Education World
Thinking About Thanksgiving: Lessons Across the Curriculum
Bring two integrated curriculum resources about Thanksgiving to an elementary social studies unit. The first activity focuses on Squanto's contributions to the early Pilgrims' survival with a gardening activity in which learners add fish...
Curated OER
Trekking to Timbuktu: A Center of Trade
Students conduct online research regarding the origins of the city of Timbuktu and discover why it became such an important place. Students write about the city's origins until it became a part of Mali.
Curated OER
Historical Air Photo Interpretation
Young scholars identify and analyze land use changes over time with historical aerial photographs. They classify different land use into categories.
Curated OER
Journey to Gettysburg
Students use latitude and longitude to map the path of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Curated OER
On the Road with Marco Polo: Marco Polo in China
Learners investigate who the Mongols were and where their empire was located. They research Kublai Khan and the region he ruled. They study the major products of 13th Century China.
Curated OER
On the Road with Marco Polo: Sea Voyage to India
Students examine Marco Polo's route from China to Sumatra. They investigate the geography and climate, the religions and architecture of modern Indonesia. They study the use of spices and why they were so important in medieval times.
Curated OER
In Old Pompeii
Students investigate the history of Pompeii and its destruction. They take a virtual field trip to the ruins of Pompeii, create a travel brochure to attract tourists to the site, and write an account of their trip.
Curated OER
Children's Media and Censorship
High schoolers form opinions about children and television censorship after analyzing literature. They complete a journal writing activity to identify the topic and make a list of inappropriate television shows for children. Next, they...
Rutgers University
How the Allies Won World War II: Island-hopping in the Central Pacific
Using primary source documents, young historians explore the strategies the US used to defeat Japan during WWII. They also learn about the American military experience, and innovations that changed the style of warfare. Students benefit...
Library of Congress
Investigating the Building Blocks of Our Community’s Past, Present, and Future
As Ken Jennings said, "There's just something hypnotic about maps." Certainly, the longer you look at them the more you can learn. In this project-based learning lesson, individuals study both historic and present-day maps of their area...
Curated OER
Solving the Puzzle
Young scholars create a map showing the United States borders at a specific period in history and produce three questions to be answered by examining the map. They also write a productive paragraph explaining who, what, when, where,...
British Council
The Christmas Truce
Imagine calling a truce in the middle of a war, singing Christmas carols with the enemy, exchanging gifts, and playing a game of football. Such a thing actually happened. Class members listen the stories of soldiers who experienced the...
Museum of Tolerance
Improving My Community Through Social Action
Action is the heart of change. Encourage class members to not only identify critical social justice issues in their school or community but to take action as well. As individuals or as groups, they research a situation, develop a...
US Holocaust Museum
Ripples of Genocide: Journey through Eastern Congo
Could you locate the Democratic Republic of Congo on a map? Scholars investigate the genocide taking place in Eastern Congo. Groups explore web-based evidence as well as the Ripples in Genocide source to take a closer look at the issue....
Curated OER
Food, Glorious Food?
How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers about the...
Curated OER
Measures To Combat Mad Cow Disease
High schoolers read an article at CNNfyi.com about Mad Cow disease. They identify and explain bovine spongiform encephalopathy and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. They formulate ways to combat mad cow disease.
Curated OER
Understanding Growth of the Phoenix Area
Students study the growth of the Phoenix area using geographic images, maps, tables, and graphs. They study the idea of community.
Curated OER
French Connections
Young scholars use Internet links to plan a 3-day tour of France. They role-play a typical encounter that may be experienced during their trip.
Curated OER
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Christmas Bells
Learners read and analyze the anti-slavery poem, "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They discuss the content and form of the poem, write an essay, write an original poem, examine how this anti-slavery poem was converted...
Curated OER
William Apess and the Mashpee "Revolt" of 1833
Prompt your class with the following question: What was the status of American Indians in Massachusetts during Jackson's presidency? To answer this question, class members will read a series of primary source documents (attached),...
Curated OER
If the World Were a Village...
Your class members explore concept that the world is a large place, examine how statistics can be used to help in understanding the world and its people, and create illustrations or graphs of statistics found in the award-winning...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
"I have here in my hand . . ." The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1954. Joseph McCarthy takes center stage in this, the final lesson of the...
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: Darcy's Proposal to Elizabeth
Why did Elizabeth refuse Darcy’s first proposal? Was it pride or prejudice? Readers of Austin’s classic struggle with the significance of Darcy’s proposal and Elizabeth’s refusal by crafting personal response journals and sharing these...
Curated OER
Who Was That Man?
Develop historical analysis and interpretation with your older young scholars. They will study and analyze three given interpretations of Christopher Columbus' life, which includes significant events, his character, and the impact he...