Curated OER
Lesson 2: The Constitution: Our Guiding Document
Explore the structure and content of the US Constitution in the second lesson of this five-part social studies series. A collection of activities, games, and videos complement a class reading of a document summarizing the US...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Ninth Grade
"Bullying and Prejudice" and "Do You Cyber Bully," two lessons from a complete Bully Free program, serve as samples of the approach used in a unit designed to bring awareness to and to combat bullying. Each lesson asks class...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—10th Grade
Two lessons, "What Does Cyber Bullying Look Like?" and "Factors Influencing My Reporting the Bullying of Others," serve as examples of the 12 included in a Bully Free curriculum. Each plan includes discussion questions, an activity,...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Second Grade
Two lessons shed light on bullying in hopes to create a bully-free zone in your classroom. The first lesson defines bullying and allows scholars to reflect on their behavior. The second lesson focuses on choices and consequences. Both...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Third Grade
Two lessons shed light on two types of bullying: verbal and cyberbullying. After defining the two types, scholars take part in whole-group discussions, complete worksheets, and write reflections. A parent or guardian chat encourages an...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Fifth Grade
Two lessons take a look at bullying. Lesson one focuses on physical bullying. Scholars identify the bullying type's qualities, read short stories and answer comprehension questions. Lesson two offers advise on what to do as a bystander...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Eighth Grade
Middle schoolers are likely very familiar with the concept of bullying and cliques. Discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to handle peer conflict and feelings of exclusion with a poem that focuses on bullying, and a second...
National WWII Museum
Communities at War: Reading Primary Sources Imaginatively
Uncle Sam wants you to support the troops. Learners use an engaging lesson plan to analyze primary and secondary sources to discover what life was really like for American citizens at home during WWII. Pupils complete...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cyberbullying—Alternate Lesson Plan
Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech,...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—12th Grade
Two sample lessons from a curriculum unit on bullying provide high school seniors with an opportunity to assess their online and cell phone behavior and to consider how they can offer support to bullied students. Each plan includes an...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cyberbullying—Lesson Plan
Learners examine cyberbullying. In this instructional activity on democracy, students discuss the different ways to deal with cyberbullying. They then take a position on the question of whether a democracy should allow schools to take...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Sixth Grade
Two lessons stress the importance of keeping your classroom bully-free. Discussion, collaborative work, role-play, and writing allows participants to examine whether their classroom is welcoming to new members and decide what they should...
Curated OER
Old Stone House Lesson Plan
From stagecoach to railroad tracks, your class will discover how advancements in travel in the United States during the nineteenth century played an integral role in the industrialization and development of American society. The main...
Center for Civic Education
What Basic Ideas Are in the Preamble to the Constitution?
Introduce young historians to the US Constitution with this upper-elementary social studies lesson plan. Beginning with a general discussion about the role of government in society, young scholars go on to work in small...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—Seventh Grade
Having a hard time defining bullying with your seventh graders? Discuss the different types of behavior one would see in a bullying situation with a series of lessons, worksheets, and group activities.
Boys Town
More Tools for Teaching Social Skills in School
Put an end to wasted instructional time with this lesson plan on responsibility and preparedness. After completing this series of activities students will learn the importance of these social skills not only in the classroom,...
Smithsonian Institution
Solomon G. Brown: Letter Writing
Personal correspondence in the form of letters is not as common as it once was. This resource presents an opportunity for you to introduce your class to letter writing and cover topics in social studies. Learners read a letter written in...
Curated OER
Lesson 1: The Importance of Rules in Our Country and in Our Classroom
Explore the importance of rules in a community with the engaging first lesson of this series on the US government. To begin, children play a paper clip game that requires them to make up their own rules as they go, after which the...
Lesson Snips
Lessons from the Holocaust
Connect global examples of attempted genocide with a well-designed social studies lesson plan. It includes an excellent informational text with background information on the Holocaust, as well as worksheets, book report guidelines,...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Baltimore – Caught in the Middle
Choosing sides is no easy matter, and this was certainly true for the citizens of Baltimore in the beginning stages of the Civil War. Using video, group analysis of several primary sources, and discussion, this detailed and thorough...
Friends of Fort McHenry
A Just War or Just a War?
What, if anything, makes a war "just"? This is an interesting and important question to explore with your class, and you can utilize an excellent lesson plan to support your group inquiry. The American Revolution and the War of 1812...
Mikva Challenge
Why Vote?
Elections are supposed to represent the will of the people. So why don't 100% of registered voters line up at the polls on Election Day? High schoolers study the last few elections and the voter turnout for each, according to race,...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Cloning
Young scholars explore the issues and challenges of cloning. In this cloning lesson plan, students read about how cloning affects people and the types of cloning, then they prepare a debate either for or against cloning.