students

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Learners of all ages solve historical mysteries. Elementary learners research historical topics by organizing information presented by their instructor, formulating hypotheses, and considering solutions to mysteries presented about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Survivor Game

For Teachers 1st - 5th
Learners discover competition and trickery by participating in a class game. They participate in a role-playing game called "Survivor" in which students utilize critical thinking skills to identify who is the "Bad Guy." Students win the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Critical Thinking Strategies

For Teachers K - 12th
Students explore critical thinking strategies. In this critical thinking lesson, students evaluate multiple choice answers. Students note similarities between incorrect answers and discover how to compare and contrast incorrect and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tobacco: Promotion Tactics and the Law

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Youths aged 13 & 14 are most likely to notice and remember in-store tobacco promotions. Class members dissect tobacco advertising tactics and learn about relevant legislation by participating in guided discussion. Assessing...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Cartoons for the Classroom: Higher Education Issues

For Students 9th - 12th
As your college-bound scholars prepare to leave the nest, this political cartoon analysis will have them thinking about current issues facing their generation. Background information helps them access 2 political cartoons regarding...
Lesson Plan
iCivics

Step Eight: Positions, Please!

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Everyone sees the results of public policy, but not everyone understands the strategy that goes into creating an effective one. Now that your class understands the brainstorming process from earlier in the series, they continue on to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reaction Time 2: Zap!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Learners explore critical thinking by conducting a reaction time experiment. For this human brain lesson, students utilize a timed Internet worksheet activity to research how fast their brain works when answering questions. Learners...
Lesson Plan
American Battlefield Trust

Civil War Battle Strategy

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
But for a fluke, 1862 could have gone differently during the Civil War. When Union troops found Robert E. Lee's battle plans for critical engagements in Maryland wrapped around cigars and tossed aside, history changed forever. Class...
Lesson Plan
Newseum

Am I Being Fair?

For Teachers 7th - Higher Ed Standards
Young journalists use four strategies from an "Am I Being Fair?" tip sheet to check for and counter personal biases about a topic. Scholars apply the strategies to an article about the best pizza as guided practice. Participants then...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

36 Public Policy Questions to Energize Your Government/History Classroom Debates

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Need topics that are sure to engage your debaters? This list of public policy questions includes such topics as school mascots, regulation of major league baseball, physician-assisted suicide, and violence in video games. A great...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Iraq's Latest Strategy: Suicide Attacks

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This discussion based lesson focuses on the sensitive topic of suicide attacks or bombings used throughout history during times of militaristic upheaval. Learners read news stories, compose journal entries, and engage in a class...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applying KWL Guides to Sources with Elementary Students

For Teachers 2nd - 7th
What is a KWL chart? Here is a well thought-out activity that has learners use KWL charts to gain historical perspective. Your class examines primary sources about historical events and identifies what they know, want to know, and,...
Lesson Plan
Minnesota Literacy Council

Introduction to Historical Thinking

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Christopher Columbus: hero or villain? Prepare class members for the debate with activities that asks them to think critically about how history is reported.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Colonialism in Africa

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students examine Africa from a regional perspective. They appreciate the historic and geographic relationships that unite and divide the regions of Africa. Students create a comprehensive document outlining problems in the assigned...
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
Curated OER

The March Continues

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Young scholars explore the Civil Rights Memorial. For this character development and U.S. History lesson, students employ reading comprehension strategies while reading a news article about the Civil Rights Memorial. Young scholars work...
Unit Plan
New York City Department of Education

Egypt

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
This six-week unit encompasses all subjects with a focus study on world history and the development of ancient civilizations. As gifted and talented students dive into the interesting yet challenging topic of Egypt, they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Violence Prevention

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Compare and contrast the ideologies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle schoolers conduct research regarding civil rights and rhetorical strategies used in political speechs. They examine the strategies that both men employed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Community Helpers

For Teachers K
Kindergartners learn who community helpers are and what contributions they make for the community. They will hear a story outlining various community helpers, their jobs, and tools, create a graphic organizer connecting community...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wagons Ho! Hard Times! Hard Choices!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
You have just hit the lesson plan jackpot! This isn't just a instructional activity, it's a ten-day unit covering westward expansion, pioneer life, and the Oregon Trail. Activities include baking, model building, role-play, newspaper...
Worksheet
K12 Reader

An Independent Nation

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
If your kids are curious about the American Revolution, help them understand more about its background with a reading passage and comprehension questions. Kids use context clues to answer each question, some of which require more...
Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Marian Wright Edelman

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Marian Wright Edelman's 2014 Commencement Speech at Lewis and Clark College serves to inspire young scholars to investigate a problem in their community, to determine why the problem is important, and then to develop a plan for one thing...