Thalian Association Community Theatre
West Side Story: Teacher Resource Guide
West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word jumble....
ProCon
Gold Standard
If all the mined gold in the world was melted across a football field, it would rise 5.4 feet. That's just one interesting fact pupils learn when using the debate topics website to determine if the United States should return to a gold...
Big History Project
Human Migration Patterns II
While humans have always been on the move, the period between 1400 and 1800 saw vast migrations of people between the East and the West. These migrations—whether through slavery or a desire to colonize new lands—shaped the modern world....
Smithsonian Institution
A New America: The Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965
Many dream of coming to America, but few may enter. The lesson explores the Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965 and how it changed immigration policies in the United States. Academics learn how immigration quotas impacted Western Europe...
Curated OER
"Now and Then" Comparing Present Day with Medieval Times
Eighth graders compare a present-day social issue with a medieval issue. They use technology tools to conduct their research and demonstrate their new knowledge. Students present their findings to the class in the form of a PowerPoint.
Curated OER
European Agriculture
Students make inferences on how physical geography affected the development of early civilizations and come up with solutions to global issues. In this physical geography lesson plan, students compare maps of the past to maps of today to...
Curated OER
Land Use and Lawmaking in California
Students read writings by Ralph Waldo Emerson to analyze transcendentalism and analyze photographic essays depicting environmental issues. For this art and history lesson, students read excerpts of Nature by Emerson to identify...
Curated OER
Genetic Testing: Modern-Day Eugenics?
Students trace the history of the development of Eugenics. In this social studies lesson, students read and analyze a real life case. They write a paper about what they read.
Curated OER
Human Trafficking & Modern Day Slavery - Debating the Fundamentals
Students research the trafficking and slavery issues in a country of their choice. In groups, they prepare arguments which support their point of view. They reverse their positions to make the debate more interesting.
Curated OER
Modern Messages
Pupils explore the aims of artists working in various contemporary art movements, then create works in a similar art style to convey
Curated OER
Young and Restless in China
Learners examine push and pull factors at work in China. In this modern China lesson plan, students research primary and secondary sources in electronic and print formats to investigate the plight of migrant workers in China today....
Curated OER
Painting Modern Life
Students analyze two works by Pablo Picasso and how he represents female figures. In this art analysis lesson, students analyze the female figures in the two artworks and discuss them. Students research a topic of social importance and...
Curated OER
Just an Ordinary Day
Young sociologists identify how technology has impacted the traditional culture of Romania as they read and discuss "Just an Ordinary Day'" by Nina Porzucki. A lesson encourages learners to study Romania's history and present, including...
Curated OER
19c European Liberalism
If you'd like to prompt some great discussions in your history class, this presentation will surely get your class talking. Addressing 19th century liberalism in Europe (including influences from England, France, America, and Ireland),...
Curated OER
Chapter 12 Writing: the ABCs of Language
Providing a thorough presentation on the art of written language (and not just English), this slideshow will open your students' eyes to the sociological and linguistic issues surrounding writing systems, both modern and historical. The...
Curated OER
Student Opinion: Do You Spend Too Much Time on Smart Phones Playing 'Stupid Games'?
This versatile resource from The New York Times website provides a short opinion piece on smart phones and the amount of time we spend playing games on them as well as several possible writing prompts pupils could consider in response to...
ProCon
Drug Use in Sports
The ancient Greeks used performance enhancing drugs, such as opium juice, when they participated in the original Olympic Games. Pupils research a website with debate topics to decide if athletes' use of such drugs in modern sports is...
National Woman's History Museum
The Power of Words and Activism: Susan B. Anthony
Where have all the activists gone? Class members compare 21st-century activism with the suffrage movement and the work of Susan B. Anthony. They begin by examining Anthony's biography and speeches to find evidence that her words and...
Smithsonian Institution
Native Resistance: Native Resistance Then and Now
Native Americans lost so much—and gained so little in return. Scholars explore Native Americans' resistance to the United States government. The lesson uses primary sources to explore the different forms of protest and gives a voice to...
DocsTeach
The 19th Amendment and the Road to Universal Suffrage
Your vote matters! An informative activity focuses on the Nineteenth Amendment and explains how it paved the way for universal voting rights. Young historians analyze several documents and a complete a worksheet, describing the impact of...
Anti-Defamation League
Who Was César Chávez?
Scholars complete a KWL chart to indicate what they know about Cesar Chavez and then research what they want to know about this farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist. To complete the lesson, scholars research modern civil...
Annenberg Foundation
Modernist Portraits
How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...
National Humanities Center
Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...
Curated OER
Bioethics
Young scholars are introduced to the issues surrounding bioethics and begin to discover how some of these values can influence decision making. The exciting part of this lesson is the constructivist method used to engage students of all...