Curated OER
Cultural Spaces
As a way to help your young scholars understand tolerance, personal space, and cultural diversity, this lesson has them give up personal space for three minutes. There is no discussion prior to this activity and seemingly very little...
Curated OER
Relationships for Students in Middle School
Boundaries are important in relationships, no matter how close the relationship is. Middle schoolers explore the ideas of boundaries and personal space with two units about relationships. After discussing the boundaries in their own...
Purple Martin Press
Pen Pal Template: Hello!
Corresponding with pen pals just got easier with this simple writing template. Including sentence frames and space for drawing pictures, this is a fun resource that introduces young learners to writing personal letters.
US Institute of Peace
Maintaining Trusting Relationships
What role does trust play in diffusing a tense situation? Young social scientists explore trust on a personal and global level during a lesson on peace and conflict. After participating in a trust sit, participants work in groups to...
Crafting Freedom
The Self-Empowerment of Harriet Jacobs
In a hands-on learning activity, pupils read about and recreate the experience of Harriet Jacobs, author of one of the most famous slave narratives of all time in which she describes her years of hiding from her master in a confined...
National Woman's History Museum
Breaking Through Gender Roles: The Women of NASA
Whether recognized or not, extraordinary women were integral to breaking gender barriers and putting Americans into space. For Women's History Month, explore a series of video clips and biographical information that profile these...
North Carolina Civic Education Consortium
The Nineteenth Amendment
Beginning with an exercise of favoritism to engage learners, progressing through image and primary source analysis of the Nineteenth Amendment and the Seneca Falls Declaration, and culminating in a look at a political cartoon called...
Curated OER
My Timeline
Ready to announce your next timeline assignment? This is the printable for you! The template provides the option for up to 10 events on the timeline, as well as spaces to illustrate each event!
Curated OER
Chihauhan Desert Journaling Activity
Middle schoolers explore U.S. geography by completing an observational activity with classmates. For this New Mexico lesson, students research the Chihuahuan Desert by visiting several Internet sites. Middle schoolers write the data...
Curated OER
Fill-In l Remembering Dick Clark
Your scholars may have an idea of who Dick Clark is, but do they understand the role he has played in American history for over 50 years? Give learners some practice with media literacy as they read an article about Clark's life and fill...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Research: How Colonists Were Interdependent
Following the formative assessment of this unit, young scholars present the information they gathered on their specific colonial trade to the rest of the class. Working in groups, learners create posters describing the particular job...
Curated OER
A Personal Narrative on the Immigration Experience
The students create a personal narrative on their experiences with immigration. In this lesson, students are asked to read and understand examples of narrative writing as well as evaluate lyrics from Ben Folds Five to determine elements...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Legendary Westerners - Can One Person Really Make a Difference?
Fourth graders research famous Americans from the Westward Movement and complete an interview. In this Westward Movement instructional activity, 4th graders work in pairs to research someone who was important during this time period....
Curated OER
Retraidos
Students discuss the statement "You can buy in any language, you sell in the language of the customer." Students watch a demonstration of personal space and discuss the different distances that various cultures assign as appropriate...
Curated OER
Pioneers In Space
Pupils discover the meaning of the word pioneer by using a variety of different activities. They are introduced to some of the pioneers of aviation in Ohio. They use coins and conduct research about some of the persons who accomplished...
US Institute of Peace
Becoming a Peacebuilder
"Be the change you wish to see in the world!" The 15th and final lesson in a peacebuilding series uses this quote from Gandhi to prepare pupils for their own action projects. Individuals research a global issue, then brainstorm a method...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Expression
Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...
Institute for Humane Education
In Your Face: Reclaiming Billboards
Ads here, ads there, ads everywhere—but what do they communicate? Pupils discuss this topic and develop a list of personal values. They then work as creative directors at an advertising firm to create billboards that reflect community...
Boston University
Scramble for Africa
In this fantastic simulation, your young historians take on the roles of imperialistic European countries in the nineteenth century and then "scramble" to carve up the continent of Africa! This is a very hands-on activity that will help...
Curated OER
Going for the Gold!
Fourth graders discuss their success and failures. They write a short essay on what they have been taught about the personal and ethical skills needed to work with a diverse group of people. Students discuss in small groups to determine...
Curated OER
Cardboard Radial Weaving
Students explore cultural history by participating in an arts and crafts activity. In this weaving lesson, students identify the many cultures that used weaving methods and local plant life to create baskets and other useful tools....
John F. Kennedy Library Foundation
JFK Challenge
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. And so begins your invigorating, innovative learning experience in the JFK Challenge app! Learners...
Curated OER
Great Explorations: To the End of the Earth and Beyond
Students analyze the factors that affect exploration such as religion, trade, territorial expansion, and science. In this Great Explorations lesson plan, students determine the names of famous explorers as well as their routes and...
Curated OER
Team Building
Students participate in various activities to become more successful as a team member. In this team building lesson, students discuss team jobs versus individual ones. Students must work together to complete activities such...