Curated OER
Centripetal Force
In order to investigate cetntripetal force and angular momentum, youngsters compare the motion of erasers hung from a string. It is not clear what type of Amish toy is needed in the warm up activity, so you may not be able to use it. The...
Curated OER
Where People Start Communities
Explore the difference between man-made and natural features in nature with your students. While not an in-depth look at this topic, it would be a way to introduce this communities in your classroom.
Curated OER
An American Legacy-Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery Study
Fifth graders travel with the Corps of Discovery. In this ancient civilizations lesson, 5th graders research print and Internet sources about the Lewis and Clark expedition. Students prepare PowerPoint presentations to share their...
Curated OER
Abolishing Slavery
Students explain the goals and methods of the abolitionist movement.
They identify key leaders in the movement. This lesson has adaptations for elementary through high school. Links are provided for resource readings.
Scholastic
Thanksgiving Lessons Grades PreK-2
A quintessential resource for teaching an elementary unit on the first Thanksgiving addresses a variety of skills, including informational reading, critical thinking, comparing and contrasting facts, technology tools, and historical...
Curated OER
Justice, Is it Fair?
Fifth graders investigate conflict resolution through the study of justice. In this justice activity, 5th graders are put in scenarios of unfair conditions. Students discuss the unfair situations and their feelings about...
Curated OER
Archaeological Self-Study: What Do Our Belongings and Trash Tell About Us?
Students examine how their belongings and their trash represents who they are. In this archaeology skills lesson, students watch a video titled "Discovering the Past" and then give archaeological techniques a try. Students examine and...
Curated OER
Map Skills
Thirds graders reinforce that a map is a drawing that shows what a place looks like from above. They use a map key and symbols to create a map of the school and its neighborhood.
TPS Journal
Sourcing a Document: The First Thanksgiving
How reliable is a painting of the first Thanksgiving if it was created 300 years after the fact? Learners assess the validity of a primary source image to determine what it can actually reveal about this event.
Missouri Department of Elementary
I’m Thumbody!
Positive and negative thinking is the focus of a activity that boost self-awareness. Beginning with a whole-class discussion, scholars brainstorm what positive thinking looks and sounds like then compares and contrast the two types of...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Minorities in a Democracy
Students consider diversity in democracies. In this democratic values lesson, students read an article titled, "Minorities in a Democracy." Students respond to discussion questions about the article.
Teachers.net
Columbus - Thanksgiving lesson plan
Students learn the history of Thanksgiving and Columbus Day, and they also create a "New World" mural in small groups.
Library of Congress
Determining Point of View: Paul Revere and the Boston Massacre
If you're teaching point of view, this is the instructional activity for you! First, decipher the writer's point of view from a primary resource, then compare and contrast the primary source with a secondary source to explore the...
Benjamin Banneker Association
Celebrate Benjamin Banneker
Inventor, astronomer, surveyor, mathematician, clock maker. Learners celebrate the life of Benjamin Banneker by building creative analog clocks, making scale models, and solving problems related to surveying. The activities model the...
Curated OER
Let's Review for Better Achievement
Seventh graders create goals using two or more skills they have identified to help them improve academic achievement. They discuss the question: What choices do you make that affect your grades? Students listen to the story of Sam the...
Curated OER
La Vie en Cave!
Students investigate the cave paintings of France. They explore various websites, recite and discuss french vocabulary terms, create a painted cave wall, and view and discuss images of French cave paintings.
Curated OER
Fur Trading
Students take on a role such as a farming community, hunting community or a trading post. They decide which products they focus on and then trade with the other groups.
Curated OER
On Deck of a Union Warship
Students examine role of Naval blockades in Union war strategy, and analyze primary source image "On Deck of a Union Warship" and make detailed observation about people and activities shown.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
A Stranger Among Us
The final lesson plan in the R.E.S.PE.C.T series asks eighth graders to expand their vision beyond the walls of the classroom and to consider how they can promote acceptance and respect of others within in the global community. "A...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Survivors
Developing a positive self-concept can sometimes be a challenge. Seventh graders engage in an activity that helps them identify their individual strengths and helps them recognize how these strengths can contribute to being a successful...
Curated OER
Family Life in the 1830s
Students compare and contrast family life today with family life in the 1830s. They conduct research on Old Sturbridge Village, read primary source documents, and develop a list of generalizations comparing/contrasting families of the...
Curated OER
Symbols and Trading Cards
A silk rank badge was a symbolic emblem worn by high officials during the Qing Dynasty. Your class will get a chance to examine the details, symbolism, color, and design of such a badge as they make their own symbolic trading cards....