Facing History and Ourselves
Socratic Seminar
New to the socratic seminar format? Check out a resource that not only provides the rationale for the procedure and step-by-step directions, but also provides a list of suggested topics, rules and model statements.
Curated OER
My Favorite Story
Students discuss their favorite book. In this book discussion lesson plan, students name the title and tell what makes the book special. Students also review the setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. Students make a book that tells...
Curated OER
Building Bridges for Young Learners -- Community
Learners compare and contrast communities.They explore factors that influence how people live, the roles of adults and children, and the interaction of people who live and work within a community. The lesson focuses on the country of...
Curated OER
Shaking the Movers: Youth Rights and Media
Children have rights! Exploring those rights and using media to express those rights is the focus of this Media Awareness Network lesson. Although some of the law links reflect the Canadian Articles of The Convention, the majority of the...
Curated OER
Kid City, USA
What a model community would look like? Get your kids talking with an activity that allows them to create their own town. After printing out a "fold out village," groups of students use a variety of resources to help them build an actual...
Cincinnati Library
Computers for Beginner
The kids in your class are probably experts at navigating the computer, but do they know the difference between hardware and software? Teach computer skills to any level of computer user with a helpful reference sheet. It...
Exploratorium
Pixels, Pictures, and Phones
Take a real close look at your phone screen. What do you see? Here's an activity that provides guidance on how to look at a smart phone screen in order to see the pixels and to see how the phone creates colors and motion on the...
NASA
Science Fiction Story
A lesson allows you to go back in time and see the big bang actually happen. Bazinga! In reality, pupils research the Big Bang Theory and theorize what it would be like to go back in time and see it happen. There are four...
Curated OER
Computer Language
A thorough and engaging slideshow presentation discusses all things computer, from artificial intelligence programs to text messaging lingo. Computer science students will get a kick out of the examples for ELIZA, Otto Jesperson's...
Curated OER
The Evolution of the Book: Introducing Students to Visual Analysis
Students demonstrate visual literacy skills by analyzing the images from the mural in the Library of Congress. In this visual art analysis lesson, students examine the mural and further their knowledge by using tools of art and design to...
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Examining the Choices People Made
The choices made by Roy Bryant and J.W. Millam, the men who murdered Emmett Till in 1955, are usually the ones people ponder when they examine the case. But other individuals made choices that contributed to the event and its subsequent...
Curated OER
Philanthropy in History
Learners understand the importance of books in past and present societies. In this philanthropic lesson, students compare Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Franklin's perspective on the importance of everyone being able to read. Learners...
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Confronting the Murder
The 1955 murder of Emmett Till is often regarded as the catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. Learn more about the brutal crime—and, as many believe, the miscarriage of justice—that began a national conversation...
Facing History and Ourselves
Emmett Till: Choosing to Remember
Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till and civil rights activist, believed that her son's murder was the last straw before public outrage over racial injustice spilled over into the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. A history...
Curated OER
Taking Care of a Baby
Caring for a newborn is harder than it looks! Elementary pupils learn more about taking care of babies with an age-appropriate lesson that addresses how babies grow inside their mothers, what they need to grow, and how members...
Curated OER
Finders Keepers
Students explore the career of beekeeping. In this careers lesson plan, students examine the importance of the beekeeping industry. Students read stories about beekeepers and write comparisons. Students write a report on beekeepers and...
Curated OER
Exploring Homes and Resources
Young scholars search for images of and information about the exchange country's environments and housing, using a variety of sources, and evaluate primary sources of information in terms of accuracy and usefulness.
Curated OER
Which reference book helps most?
Fourth graders utilize various reference materials to find specific types of information. In this library research lesson, 4th graders choose the best source of information from the library's reference collection to answer questions.
Curated OER
Sorting
Students examine the concept of organization. In this library skills lesson, students practice ordering and classification skills by playing the Flood Game as well as locating and shelving books in the school library.
Curated OER
Beginning, Middle or End
Second graders work with a partner. In this library skills lesson, 2nd graders watch a demonstration on how to find a word in a dictionary. Students practice finding words in the dictionary with a partner.
Curated OER
Under The Sea
In this resource instructional activity, students use non-fiction books to research ocean animals. Students discover the many features of non-fiction books and how to use these features to help them conduct research. Students then...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
Curated OER
A Civil War Lesson
Fifth graders research information about the US Civil War using the Internet in order to complete a worksheet. They complete the worksheet using accurate research information after studying background information from their textbooks.
Curated OER
Essay Exchange Unit: Thesis Development
High schoolers identify areas of interest and conduct preliminary research using on-line and library resources to develop their thesis statements.