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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sink It

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Introduce your class to the concept of sinking and floating. In groups, they classify objects after making predictions about which materials will sink or float. They record their results and create graphs and charts to share with the class.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Keep Finding the Positive

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders discuss how a positive self-image can improve their school community. In groups, they are given a set of card in which they examine the role of each. After being given the presenter card, they create a collage about their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Nestle Scandal

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read an article about the use of breast milk and formula milk in developing countries and answer comprehension questions. In groups, they recall facts from the article and discuss how Nestle is being boycotted in certain areas...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sensing Energy: Designing to Stay Cool

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine the energy the sun produces on a daily basis. In groups, they discover the properties of visible and invisible light. They also adjust the exposure time to change the properties of various objects. To end the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Women's Suffrage

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders examine the role of women in the early 1900s. In groups, they use the internet to research groups who favored or opposed giving women the right to vote. To end the lesson, they note the methods used by women to finally gain...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Nothing But the Truth: Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 5th - 9th
“What does it mean to be patriotic?” “Should grades factor in to a student’s eligibility for extracurricular activities?” Class members complete an anticipation guide that asks them to respond to a series of statements that highlight...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Debating the Three Gorges Dam Project: Power to the People or Environmental Catastrophe?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the controversy behind the building of the Three Gorges Dam in China. One group of the class researches the government's stance on building the dam. Another section of the class represents an environmental group who...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Debate over Branding

For Teachers 7th - 10th
The advantages and disadvantages of cattle branding are discussed. The class breaks into two groups to further consider each viewpoint. The lesson plan says that the class will read an article about the ongoing debate, but this article...
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Lesson Plan
Science 4 Inquiry

Frenemies, Bros and Killers: A Lesson in Symbiosis

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Animals and plants develop relationships and rely on each other to survive. Pupils learn more about symbiosis through a video, a hands-on matching activity, and a game. They differentiate and describe each type on a written evaluation.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Debate - Demonstrating Effective Communication Skills

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners explore and engage in the art of debate. When both sides have been presented each pair have a few minutes to prepare a rebuttal based upon what the opposing side has said. A rubric imbedded in this plan is used as an assessment...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drug Testing In Schools - Take A Stand

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students examine facts about drug testing in schools.
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Lesson Plan
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C-SPAN

Electoral College Pros/Cons and Alternatives

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
If every vote counts, why do we need the electoral college? Middle and high schoolers study the Constitutional precedent of the electoral college, as well as its place in historical and modern elections, with an engaging social studies...
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Activity
Administrative Office of the US Courts

Morse v. Frederick

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
If you stop a student from expressing views that advocate drug use, are you violating their right to free speech? Use the 2007 Supreme Court case Morse v. Frederick to discuss a nuanced interpretation of the First Amendment....
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Lesson Plan
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School Improvement in Maryland

Affirmative Action

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Do the government's affirmative action policies promote equity in the United States? The Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution and affirmative action policies come under scrutiny in an activity that asks class members to...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Kennewick Man: Science and Sacred Rights

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Have respect for the dead!" Scholars investigate how science and religion often clash. As they look into the laws of science and the laws of religion, the legal ramifications at the federal level of both play into an argument they...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

Are We Alone?

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Find an answer to the age-old debate of whether life exists on Mars. Groups determine criteria to help look for signs of life on Mars. The activity has the class simulate testing Martian soil samples for signs of life before drawing...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Moore vs. Livingston:Who Really Wrote 'The Night Before Christmas'

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners research an author and gather information that seems to support that person as author of The Night Before Christmas. They work in groups to gather the most solid evidence and they write a persuasive essay presenting their argument.
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Lesson Plan
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Constitutional Rights Foundation

Issues of Unauthorized Immigration

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Unauthorized immigration is a complex and hotly debated topic. Class members read an article that examines the issues that motivate unauthorized immigration. Teams then assume the role of special interest groups and present their...
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Interactive
US National Archives

WWII: Western Europe 1939-45 – Hamburg

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Was bombing German cities an effective means to an end, or was it a war crime? Could it be both? Young historians ponder these questions with an activity that prompts them to use primary sources to summarize the debate surrounding RAF...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Encouraging Answers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What is the celebration of Columbus Day really about? Older learners use inquiry-based methods to find out who Columbus really was and what motivated his journeys. They take on the roles of town officials who must consider whether or not...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

James Madison: Raising an Army—Balancing the States and the Federal Government

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
To war! To war! Every nation in the history of the world has had to deal with warfare on some level. Scholars go through a series of activities and discussions surrounding the development of the Constitution to help them better...
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Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

The Conservation Movement at a Crossroads: The Hetch Hetchy Controversy

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Should wilderness areas be preserved or managed? Class members examine primary source documents, including lecture notes, articles, essays and congressional records to better understand the Hetch Hetchy controversy that created a split...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

From Selma to Montgomery: An Introduction to the 1965 Marches

For Students 6th - 12th
The 1965 Civil Rights marches from Selma to Montgomery and the resulting Voting Rights Act of 1965 are the focus of a social studies lesson. The resource uses film clips to inform viewers not only about the discrimination that gave rise...
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Lesson Plan
Federal Judicial Center

Amistad and Dred Scott—a Comparative Activity

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....