John F. Kennedy Center
Comparing Cultural Holidays
A lesson examines the holidays, Día de los Muertos and Halloween. After an exciting clip from the movie Coco, class members review vocabulary and discuss what they know about Halloween. The conversation leads into the history of Día...
Curated OER
Prequel to Antigone
Trying to find a way to begin your Antigone unit? Use this lesson to introduce your class to the background of Oedipus and Antigone, as well as the historical context. They view a PowerPoint presentation about Oedipus and the story...
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Classroom Potlatch
Elementary schoolers study the history and purpose of potlatches. The listen to two stories about potlatches, then design a potlatch that they will host for their family members. They must come up with the gifts they would give, the...
American Museum of Natural History
A Closer Look at Mars
A website looks at how we know so much about Mars—telescopes, robots, and spacecraft—and the search for martian life. Following the informational text are three questions that quiz pupils about possible life on Mars.
Curated OER
Self Biography
Get to know your students with this project. Each individual writes an autobiography that is at least seven pages long with major facts, visual facts, focal stories, and chronology. The instructional activity includes a point breakdown...
Curated OER
Investigating Immigration and Settlement in Wisconsin
Fourth graders identify the origins of their own ancestors and possible reasons for immigration. They research immigrant groups of Wisconsin, including origins and daily life, and then create timelines depicting their settlements.
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Refugees
Sixth graders use the internet as well as personal interviews to research refugees and refugee status from a Canadian and international perspective.
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Immigration to the United States
Students work together as a class to create a videotape examining their different family histories. They interview their families about their experiences immigrating to America. They draw illustrations of their family to be included on...
Curated OER
Simulated Genetic Counseling Session
Students, in groups, prepare a family history for a family with a genetic condition. They simulate a genetic counseling session and listen to a guest lecture by a genetic counselor.
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Grandma Tells A Story
Students read a story with the teacher to reflect upon their own family history. The application of the story is when children create their own family tree and complete the questionaire.
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It All Begins With A Name
When students learn about coats of arms symbols, they can explore history, math, and their own ancestry.
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The City of New Haven
Students examine the geography, politics and history of their local town of New Haven, Connecticut. Using the internet, they explore the neighbors of New Haven and write directions from their house to school. In groups, they research...
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A Salute to American Symbols
Students research American symbols. In this American History lesson, students listen to the story The Wall and discuss the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They also listen to One Nation and research an American Symbol to create a...
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Anne Frank: Timeline
Students brainstorm all they know about World War II and Anne Frank. They create a timeline of the events that occured. They research the events on the timeline in their own family history.
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Getting to Know My World
Students participate in hands-on activities using maps and globes to identify geographical features. Students use map legends to identify direction. Students locate oceans, continents, countries, states and cities. Handouts and...
Channel Islands Film
Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: Lesson Plan 2
After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
On This Day With Lewis and Clark
Walk in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark as they discover the wonders, beauty, and dangers of the American frontier. After gaining background knowledge about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, young explorers use primary...
Curated OER
Santana
The orchestra plays the National Anthem and discusses their origin. Students listen to other nation's National Anthems, and discuss how they felt while listening. As the students play the National Anthem, the teacher sings. The students...
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Murals
Students investigate how murals portray cultural expression. They study the history of mural making, explore its symbolism and design a mural of their own.
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All The Way to Timbuktu
Students discuss the concept of historic preservation and relate it to their own families and communities. After reading an article, they discuss the efforts of Mali to preserve their history. Using the internet, they research one...
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Ancient Egypt
Students discover details about ancient Egyptian funerals. In this ancient Egypt lesson plan, students compare and contrast modern funeral rites to those practiced by ancient Egyptians. Teachers may also access the suggested print and...
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The Great Depression: Eating on a Shoestring
Students explore the realities of feeding a family on a very limited budget by comparing the cost of living in the 1930s to the cost of living today. Using primary documents and technology to make the comparison, they identify the impact...
Curated OER
Conceptualizing an Experiment
Students work together to design an experiment. They discover the origin of a family artifact. They analyze the data and discuss the results. They determine if the experiment is the best way to find out this type of information.
Curated OER
Japanese Internment During World War II
Learners identify, describe and discuss the reasons why Japanese-Americans were placed in internment camps and what life was like at these camps. Then they write an unsent letter to a family member on the East Coast describing their...