Curated OER
A Day of Infamy:Analyzing FDR’s Pearl Harbor Address
In 1941 FDR spoke out on the events at Pearl Harbor. The class will get to analyze word choice, word meaning, author's craft and structure by analyzing an actual draft of this speech. They will look critically at the words used,...
Newseum
Today's Front Pages
Take a close look at a number of newspapers with collection of lessons and activities. Using a poster (which can be found under the materials tab), learners examine the hard copy of a local newspaper. This leads into an exploration of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Monroe Doctrine: A Close Reading
Students identify specific passages in the Monroe Doctrine to events in early U.S. diplomacy.
Curated OER
In Old Pompeii
Students investigate the history of Pompeii and its destruction. They take a virtual field trip to the ruins of Pompeii, create a travel brochure to attract tourists to the site, and write an account of their trip.
Curated OER
Boccia
Boccia is very similar to the game of bocce. There is a jack, a small ball that is tossed within a 12' x 6' area which becomes the target. Each team has six hand-sized leather balls which they try to get as close as possible to the jack...
Curated OER
Genetics
Comprehend that many human characteristics-all physical traits and possibly many personality traits-are determined by our genetic makeup. These activities demonstate that all physical traits are genetically determined, some evidence...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Tea Overboard
While less well known than the event in Boston, the Yorktown Tea Party was equally decisive in turning community sentiment against Great Britain. To gain an understanding of why the colonists objected to the Tea Act, young historians...
Curated OER
Lesson 2-Profiles in Courage: To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro Boys Trial
Review one of the most memorable cases in the history of the United States. After reading To Kill A Mockingbird, young scholars read and select court transcripts and other primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933....
Teach with Movies
Teaching Students to Write a Narrative
Encourage narrative writing with a clever exercise. Class members watch episodes from movies and describe what happened to a character, including details about the setting, plot, and characters. Writers then craft a narrative about a...
Curated OER
Harmony Day - Driven Out
Children explore what life might be like for refugees and people migrating to a different country. Each student lists the five most precious items he/she owns and is then given an extreme scenario to consider. By the end of the exercise,...
Curated OER
Social Studies: The Book of Exodus
Intended for a Christian audience, bible study, or home-school setting, this lesson has learners analyzing the significance of the ten commandments in today's world. They consider the commandments themselves, discuss their historical and...
New Museum of Contemporary Art
Lesson: Unmonumental: Fallen and Disappearing Monuments
Due to vandalism, war, and urban decay, many of the world's great monuments have fallen to ruin. Here is an interesting lesson that increases understanding of the dichotomy between what are intended as lasting tributes, and their...
PBS
“He Named Me Malala”: Understanding Student Activism Through Film
Malala Yousafzai has become the face of social activism. After watching He Named Me Malala and short student-made films about what young people can do to become instruments of change, class members reflect on what it means to be an...
Curated OER
Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet
Students investigate how sound influences meaning in poetry by listening to sonnets. They write an analysis after listening to and reading sonnets.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The War in the South, 1778–1781
The second in a three-part look at the Revolutionary War focuses the years from 1778 through 1781 and zooms in on military operations in the southern colonies, the French alliance, and the role African-Americans played in events. Class...
AtoZ Teacher Stuff
Pumpkin Life Cycle
From seed to jack-o-lantern, young scholars walk step-by-step through the life cycle of pumpkins with this fun art and science activity. After first participating in a shared reading of the children's book Pumpkin,...
Curated OER
Do You Know the Story of Pomp?
Students examine and read about Pomp, the infant son of Sacagawea. They research the Lewis and Clark expedition, create a storyboard presenting important events, and design a Powerpoint presentation.
Curated OER
A Landmark Lesson: The United States Capitol Building
Young scholars study the events in American history that affected the US Capitol Building. They name activities that happen in and around the Capitol by looking at primary source documents that are available online.
Curated OER
Got Character?
Learners create an advertisement promoting good behavior. This character-development lesson plan from Boys Town High School involves students studying the history of the Got Milk?advertising campaign. After a discussion of marketing...
American Battlefield Trust
Antietam 360
It was the single bloodiest day in Civil War history. Now, class members have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of soldiers who fought in the Battle of Antietam using an interactive website. Supplemental resources include...
Curated OER
“THE LORAX” by Dr. Seuss
Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help...
Newseum
Editorials and Opinion Articles
Reading the news is fun, and that's a fact! With the lesson plan, scholars differentiate between fact and opinion as they read editorial articles. They complete a worksheet to analyze the information before writing their own editorials...
Curated OER
Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Martha Rosler
Have a class discussion to better understand the art of Martha Rosler. Young art critics consider Martha's art as it is used to express issues of political unrest and social awareness. They look at each of the five images and use the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Tales of the Supernatural
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...