Painted, portable, pocket lockets encourage kids to display personal treasures and items they value. The activity, combining art with social and character studies, is perfect for any classroom.

High schoolers examine the relationship between a poem's form and its content in Robert Frost's poem, 'Mending Wall.' They read and analyze the poem, explore websites, listen to an audio clip of Frost reading the poem, and write an...

One of the great things about technology is that it lets youngsters visit museums that may be many miles away. With this resource, middle and high schoolers can visit the portrait galleries at J. Paul Getty Museum, located in Los...

Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores were both born in 1858, and both came to the Dakota territory in 1883, but they influenced the developing country of America in different ways. Elementary and middle schoolers apply written and...

Have you ever been accused of something without cause? The sixth installment of an eight-part series asks scholars to create a museum exhibit on the anti-communist activities in the United States at the start of the Cold War. To make...

Students identify butterfly habitats. In this butterfly habitats lesson, students read and discuss Where Butterflies Grow. Students study pictures and guess which are butterfly habitats. Students list the life needs of butterflies and...

Students explore the definition of a portrait. In this portrait analysis lesson, students discuss two of Dorothea Lange's portraits and create their own portraits of their classmates.

Find photos of bird beaks or show a prepared four slide PowerPoint, "Extreme Beaks" to introduce your class to this special animal adaptation. Provide them with a data table and supplies to try gathering food with tools that each...

Lorna Simpson is a photographer who has put together a collection of photos from the 1950s in order to challenge the idea that primary source documents are objective in their portrayal of history. Learners are introduced to Ms. Simpson's...

Students give examples to indicate how voting participation changed in the first half of the 19th century, and make connections between changes in voting participation and the results of the election of 1828.

Students view examples of movies and create a movie trailer for an original thematic movie. In this fiction elements lesson, students complete creative event entries and view an abbreviated movie trailer from Alice. Students watch The...

Students collect data on baseball plays. In this statistics lesson, students graph their data and make predictions based on their observation. They calculate what the probability is that a favorable outcome would happen.

A Dorothea Lange photograph launches this study of metaphors. Using the questions provided, the class examines the image and the title to consider how Lange uses her photo as a metaphor. Class members then select an object they can use...

Eleventh graders compare 1920's America to modern America. In this historical perspectives activity, 11th graders research both eras in American history using inquiry skills. As a culminating activity, students create digital slide shows...

Pupils choose two composers to research and complete a compare and contrast study of them. For this composer research lesson plan, students select two composers to research. Pupils use Internet sources, the library, and music class...

Students define "metaphor" and discuss examples of it in writing. They look carefully at a photograph by Dorothea Lange and discuss its relationship to the concept of metaphor. They write effectively about their own experience, picking...

Students write with a command of the stylistic aspects of composition. They respond to non-print text. Students demonstrate working knowledge of syntactical choices. They construct sentences using descriptive language. Students analyze...

How did early Americans ensure expansion while also securing the rights of citizens? Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, two of our early leaders, considered the problem of faction to be the "mortal disease" that created unstable...

While the French were once the allies of Americans, the Napoleonic Wars saw the United States almost drawn into a war with its one-time friend. Wars in Europe threatened to draw in the early republic. A primary source-based activity...

Learners investigate the costs and benefits of switching their school to sustainable technology energy production. They use software called HOMER developed by the National Renewable Energy Lab to do the cost/ benefit analysis. They then...

Students study organisms and the roles they play in nature. For this ecology lesson, students photograph several examples of organisms during a nature walk. Students print out their photos and classify the organisms as plants or animals.

Second graders follow the Iditarod race that begins in March. They research data and select a musher to trail in the race. Then they write daily in a journal about events that happen on the trail, including pictures from the Website.

Young scholars identify three different American Indian regions and tribes, their food, clothing, shelter, recreation, and transportation. Students create artifacts that can be placed in a museum. Young scholars sing songs, chants, and...

Students develop a list of criteria for a book trailer. In this book trailer lesson, students review book trailers, create storyboards and use Photo Story 3 to create book trailers. Students create a mini-webquest to review copyrights.