Federal Reserve Bank
Turn Your Radio On
After listening to and analyzing a series of FDR's Fireside Chats, groups create their own recordings, and using New Deal programs, address a current economic condition.
Curated OER
Calling All Inventors: Celebrate National Inventors Month
Start off the school year by engaging learners in a creative study of inventors and their inventions.
Curated OER
New Kid on the Block
Learners become familiar with the problems of new students and interview new learners to understand their experiences when they first arrived. In this new students lesson, learners design informational packages to help a new student...
Curated OER
A Good Government Is Hard to Build
Learners explore the challenges that Iraqi leaders are facing while working to create a new government. They engage in a class simulation in which they create a new governing council to preside over their school.
Curated OER
Empire State-Building
Students explore how empires around the globe have impacted the world in which they have existed. They analyze whether or not the United States is an imperialist nation and create their own empires based on their understanding of empires...
Curated OER
National Chemistry Week
National Chemistry Week lessons enliven classroom science investigations.
Curated OER
Improve the Lives of the Homeless in New Orleans
High schoolers develop a business plan to address the issue of homelessness. In this "Homeless in New Orleans" instructional activity, students learn how to develop a business plan, interview homeless people, brainstorm ideas and present...
Curated OER
Task: Grain Storage
Farming is full of mathematics, and it provides numerous real-world examples for young mathematicians to study. Here, we look at a cylinder-shaped storage silo that has one flat side. Given certain dimensions, students need to determine...
Curated OER
Teen America Travels New England
Students simulate the role of a travel agent to understand how to read and use road maps. They plan a bus trip through New England for a group of travelers that includes, bus travel, meals and attractions. They plan the distance that...
Curated OER
Dinosaurs and George Washington: The Concept of old and new
Students read stories about the past and present and discuss the concept of old and new. In this old and new lesson plan, students discuss what makes something old and what makes it new by using stories as a reference.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Eleanor Roosevelt and the Rise of Social Reform in the 1930's
Eleventh graders explore the various roles that Eleanor Roosevelt took on. In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze the views that Eleanor Roosevelt held as an advocate for social justice. Learners evaluate her contributions to...
Curated OER
Storm That Drowned a City
Students use a map to locate New Orleans and watch a video on the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. As a class, they watch a demonstration on how a wetland can reduce the impact of a hurricane. In groups, they perform their own...
US Institute of Peace
Effectiveness of Nonviolent Civic Action Simulation on Colombia
With new leadership comes new hope! After years of violence, the people of Colombia elect a new president ... could this mean an end to conflict? Civics scholars take part in a large group role-playing exercise designed to illustrate the...
Curated OER
"The Big Bridge Scheme": The Building and Impact of the Brooklyn Bridge
Students watch a video and examine archival newspaper articles to study the different points of view about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge. They examine the impact the bridge had on those living in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Curated OER
Poetry and Our National Anthem
Young scholars express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this American history activity, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the anthem in...
Curated OER
Build the Tallest Building
Students examine the design and construction of skyscrapers. They use the internet to research information about different types of skyscrapers. They create their own building and defend it to the class.
Curated OER
Interpreting Data and Building Hypothesis
Students define the term species, and graph species data together with previously collected data at the National Zoo. They interpret graphed data and recognize patterns in the streamside quadrant versus hillside quadrant. Students use...
Curated OER
Building Up, Breaking Down
Learners explore their school building and examine the rocks it is made of. They discover how rocks become building materials and participate in a variety of activities surrounding this subject.
Teach Engineering
Live Like an Animal
When your parents say that your room's a pig sty, tell them about biomimicry. The sixth installment of a nine-part Life Science unit has scholars research the shelters used by animals in the natural world, like turtle shells. Using the...
NASA
NASA Engineering Design Challenges - Spacecraft Structures
What kind of design challenges are there in building structures to support rocket engines? The unit takes design teams through the process of building the lightest possible thrust support structure that can withstand the necessary forces...
NPR
Women Of Jamestown Lesson Plan
To better understand the role women played in early 17th century US history, class members examine the National Women's History Museum's online exhibit, Building the New World: the Women of Jamestown Settlement. After studying the 11...
9/11 Memorial & Museum
The Destruction and Rebuilding of the World Trade Center
How did an investigation into the causes of the collapse of the Twin Towers, as a result of the 9/11 attacks, inform the construction of the new 1 World Trade Center? That is the central question of a resource that asks class members...
Curated OER
Speech! Speech!
Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Science Friday
Pinhole Viewer
Take a peep into optics. Pupils watch a video about a large Polaroid camera before building pinhole viewers. The scholars then create different types of viewers and compare them to determine which provides the best image.