Curated OER
1765 to the Declaration of Independence
Students research philanthropists of the American Revolution. In this philanthropy lesson, students watch the video Johnny Tremain and analyze the characters and determine their motives. Students read the Declaration of Independence...
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American Made
Students view the Film American Made and view the experiences of a Sikh family in the Western part of America. In this life in America lesson, students explore the life of Americans who might by looks be thought to be...
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State of the Planet's Wildlife
Students view and discuss a video about the challenges facing wildlife on the planet Earth. They define key terms, watch the video, and answer discussion questions about the film.
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Can We Be Both Conservationists and Consumers?
Students explore their role as consumers and conservationists and what roles they play in today's economic climate. They explore resource allocation issues. Students analyze data and draw comparisons between historical and present-day...
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How Has Transportation Changed Since the 1899 Harriman Alaska Expedition?
Students recognize modes of transportation. They research historical data from a variety of primary and secondary sources including the Harriman expedition journals, related web sites, and photographs from the expedition. Students...
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The Blues . Music Education
In this instructional activity students will learn about finding the blues in a variety of musical styles. They will investigate instances of the blues form heard in mainstream pop music, along with exploring the musical styles of two...
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Fish Stories
Students conduct background research about a Pacific Rim country to develop a premise for a documentary film about the fate of traditional fishing industries in the area.
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Language Arts, Music, Poetry: Blues Style
This lesson focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Students consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance of the poetry of...
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Art of Cynicism
High schoolers analyze selected pieces of art and infer how they reflect a sense of disillusionment, and/or cynicism in American society in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. Then they identify and place cultural...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Range of Choices
Learners examine crimes against human rights. In this world history instructional activity, students watch a segment of a video about the Armenian Genocide. Learners reflect on the crimes of the Ottoman government in classroom...
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Journey
Students complete a variety of enrichment activities that focus on the book, Journey, by Patricia MacLachlan. They create a photo album that shows their own family history.
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The Japanese Military Build-up
Students evaluate the state of Japan's military and their defense strategy under the current Shinzo Abe administration. They watch the film, 'The Raping of Nanking' and read "The Return of Japanese Militarism: Rising Sun" by Joshua...
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Who Dirtied The Water/Clean Water: Is It Drinkable?
Students enter the room, receive a film canister that contains materials that be added to the dirty water bell jar. They record on their data table who or what is doing the adding and the actual substance that has been added to the bell...
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What Makes a Cat a Cat?
Students investigate the lives of pets by videotaping them. In this animal life lesson, students videotape a cat and other pets using school cameras in a computer lab. Students review the footage from the cat and other...
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Nature Superfish
Students study the behavior or ocean animals called billfish. In this life science lesson, students create their own documentary about a local animal. They share their videos with the entire school.
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This is America
Learners explore world geography by viewing a documentary film in class. For this national parks lesson, students view the Ken Burns documentary about the subject and identify the contributions of individuals in support of the parks...
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Debunking the Myth of the American West
Students participate in a close reading. They examine the text closely for implied and hidden meaning, dissect the story to understand the text as a written craft, and discuss significant details and overall meaning of story. They...
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Creative Voices of Harlem
Students explore the Harlem Renaissance. In this American history instructional activity, students examine a poem by Langston Hughes and identify the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance. Students research and report on a famous...
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Portrait of a Place, Portrait of a Family
Young scholars act out stories based on lives of famous people from Harlem. In this memoirs lesson, students compare the life of the people in Harlem in 1930 to the people of today. Young scholars explore how "home" is different for...
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The Reformation
Students reflect on the specific details surrounding the Reformation. In this World History activity, students watch the film "Luther," then apply what they learned in their discussion on the Reformation with the film to complete a...
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The Cuban Missile Crisis
Students reflect on the events that lead up to the Cuban Missile Crisis in the early 1960s. In this history lesson plan, students explore the conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union revolving around missiles in...
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An Issue of Loyalty: Exploring the Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War II
Students consider the meaning of loyalty. They explore the history of Japanese in the United States. and consider the meaning of citizenship. They create a presentation for the class. It can be a poster, Power Point or other...
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Under the Spell of Spiders
Students examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Students will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
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Ancient Cultures News Broadcast
How does geography influence daily life? Guided by an essential question, class groups select and then research an ancient culture, and develop a news broadcast about the geographical setting and its impact on the culture. Teams...