Curated OER
Breaking the Chains: Rising Out of Circumstances
Study history through photographs. In this visual arts and history lesson, students learn to analyze photographs to discover details about life during the Civil War era. Students write journal entries as if they are the African-American...
Curated OER
Illness and Prevention
Fourth graders set personal health goals for preventing illness, identify different pathogens and explain how the body protects itself from pathogens, discuss ways in which prevention and transmission of disease are affected by...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The President Under the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation sounds like one big, fancy title to middle schoolers. Here, scaffolded steps help to ease novices into understanding this all-important American document. Discussion questions, lesson activities, and ideas...
Curated OER
U.S. President: Facts
Students gather information from a chart. They become familiar with the names of the presidents of the United States. They complete a worksheet imbedded in this plan on the many facts associated with the Presidents.
Curated OER
U.S. Geography: The Northeast
Students investigate U.S. Geography by creating a map in class. In this natural resource instructional activity, students create a map of the United States and research the Northeast based on their resources and recyclable...
Curated OER
Mapping the Changes
Learners research an aspect of life of their choosing of a western state either before the Civil War, after the war or today. They are to write about the aspect they choose and make illustrations.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Voyagers: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Young voyagers face the challenge of the wide dark sea, travel with Yunmi and Halmoni, and even get trapped by the ice as they explore the reading selections offered in these enrichment activities designed for the Houghton...
Curated OER
Talk Common Core with Your Class
Familiarize your elementary, middle, or high school learners with Common Core language to increase their success.
Echoes & Reflections
Survivors and Liberators
The end was just the beginning. The period immediately after the end of World War II and the Holocaust is often called "The Return to Life" as survivors looked to reunite and recreate broken families and shattered lives. A two-lesson...
Curated OER
Cause and Effect Relationships - Silence of the Bees
Why are bees disappearing? Explore cause and effect relationships with this interesting question. As the detailed lesson plan indicates, start by brainstorming some of the possible effects the disappearance of bees would have on the...
Curated OER
Defending the Homeland--The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1789
Learners explore that there have been times during the history of the US when ,in response to real and perceived threats, both domestic and foreign, our country has responded by passing legislation. Students trace the fundamental rights...
Curated OER
Why Do Governments Exist? Locke, Hobbes, Montesquieu, and Rousseau
Here is a great secondary source reading that includes the primary ideas and philosophies of the famed Enlightenment philosophers: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Charles Montesquieu, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In additional to discussing...
Delegation of the European Union to the United States
Structure of Government within the EU
The political system of the European Union is historically unique and has been constantly evolving. To better understand the structure of the EU, class members compare the EU's branches to those of the United States Federal Government.
Curated OER
Leaders, Laborers, and Other Perspectives of World War II
How did the women in France feel about their country’s involvement in World War II? Class groups are assigned a country involved in WWII, and individuals within the group adopt the point of view of leaders, laborers, businessmen, women,...
School Improvement in Maryland
Executive Order
After reading information about Executive Order #9066, class members assume the voice of an 18 year-old Japanese-American born in California and placed in an internment camp. Individuals then craft a letter to President Roosevelt...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 3
Prepare your classes for the impending state testing! Give each student the reading passage and questions, and then set the timer. Encourage them to use specific reading strategies to improve comprehension. They could start by reading...
Curated OER
Mesopotamia
Sixth graders describe the geography of Mesopotamia, explain the characteristics of Sumerian city-states, and identify the cultural practices of the ancient Sumerians. They then explain how empires formed in Mesopotamia.
Curated OER
The Red Scare
Students identify and interpret issues of Nativism and Protectionism in early 20th Century America. They analyze the roots of anti-immigrant movements in the Post-World War One United States. Finally, students identify and explore the...
Museum of Tolerance
And Justice for All? Slavery Not Just in the Past
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),...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Comparing Strategies for Proportion Problems
Having problems with proportions? Then solve these proportion problems with an exercise that asks learners to first individually solve a set of problems involving ratios and proportional reasoning. Groups then discuss provided...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Solving Quadratic Equations
Scholars first complete an individual assignment using a quadratic equation to model the movement of a bus around a corner. Learners then discuss their solutions with classmates and analyze the provided sample responses.
Mathematics Assessment Project
Classifying Equations of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines
Parallel parking might be difficult, but finding parallel lines is fairly simple. In this lesson, learners first complete an assessment task involving parallel and perpendicular lines in the coordinate plane. Individuals then take part...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Modeling Motion: Rolling Cups
Connect the size of a rolling cup to the size of circle it makes. Pupils view videos of cups of different sizes rolling in a circle. Using the videos and additional data, they attempt to determine a relationship between cup...
Walden Woods Project
19th Century Lessons for 21st Century Lives
The words of Henry David Thoreau on Civil Disobedience seem particularly relevant today, as are his writings and those of other transcendental thinkers who ask what it mean to live deliberately and what are the responsibilities of...