Curated OER
Making a Pinhole Camera
Students participate in a number of activities in order to study the history of photography and to examine the workings of a pinhole camera.
Curated OER
Folk Rock Singers and Songwriters
Students listen to and analyze songs of folk rock musicians of 1970 and then compose and perform a song in a popular or folk style for acoustic guitar and voice or for two acoustic guitars.
Curated OER
Slavery in the Antebellum South
Students discuss Stephen Foster's depiction of slavery. Using the internet, they discover what the life of a slave was really like in the antebellum South. As a class, they discuss contemporary arguments for and against slavery.
Curated OER
The Minerva Mosaic of the Library of Congress
Students analyze the Minerva mosaic. In this Library of Congress lesson, students conduct primary source analysis of the mosaic as they interpret the symbolism and mythology featured in the mosaic.
Curated OER
A Differentiated Way through Think Dots
Students examine reasons that led people to explore, identify "West" as defined following Revolutionary War, explain importance of finding natural resources, develop time line of dates and events leading up to Lewis and Clark Expedition,...
Curated OER
Birth of a Nation
Fifth graders portray one of the actual framers of the Constitution. They summarize each class period with a journal entry and culminate the experience with the actual framing and signing (or not signing) of the Constitution.
Curated OER
Creating Characters
Students identify simple pictographs and ideographs from Chinese writing. They create their own images, and combine characters to communicate ideas to one another, introducing basic foundations of how elements of the Chinese writing...
National First Ladies' Library
Science: The Purloined Letter
Students examine Edgar Allan Poe's "the Purloined Letter" from the perspective of a profiler. To sharpen search procedures, they examine the text and make lists of items and places in the house that were searched. Then students discuss...
Curated OER
Dance with Me
Second graders create a simple dance that illustrates the changes in rhythm in a song. They identify the form of the song. Ask volunteers to show movement or steps that could be used for each section
Curated OER
From Object To Story
Students engage in a study that focuses upon the study of artifacts for the purpose of defining the heritage of family. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order to create a personal family...
Curated OER
Foodborne Illness Educational Materials
Students work in teams to research and create educational material succinctly summarizing known salient fact, including prevention, of a particular foodborne illness. Pupils educational materials are presented in both oral and written...
Curated OER
Paper Vests
Second graders listen to background information on designated Black Americans and read some books about them. They choose one of the persons studied and create a paper vest relating the person's contributions.
Curated OER
Research Project
Sixth graders use research, word-processing, graphic skills and a multi-media presentation. They complete a research project that meets the requirements for the Grade 6 Renaissance report.
Curated OER
A Country of Migrants?
Pupils list reasons in support or rejection of the United States being a country of migrants through a written statement and discussion. They answer questions posed regarding immigration.
Curated OER
The Jam on Gerry's Rock: A Maine Folksong
Students study folksongs and The Jam on Gerry's Rock. They discuss folksongs they are familiar with and listen to information of The Jam on Gerry's Rock. They sing the song and discuss the story it tells and its qualities as a folksong....
Library of Congress
Loc: Volcano of Delight Historic Sheet Music 1800 1922
This sheet music collection consists of about 9,000 items published from 1800 to 1922.
Duke University
Historical American Sheet Music: Mandy by Irving Berlin
Take a look at the sheet music from Irving Berlin's "Mandy", performed at Ziegfeld Follies in 1919. Very cool old poster.
Duke University
Molly Green; In Dahomey (Historic American Sheet Music)
This site shows the original sheet music for the first black musical, "In Dahomey," which was written by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Will Marion Cook.
Library of Congress
Loc: Lyrical Legacy: 400 Years of American Song and Poetry
Explore eighteen American songs and poems each represented by an original primary source document, along with historical background information and, in many cases, sound recordings and alternate versions.
Curated OER
History Matters: Making Sense of Documents
Designed to help teachers and students make effective use of primary documents. There are well written section on how to make sense of numbers, ads, music, diaries, and more. included are interactive activities for students to help them...
Cyberbee
Adventures of Cyberbee: Digital Audio Basics [Pdf]
Try this beginner's tutorial for recording sound on the computer. It covers the historical background of audio files, file formats, basic audio recording, synthesized music and copyright.
Library of Congress
Loc: Battle Hymn of the Republic
A historical look at the writing of the Battle Hymn of the Republic and many versions of historically significant sheet music.