Curated OER
Come Fly with Me . . . Open a Book: Travels through Literature
This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...
BBC
Community Action
Upper graders and middle schoolers engage in a activity on community. A class discussion kicks off the activity. Pupils share things that they do as community service after school or on weekends. They imagine an ideal community they...
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Taking Action
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights passed in 1948 when the majority of members of the United Nations voted in favor of the resolution. Scholars use their knowledge of human rights to determine ways they personally can help promote...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 16
Was Oedipus' destiny determined by fate or by his actions? Using details from the text, ninth graders delve into a critical thinking exercise based on Sophocles' Oedipus the King. Now that Oedipus has learned his true identity, readers...
Stanford University
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Was JFK a fallen Civil Rights hero—or a fraud? Learners examine Kennedy's own words and those of his critics to decide for themselves. After examining Kennedy's actions before his assassination, they determine what sort of legacy he left...
Facing History and Ourselves
Exploring Raphael Lemkin's Actions: The Invention of the Word "Genocide"
Learners examine the contributions of Raphael Lemkin. For this genocide activity, students consider how Lemkin defined the atrocities of the Holocaust as he coined the term "genocide." Learners discuss the definition of genocide as well...
Curated OER
What's in a Brain?
Bring the brain to life for your students with thought-provoking activities
Crown Prosecution Service
Racist and Religious Hate Crime
Address the current political climate with a series of thought-provoking activities. A resource packet provides pupils with strategies for challenging racist behavior and religious prejudice, and moves them from being passive bystanders...
Curated OER
The New York City Draft Riots: A Role Play
This is a fun, thought-provoking lesson. Learners use census data from 1855, primary source documents, their historical knowledge, and information regarding the New York City Draft Riots of 1863 to construct and engage in a role-play....
Curated OER
The Roots of Prohibition: Examining the Effort to Prohibit Alcohol in America
Five segements from Ken Burns' documentary series Prohibition, easily accessed on the PBS website, are at the center of a terrific short unit on the roots of America's ambivalent relationship with alcohol. Engage your secondary class...
Curated OER
Bloom's Taxonomy for Ethan Frome: Chapter Four
As your class progresses through Chapter four of Ethan Frome, provide them with these thought-provoking questions built using Bloom's Taxonomy.
EngageNY
Close Reading of Thank You, Mr. Falker: Identifying the Superpowers of Reading
Third graders read excepts from the story, Thank You, Mr. Falker in order to gain practice in understanding an unfamiliar story by focusing on the details. They use a worksheet, embedded in the plan, which directs them to certain...
Curated OER
Let Pharady Enjoy Her Childhood
A thought-provoking lesson which will provide your 5th graders with a world view. Pupils discuss children's rights here in the US and around the world, and do some comparisons. They watch a video, embedded in the plan, that shows a young...
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 5 Day Lesson
Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...
Voices of a People's History
Voices in The Classroom
Everyone's perspective of the past is different. A thought-provoking unit gives young academics the opportunity to explore their perspectives on history and their neighborhoods. Based on the work of Howard Zinn, each lesson explores...
Curated OER
Human Genetics Lesson
Youngsters are assigned the task of interviewing a family member or a neighbor and asking them about any genetic disorders that are present in their family history. They pretend that they are about to have a baby that is carrying a...
Curated OER
Quiet on the Set!
In pairs learners perform a silent skit portraying relationships between two known characters from a popular book or a play for their classmates. Next, the class will read and discuss a NYTimes article about a film school in the Bronx...
Curated OER
Lesson: Jeremy Deller: Conversing about Conflict
Bridge cultural awareness, community, government, and art with an introspective and thought-provoking lesson. Upper graders become globally and socially aware as they analyze and explore the art of Jeremy Deller. They consider his images...
Curated OER
Chamberlain and Hitler, 1938--What Was Chamberlain Trying To Do?
Explore events prior to World War II. Learners view replicas of authentic photographs and hand written documents representing the viewpoints of Adolf Hitler and Neville Chamberlain. They discuss alternate viewpoints, consider historical...
The New York Times
Decision Point: Understanding the U.S.’s Dilemma Over North Korea
Simulate the Situation Room and analyze the US's relationship with North Korea. The plan starts off with a quick review and an examination of a online timeline that updates as the situation continues. Next, the class reads an article and...
John Wiley & Sons
Defining Leadership
Learners use their experience with leadership, as well as a thought-provoking quote and discussion with their classmates, to help them define the concept of leadership.
Curated OER
Candid Cameras
Students read a New York Times article associated with the use of photography as a tool to depict social issues in order to provoke action. They create a Social Issues display.
Curated OER
Defining Character, With Help from History
In a single, soundly-designed class period, high schoolers define good character, think-pair-share about thought-provoking quotes on character (More options would enhance the discussion, worth searching online for other quotes to add.),...
Curated OER
Expository Writing
Write an expository paragraph First, writers first read three fables and identify a cause and effect relationship in the fables. Then, they write their own expository paragraph with a cause and effect relationship. A list of...