Fourth graders who are studying life in colonial America engage in an instructional activity that has them create a "Help Wanted" ad that would have been written by a master craftsperson from back in the day. They utilize a graphic...

In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...

Explore expository writing and using precise language in this descriptive paragraph writing instructional activity. Learners brainstorm prior knowledge about the changing seasons in Ohio. They describe seasonal items, view seasonal...

Explore websites, complete research, and use technological tools to create a final multimedia presentation on what makes a community special. Learners of all ages work with a partner to research an interesting aspect of their community,...

Fifth graders conduct research. They explore how to give an oral presentation with visual aids. Students have the opportunity to create a proposal which could help alleviate world hunger. They brainstorm different ways children could...

Weaving is an important part of Navajo culture. Read The Goat in the Rug to your fourth and fifth graders, and give them a glimpse into the process of rug making from the point of view of a goat! They will learn new vocabulary words and...

Fifth graders use the internet to research a plant or animal they read about in "The Talking Earth". Using notes, they develop a graphic organizer and use the main topics to create a HyperStudio stack. Using all of this information,...

A blood sucking what? Grade schoolers identify the characteristics of blood sucking parasites. They organize their information, identify their arguments, and present them to the class in persuasive arguments. They participate in a debate...

Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...

Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...

Students recreate and simulate the secession of the South during the Civil War by having their class secede from the school. They write an essay comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences of everyday life before and after...

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...

Learners differentiate responsible from irresponsible behavior in their community. In this citizenship lesson, students use technology to organize lists of responsible and irresponsible behaviors, write about the effects these behaviors...

Students read newspaper articles. In this social studies instructional activity, students locate the latitude and longitude of the location where the news article takes place. Students write a summary of the news article.

Fifth graders read postcards and find their locations on maps. They use the pictures and text on the postcards to write about imaginary vacations. They compute the mileage and compare it to TripMaker data.

Students analyze and discuss illustrations of the New World by John White. They examine the images, answer questions about each one, and write an essay.

High schoolers examine and compare preserving natural resources and preserving cultural resources. They conduct Internet research on two topics, and write a position paper on whether cultural resources or natural resources are more...

Student research a "Historical Individual" using the Internet. They print a minimum of five articles and organize them. They create a visual biography of their historical figure.

Seventh graders consider how US natural resources have helped it to become a leading industrialized power. They research, discuss, write and edit an expository paragraph in groups. They can present paragraph to another class or compile a...

Second graders research important events that occurred in their counties for each year they have been alive. They, in groups, categorize these events and develop notes to be used in the writing of an autobiography.

Artifacts give us the privilege of learning about the past, may it be family, culture, or traditions. Here, class members learn about their family's past with the help of an artifact, or family heirloom. Once an artifact is...

One much-needed skill for young learners is direction giving. Have your class plan and draw a safe route for them to travel from home to school. They will also draw places and items that are in between home and school in order to build a...

Fifth graders discover new and interesting technologies of the Civil War. In this Civil War portfolio of lessons, 5th graders analyze primary resources, develop new vocabulary, investigate websites, and create a time line of new...

High schoolers examine different types of new mapping technologies. They use the internet to gather information about mapping and navigation. They create their own global positioning tool and defend it to the class.