Curated OER
All about Greece
In this Greece worksheet, students learn and report about Greece. Activities include geography, natural resources, recipes, landmarks, history and climate. Students do their own research.
Curated OER
What is el Dia de los Muertos?
Students explore the Mexican celebration el Dia de los Muertos. In this Mexican celebration lesson, students discuss ways people in the US honor the dead. Students compare and contrast Mexican holidays and American holidays. Students...
Curated OER
Mountain Creation: A Drama Exploration
Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing activity, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language used....
Curated OER
The Aerial Age
Students infer America's attitude towards aviation in the early 1900s. In this The Aerial Age lesson plan, students analyze early 1900s literature, music, advertisements, and popular culture in reference to aviation. Students represent...
Curated OER
The John Travolta Syndrome
Students examine the influence of music and film on contemporary fashion. In this popular culture lesson, students research select films featuring John Travolta. Students research selected time periods in American history as well....
Curated OER
Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Students analyze the conventions used in Noh plays and write an introduction to a Noh play of their own. In this Noh play lesson, students identify the conventions of the Noh form and analyze the realizations the main character achieves....
Curated OER
Having Fun: Leisure and Entertainment at the Turn of the Twentieth Century
Students explore how the innovations in culture and technology influenced the development of a leisure industry in America at the turn of the twentieth century.
Curated OER
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Christmas Bells
Students read and analyze the anti-slavery poem, "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They discuss the content and form of the poem, write an essay, write an original poem, examine how this anti-slavery poem was converted...
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 5
Students survey Bebop and identify the basic terms associated with jazz.They experience the music of Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday and participate in a class discussion regarding jazz's contribution to and reflection of American...
Curated OER
Cinderella Folk Tales: Variations in Plot and Setting
Students examine plot and setting of Cinderella, and how it changes as it is translated into different cultures, discuss universal literary elements of the Cinderella story, and write narratives with original settings and plots...
Curated OER
Family and Household Structure
Students examine what the word "family" means today. They identify cultural traditions that are still popular in the United States. They read primary source documents and discover how advice is passed on from generation to generation.
Curated OER
Imperial China: Qin to Ming Dynasties
Looking for a way to supplement a unit on ancient China or world cultures? Look no further than this presentation, which combines rich information with entertaining pictures of Chinese artifacts. China's glorious dynasties provide a...
Little Kids Rock
The Influence of Latin Music in Postwar New York City
Music has often been called the international language that transcends cultures and regions. Scholars analyze the impact of Latin American music on New York City culture in the years following World War II. They research music, video,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Kate Chopin's The Awakening: Searching for Women and Identity in Chopin's "The Awakening"
The final lesson of a three-part series on Kate Chopin's The Awakening has scholars investigate life as a woman in late nineteenth-century America. They research the role of women in society through the eyes of the characters in the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film
Young scholars research the social context of Elizabethan England for Shakespeare's "Hamlet". They identify cultural influences on the play focusing on the theme of revenge and then analyze and compare film interpretations of the play.
Curated OER
Colonial Trades and Apprenticeships
Students examine and analyze culturally significant objects from colonial Boston. They construct a story around the life and work of Nathaniel Hurd from a list of keywords excerpted from a passage about Nathaniel Hurd. In addition, they...
Curated OER
Picture This - Stars Over Hoke
The classroom becomes a safe and inclusive place for your ELLs as they create documents about their lives. Learners create, read, and present story books based on their own personal experiences. They use digital cameras to take...
NPR
Exploring the American Dream
What is the American Dream? When did this term first gain popularity? Intermediate and advanced English language learners discuss the idea of the American Dream and conduct out-of-class interviews with those who immigrated to the US. On...
Curated OER
Hold On to Your Hats
Elementary schoolers study the symbolism and influences found in advertising. First, they learn about the history and cultural significance of the Summer Official's Hat that was a symbol of status in ancient China. Then, they access...
National Literacy Trust
Mark The Bard!
Commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death with a packet of cross-curricular literacy lessons and activities centered around two of the Bard's most popular plays, Macbeth and The Tempest. Class members look for evidence of...
American Museum of Natural History
What's This? Gold
Cell phones are likely made of gold—at least part of them! An interesting lesson explains the conventional and not-so-conventional uses of the popular element gold. From the Inca empire to modern-day technology, learners discover gold...
Curated OER
Jazz In America
Students gain a fundamental understanding of the role of jazz in the Harlem Renaissance. They explain its historical significance and cultural implications.
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 6
Students survey bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop. They explore how bebop, cool jazz, and hard bop reflected American culture and society in the 1940s and 1950s.
Curated OER
Jazz in America Lesson Plan 7
Students survey free jazz and fusion. They explore how free jazz and fusion reflected American culture and society in the 1960s and 1970s.