Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln: The Face of War

For Teachers 4th - 10th
Students compare life masks and photos of Abraham Lincoln that were made before and at the end of the Civil War. For this "Faces of War" lesson, students analyze images of Lincoln in a historical context and create a timeline of event.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Telling Time Timeline

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Use the Internet and library resources to compose a telling time timeline -- a visual history of time. Students will develop research skills and gain perspective about telling time by discovering the history of clocks and time.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gender Roles

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore psychology by answering gender study questions. In this sexuality lesson plan, students discuss the stereotypes often referred to men and woman and what the truth is about their characteristics and abilities. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Immigrant Experience: Down the Rabbit Hole

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students relate the immigrant experience to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In this immigration experience instructional activity, students read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and relate it to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animal Diaries

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students read Diary of a Worm by Foreen Cronin. In this journal writing lesson plan, students research an animal and write a diary by their animal. Students apply the research they've completed in their writings. Students share their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Regions of the United States

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders collect data about regions of the United States using the Internet, library books, and encyclopedias. They write an essay persuading people to visit their state.
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

The Education of Abigail Adams

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars read the biography of Abigail Smith Adams from the First Ladies Library web site. They work in small groups to write a description of her education. Students discuss their findings, and extend this to the education of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Picture This!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore and generate story elements for wordless picture books. In this collaborative writing lesson plan, students review wordless picture books and write a story based on the illustrations. Students use post-it notes to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sunlight and Warm Air

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Young scholars examine the different ways heat can be felt.  In this radiation and conduction instructional activity, students recognize that the sun radiates heat. Young scholars conduct three experiments to find how the sun warms...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Suffrage Strategies: Voices for Votes

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Students discuss the history and importance of voting. In this voting lesson, students research the women's suffrage movement and the methods used to change people's beliefs about suffrage for women. Students also create posters to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animating a Historic Event

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Research a historic event using textbooks, primary source documents, the Internet, and other library and media resources. Young historians will take the research they have gathered and write an attention-grabbing, historically accurate...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Flopsy, Mopsy, Eleanor, and Beatrix

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars read "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" and view the photos of the pets that inspired Beatrix Potter to write. They then select a different book to read from the University of Pennsylvania's website or from the public library that...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drafting

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students engage in the writing process. In this drafting lesson, students research different types of genres to find which they enjoy reading and writing. They review the drama in a story and discuss different story prompts. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Local History: Mapping My Spot

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners explore maps to discover historical information about their local area.  For this mapping and history lesson, students use panoramic maps of their own town/city to interpret historical information.  Learners also place...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

For Teachers 1st - 6th
Students read the book Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars about space. In this space lesson plan, students make their own poetry book about space.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Graph the Presidents At Inauguration- How Old Were They?

For Teachers K - 8th
Students construct a graph of the presidents' ages at inauguration. In this U.S. history lesson plan, students use online resources to gather data about the presidents and accurately present their results on a graph.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

CSI Podcasts

For Teachers Pre-K - 9th
Learners investigate crime scene scenarios to meet standards. In this crime scene scenario lesson, students gather background information during the first week. They investigate topics such as mammals, genetics, bacteria, or fungi. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Put the NEW in NEWBERY

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students read Newbery award books. For this Newbery book lesson, students look online to find all the books that have received this award and look through online reviews to find one they would like to read. After finishing the book, they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cooperative Classroom Text Features Activities

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine text features and create a PowerPoint presentation. In this text features lesson, 5th graders go over Kagan Cooperative Learning Structures and text features before they choose one to include in a book and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reference Resources: Being a Good Detective

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students explore a variety of reference resources while seeking information. atlases, almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, and online search engines as well as library card catalogs are utilized in this lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Geography: Caribbean

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students research and view a video on the geography of the Caribbean. In this Caribbean geography lesson, students go on an imaginary trip to the Caribbean and write postcards and letters telling of their trip. Students will include...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reasons to Settle in America

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students complete a research project.  In this American History lesson plan, students work in groups to research reasons that people wanted to settle in America.  Students record the information, share what they found and write...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil War Photojournalism: A Record of War

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners view photographs of the Civil War. In this photojournalism lesson, students look at Mathew Brady's photographs of the Civil War. They discover the evolution of photographic equipment and analyze Civil War photographs. 

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