Curated OER
Castle/Fort Unit
Students compare and contrast castles and forts. They observe buildings in their community and consider how castles and forts are similar. They design their own castle or fort and brainstorm materials to build with, discuss how the...
Curated OER
Where Am I: How to Read a Map
Third graders develop an understanding of maps. They explore what a map is, who uses maps, and how to use maps. Students investigate the compas rose. They create a compose rose which illustrates the cardinal directions. Students practice...
Curated OER
What Is an American?
Students explore different backgrounds of Americans. In this lesson, students discuss how people in the United States may come from a different background, yet have similar values and beliefs. After the class discussion, several...
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A Thousand Words
Students demonstrate compassion for others. In this character education lesson, students view photos from magazines and interpret what they see. Students discuss the feelings they get when viewing the photos.
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The Three Branches of Government
Sixth graders discover details about the 3 branches of government. In this primary source analysis lesson, 6th graders examine documents and images from the Library of Congress to investigate the structure of the U.S. government.
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Rites of Passage
Students, through video and Internet activities, are exposed to rites of passage in two modern day West African cultures, the Fulani and the Dogon, and how slavery served as a rite of passage for many West African people in the past.
Curated OER
Deviance: Functionalist Explanations
In this Deviance: Functionalist Explanations worksheet, students read five pages, then complete several exercises including creating prompt cards, labeling actions appropriately, and deciding what are strengths or weaknesses of theories.
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Debating the Bomb
Learners research how the development of the atomic bomb affected people in World War II, participate in a debate about the bomb's use, and investigate how it has affected people's lives since 1945.
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Using Primary Sources to Discover Reconstruction
Fifth graders discover how reconstruction had an impact on racial issues in the United States. In this Reconstruction lesson, 5th graders are introduced to primary vs. secondary resources and then rotate through stations to view...
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Cultural Discovery and Identity Project Generation Journey
Students create a genealogy book tracing their heritage many generations back. They examine their own ethnicity, attitudes, and self-awareness. They examine new American trends regarding family structure and ethnicity.
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The July Crisis: Can You Stop the Great War?
Students role-play as diplomats from countries involved in World War I who have received telegrams stating they must prepare presentations on their country's position about the war. They have 45 minutes to reach a peace accord, or they...
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American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Students explore daily life and its influences in the late 1700s for two families in different colonies- Delaware and Massachusetts by becoming historical detectives. After gathering information from artifacts to make inferences about...
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Three Branches of Government
Fourth graders listen to a lecture about the government of Indiana, and the three branches of government. They discuss the reasons for the three branches and read from their text the information on government. Students play a game to...
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Civil Liberties and 9/11
Fifth graders examine the effects of 9/11 on two guarantees in the Preamble of the Constitution, the preservation of liberty and the establishment of common security. They examine how our personal liberties been affected by the 9/11...
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The Presidents of Mount Rushmore
Students understand the importance of Mount Rushmore as a national symbol. In this Mount Rushmore lesson, students locate Mount Rushmore on the map and investigate each of the four Presidents on Mount Rushmore. Students understand how...
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The Vikings of Scandinavia
Students become familiar with who the Vikings were and what they accomplished. In this Vikings lesson, students locate the Scandinavian countries. Students will record information about the Vikings in a Viking notebook. Students will...
Stanford University
Philippine-American War Political Cartoon
High schoolers investigate the Philippine War. In this propaganda lesson, students read the a timeline of events during the Philippine War. High schoolers evaluate Philippine propaganda cartoons from the period.
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Immigration and Migration: Today and During the Great Depression
Students conduct interviews, analyze primary sources including docuements and images to gain an inderstanding of the causes and effects of he Great Depression and immigration.
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School Life Today and in the Past at Freyberger School
Students compare and contrast school life today with that of Pennsylvania in the 1900's. In this school life lesson students create a description of a typical one-room schoolhouse. They think critically about attending school in a...
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Do You Have a Prayer?
Students review the 1st Amendment and the clauses which deal with prayer/religion in schools. They discuss, in groups, the Equal Access Act, which gives students the right to practice/express their religion at school and take a quiz on...
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Legal Rights, the Charter, and Canada's Constitution
Students explore the issue of human rights in Canada and compare and contrast the Bill of Rights and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They debate whether Canadians are giving up certain democratic rights in exchange for the greater good.
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Songs of Native Americans
Students listen to chapter from novel When Legends Die by Hal Borland, listen to traditional Lakota song, discuss feeling song induces and in what circumstance it may be used, and examine connection between cultural music and family...
Curated OER
Stereotypes and Cross-Cultural Understanding
Students view headshots of people representing different ethnic groups, draw and color bodies and clothing they feel best represents each headshot, and observe drawings made by classmates. Students then identify and discuss stereotypes,...
Curated OER
Building a Better Argument
Young scholars create good arguments by exploring the basic structure of an arguments. They determine premises and conclusions for analyzing the effectiveness of arguments. In addition, they explore the differences between arguments and...