Museum of Tolerance
The Pursuit of Democracy and Diversity: The Trial of Pro-Social Injustice in Historical Documents and Accounts
Class members investigate The Indian Removal Act of 1830, U.S. Theft of Mexican Territory Timeline, and President Abraham Lincoln’s letter to Horace Greeley, 1862, and then conduct a mock trial of each of these documents to determine...
Curated OER
Metal Tooling with Colored Pencils
Take your art class back centuries to the art of metal tooling. This is an art technique also referred to as embossing, or repajado in Mexico and South America. This is a fun project to introduce a new technique and new materials. This...
Curated OER
Memorial Day Shoebox Parade
Learners examine the history of U.S. conflict and Memorial Day. They conduct research, develop a timeline of U.S. conflict, and create a shoebox Memorial Day parade to commemorate veterans and soldiers.
Curated OER
Day of the Dead Skulls
El Dia De La Muertos or Day of the Dead is a wonderful Mexican tradition that celebrates loved ones who have passed away. Children get a chance to create unique skulls out of clay, based on traditional designs. A wooden stylus is used to...
Curated OER
Creating a Self Portrait painting With Decorative Frame
Sixth graders view a large image of a painting and discuss the history and its role in past and current culture in Mexico. Student list the symbols portrayed in the work and explain their significance. Students use elements of art to...
Curated OER
What's Your Brand?
Students explore the history of branding livestock and discover it began as early as 2000 BC. They discuss reasons for branding and then design their own brand from pipe cleaners. Students dip their brand into paint and print it on...
Curated OER
Civil War: Generals at the Battle of Stones River
Students explore U.S. history by creating a computer presentation in class. In this Civil War battle lesson, students read assigned text about the Battle of Stones River and research individual generals from the battles. Students utilize...
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising
Pupils explore foreign cultures by reading a story in class. In this Hispanic history lesson, students read the story Radio Man by Arthur Dorros and identify the times discrimination is used in the story. Pupils discuss labor problems in...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Community Posters As Art
Students examine posters as art and create their own examples featuring locations or events from their community. They display their works in their schools and discuss their cities and school environments in a live chat setting with...
Curated OER
Mexican Masks
Students explore the Mexican mask-making tradition and create maks that tell stories. They desribe how art tells stories and examine early Mexican culture in California.
Curated OER
A "State of the Arts" Coin
Students study the historical figures depicted on the quarter and explore how symbols of U.S. patriotism were used in its various designs. They research symbols of Texas and choose one to draw in a design for a Texas
quarter. in...
Curated OER
Revolutions Around the World
Revolutions are an interesting and informative way to study world history.
Curated OER
The Mayan Empire
Students study vocabulary associated with the Mayan Empire; its art, daily life, inventions, and religious beliefs. They examine why the Mayan culture is considered to be one of the most advanced of the ancient civilizations by...
Curated OER
The Life and Work of Jackson Pollock
By discussing Jackson Pollock's painting techniques, students can engage in an exploration of what makes art, art.
Curated OER
Colored Pencil Repoussé
Artists employ a basic metalworking technique by embossing lines and textures into a soft metal. They look for examples of embossed metals in historical and contemporary examples. This fascinating process has been used by many cultures...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Island of the Blue Dolphins
Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question to be...
Curated OER
the World Rushed In: "Who Are These People? And How Came They Here?"
Students discuss the struggles Californians dealt with regarding diversity brought about by the Gold Rush. They participate in a variety of creative, original activities and projects designed to reinforce the idea of historical diversity...
Curated OER
Mexico: Introduction to History and Literature
Young scholars study the geography of Mexico (i.e. major cities, surrounding countries and bodies of water, mountain ranges, rivers, volcanoes), They take turns reading aloud information provided (xerox copies) about Mexico. After each...
Curated OER
Artifacts: Bringing the Past Back to Life -- the Mexican Case
Middle schoolers examine and discuss the meanings of the various symbols in Tenochtitlan. In groups, they complete a part of the model of the city and discuss the importance of finding artifacts. Individually, they choose an a...
Curated OER
ARTIFACT to ART to GLYPHS
Young scholars study the development of early Latin American civilizations in unit one. The second part of the unit is based on early image-making attempts from the Cro-Magnon to the Peruvian Incas. Students create their own weavings...
Smithsonian Institution
Dia de los Muertos: Honoring our Ancestors Through Community Celebration
Oral storytelling has been an important part of every culture. The time-honored practice uses stories as a conduit for a culture's values and customs from one generation to the next. Keep the tradition going with a family interview...
Curated OER
Savvy in Sacramento
Pupils take a field trip to the state capital, Sacramento. Using the Internet, they explain the physical and human geographic features of the area and discuss interactions between the people of California between the time of explorers...
Curated OER
What Was It Like?
Students use the Internet to gather historical facts about the county in which they live. Using the information, they discover how to check it for accuracy and present their findings to the class. They write an essay about the history of...
Curated OER
Understanding Cultural Diversity
First graders examine different types of art to help them explain the idea of cultural diversity. This is a unit focusing on works of art.