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Learning from Letters and Other Mail
Students explore the history of our mail system. In this postal lesson plan, students evaluate mail as a means of communication, create a mail system in their classroom where they can send and receive mail. Once the students receive...
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A Common Thread
Sixth graders explore the Renaissance. In this Renaissance instructional activity, 6th graders study the culture and society of the middle ages. Students research the geography and climate of the times and discover how these affected...
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Creatures from Planet X: Spiders
Young scholars are given a description of some fascinating animals from "Planet X". They follow the descriptions given to illustrate one of these animals paying careful attention to introduced vocabulary such as 'appendages',...
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Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Students identify the plant parts and bee structures that are involved in pollination. They simulate pollination in a group activity and process the information.
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Powerful Potato
Third graders recognize the importance of geography in shaping a settlement where people can live. In this community location lesson, 3rd graders participate in a potato growing activity to understand how it helped a community...
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African Architecture
Seventh graders investigate cultural influences on architecture in Africa south of the Sahara. They compare the architecture to that in North America, Europe, Russia, and North Africa, Asia, and South America.
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The Rocky Shore
Students compare a realistic landscape painting with a photograph of the same place.
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See the World
Seventh graders locate and write creatively about different places and their cultures. They identify the physical, economic, social, political and cultural characteristics of selected regions in the Eastern Hemisphere. Finally, 7th...
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Baga Drum
Students examine a Baga Drum in order to explore the history of the Baga people of West Africa. In this art history lesson, students recognize figures used in Baga Drum design that represent aspects of Baga culture. They also design and...
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How Things Fly
Students observe photographs of selected twentieth-century aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum and note differences in the design of aircraft wings, fuselages, and engines.
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Money Talks
Students move from fact finding to interpretation as they examine paper money from the time of the American Revolution. In the final exercise, they use the issue dates of the bills to construct a chronology of political changes during...
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Spy on a Spider
Students view slides or live specimens to name and describe the distinguishing features of groups of arthropods, especially spiders and insects. They complete worksheets, observe webs and then search for and record where spiders can be...
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Facts, Feats and Folklore: Spiders
Students review and discuss a variety of sayings, folklore and superstitions about spiders. They discuss this information and choose either an interesting fact or appealing foklore tradition to illustrate.
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Pictures Telling Stories
Students see the importance of primary sources in the study of history, but also the limitations of relying only on primary sources of taking the money, as it were, at face value.
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East Asian Architecture
Seventh graders compare architecture in East Asia to North American, European, Russian/Eurasian, North African/Southwest Asian and South American architecture. They search the internet for current and historic images of East Asian...
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North African and Southwest Asian Architecture
Seventh graders search online for current and historic images of North African and Southwest Asian architecture. They compare North African and Southwest Asian architecture to North American, European, Russian/Eurasian, and South...
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Russian and Eurasian Architecture
Seventh graders search online for current and historic images of Russian and Eurasian architecture. They compare current Russian and Eurasian architecture to North American, European, and South American architecture.
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European Architecture
Seventh graders search online for current and historic images of European architecture. They compare current European architecture to North American, and South American architecture.
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Southeast Asian Architecture
Seventh graders search online for current and historic images of Southeast Asian architecture. They compare architecture in Southeast Asia to North American, European, Russian/Eurasian, North African/Southwest Asian and South American...
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Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students make deductions about life in an internment camp by reading and comparing letters written to Clara Breed. Along the way, they consider the advantages of looking at a historical event from the multiple points of view of...
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Traveling the Silk Road: A Multimedia Approach
Students transfer what they have learned about China into an electronic project. In this collaborative project, students take what they have learned from their textbooks and synthesize the information in order to create an electronic...
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Journey to America
Fifth graders carefully analyze the artwork, Les Emigrants, and explore the reasons that people emigrated to the United States, and what life was like for new arrivals. They discuss what things immigrants were able to bring with them and...
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Regional identities in Italy
In this Italy map activity worksheet, students complete 2 map activities that require them to identify major cities and landforms in the country.
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Immigrating to America
Coming to America as an immigrant can be an emotional and difficult process. This lesson has learners explore what it means to be an immigrant, listen to real life accounts, and visit an online museum. This is a wonderful discussion...