Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Ethnic Labels and Puerto Rican Identity

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers brainstorm a list of stereotypes associated with the Hispanic or Latin culture. In groups, they use the internet to research issues of importance to the Puerto Rican community. They focus on the cultures that speak...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists

For Teachers 3rd - Higher Ed
Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life Reflections in Songwriting and Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Students analyze, discuss and compare sources of inspiration, use of words and imagery, and other differences in writing styles between two featured songwriters. This is an introductory lesson to a creative project unit.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 6

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders explore cool jazz and how it reflected American culture in the 1940's and 1950's.
Lesson Plan
Pennsylvania Department of Education

Comparing Key Ideas and Details in Fiction and Nonfiction

For Teachers K - 4th
Students recognize the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. In this genre study lesson, students discuss what nonfiction means and write the definition. Students listen to a read aloud and vote whether the text is fiction or...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pieces of the World

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students locate Australia in relation to rest of world, read poem Pieces of the World by Mervyn James, explore kinds of journeys that Australians have made, and examine their effects - the emotions, the realities and the practicalities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Molly's Pilgrim

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders recognize and discuss multi-ethnic nature of America's citizens through a variety of activities.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Poetry

For Teachers 2nd
A hearing impaired student identifies rhyming words. In this rhyming word instructional activity for the hearing impaired, 2nd graders read and write poetry correctly using rhyming words.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

As the Kids Come and Go: Mapping a Classroom

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Map the classroom with your kids to help them understand how maps work and how to read them. The lesson plan starts off with a story about animals living and moving around the globe, and then kids create maps of their classroom to show...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Multicultural Literature

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Children's Literature and African American Culture

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders examine various stories and poems and identify characteristics that make each individual unique. After analyzing the readings, they create their own personality poems to accompany self-portrait drawings. The poems and...
Lesson Plan
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Japan Society

Our Family and Other Families: Using Totoro to Teach Family Structure

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
What do families around the world have in common? Explore this theme through the popular animated film My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki. Over the course of two days, pupils view the film, pausing to discuss their own families and the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Traditions and Transformations

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders examine the Jewish culture from a variety of perspectives.  In this ethics lesson, 9th graders interview guest speakers on the subject of Jewish culture.  Students create group poems and murals around themes of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduction to Native Americans Thematic Unit

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Students consider different cultural viewpoints. In this Native American history lesson plan, students examine artifacts and then conduct research on selected Native American tribes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poet Naomi Shihab Nye

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Historical Maryland Women

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students identify objects, activities, and people in pictures of women in Maryland's history. In groups of four, they analyze photo packets of historical women. Students complete an acrostic using phrases reflecting specific...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

HIV/AIDS: Our Fear, Our Misery

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students in an ESL classroom brainstorm their thoughts, fears and perceptions about HIV/AIDS. In groups, they review how one contracts the virus and how it affects them and their families. They read true stories about people living...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Visual Art: Romare Bearden and Group 306

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students examine the life and art of Romare Bearden. Using his "Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket" for inspiration, they write a first chapter for a book. Students observe numerous other works of his art and discuss them from artistic and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jazz In America

For Teachers K - 12th
Students gain a fundamental understanding of the role of jazz in the Harlem Renaissance. They explain its historical significance and cultural implications.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"you Can't Order a Poem Like You Order a Taco": an Introduction To Poetry

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Students explore what poetry is and certain aspects within it. They write their own knowledge and perceptions of poetry and the expand that knowledge and experience through listening to, reading, and writing poetry and exploring poetic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Native Americans During the 19th and 20th Centuries

For Teachers 7th - 11th
Students explore major events in Native American history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this American history lesson, students listen to lectures, examine photographs, and analyze music regarding Native American history...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Early Jazz

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Learners gain an understanding of early jazz. They study Dixieland and the Roaring Twenties. They examine the American historical significance and cultural implications of early jazz.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Coming to America

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students interview a person who has immigrated to America and, based on that interview, to write an article about the person.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Differences Between Fiction and Nonfiction Books

For Teachers 1st - 2nd
Students explore the differences between fiction and non-fiction book. In this genre study lesson, students read examples of fiction and non-fiction and identify the characteristics of each genre. Students list the characteristics on a...