National First Ladies' Library
Designing the Common School: The First Educational Reform
Middle schoolers perform preliminary research to explore education before public (common) education was in place. They design a public educational system of their own. Students construct a report outlining challenges and solutions for...
Curated OER
Exploring the Life of a Slave
Eleventh graders explore importance of abolitionists who worked to advance freedoms of black Americans prior to/during Reconstruction era, read and identify key concepts in Frederick Douglass's narrative, recognize how Douglass's slave...
Curated OER
Ruby Bridges & School Integration
Students explore school integration issues. In this Civil Rights Movement lesson, students read Through My Eyes by Ruby Bridges and school integration and then write reflections about difficult experiences.
Curated OER
The African-American Experience in the 20th Century through the Art and Life of Jacob Lawrence and the Novels of Bruce Brooks a
Students attempt to answer how African-American, Latino, and white students address race relations in the United States in the future.
Curated OER
Men in Space: From Goddard to Armstrong
Students view "Men in Space: From Goddard to Armstrong," taking a examine the the extraordinary lives of the men who conquered space.
Curated OER
Speech Therapy Students Interact Between Schools
Students use technology to improve their communication skills and have the ability to interact with other speech students attending other elementary schools. Through riddles, games, and other activities, students attain their speech...
Curated OER
Courage to Be You: King Day (7th)
Students define discrimination and relate it to their own experiences. In this discrimination lesson, students discuss feeling like a stranger and complete a personal experiences worksheet. Students then find strategies to reduce or...
Curated OER
VH1 Road to Fame: Harry Connick Jr.
Students examine the life of Harry Connick Jr. and keep a journal on how they could be more successful.
Curated OER
Life On The Oregon Trail
Students investigate the concept of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The class divides into different groups to take a different aspect of the research. Then the groups present the findings to the...
Curated OER
What to do? What to do? Part Two
Third graders perform skits and note ideas fro problem solving in various situations. In this coping lesson, 3rd graders role play problem solving and coping in life-changing situations based on "What to Do" solution starters.
Curated OER
NEPANTLA BETWEEN WORLDS : A Story and Lesson Plan Addressing the Mexican-American Experience
Students read excerpts of "Neplanta" and discuss themes in the literature. For this bi-cultural education lesson, students analyze topics of race and Mexican American culture in the U.S. Students write a pledge to honor diversity and...
Curated OER
Picture This: Bookmaking as a Visual Experience
Students examine artwork to view how artists use objects, symbols and elements of art to tell life stories. They create personal journals while learning the art of bookmaking using a variety of creative materials.
Curated OER
Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood: Understanding Its Responsibilities and Impact on Life
Students receive factual knowledge from competent individuals on the various methods of pregnancy prevention. They improve their self-esteem and determine how to be assertive when communicating with others. They realize that premature...
Curated OER
Children in the Fields: The Life of the Hispanic Child Laborer During California's Agriculture Explosion
Fourth graders examine the agriculture explosion in California in the late 1800's to the early 1930's. They analyze primary source material putting themselves into the shoes of a child laborer. They also gain an understanding of...
Curated OER
The Roots of The Modern Day African Americans And The Suggested Motivation For A Bright Future (Actual Experiences of Booker T. Washington, Frederick Douglass And Joseph Sengbe (Cinque))
Fifth graders examine the roots of African American pride and accomplishments. Individually, they are assigned an African country for them to research. In groups, they discover the life and works of Frederick Douglass, Booker T....
Curated OER
View: Visual Inquiry/Experience in Writing
Middle schoolers discuss the importance of having good observational skills. Using artifacts, they discuss what can and cannot be told about previous cultures. They use their observations to write a paper about the culture and use the...
Curated OER
Japanese Haiku and the American Experience
Twelfth graders research the history to Haiku Poetry. They read classical haiku to comprehend their special sensibility and form. Students encounter the Buddhist philosophical background of this poetry and its roots. They write original...
Curated OER
The Need to Invent
Students create an invention. In this problem solving instructional activity, students share their experiences using crutches or a wheelchair and hold a discussion on how inventions are created to help those who are physically...
Curated OER
Response to Literature: Anecdotal and Saga Memoir Poems
Students differentiate between anecdotal and saga memoir poems. In this response to literature lesson students analyze poems written by others then analyze incidents from their own lives to determine whether they meet the criteria for...
Curated OER
Using Southeast Asian Folktales to Teach Reading and Writing
Students use maps to locate the countries of Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. In groups, they compare and contrast the three countries in regard to their culture, morals and values. They read various examples of folktales and write their...
Curated OER
"Real Life" Budgeting Project
Students experience what it is like to be a responsible citizen through a monthly budget through using a variety of research skills.
They apply collected data in a decision making exercise and
present the final product in a clear and...
Curated OER
The French Expedition to Egypt
Young scholars analyze the effect of the French Expedition to Egypt. In this world history lesson, students research the military, scientific, cultural, and industrial impacts of the expedition. Young scholars create multimedia projects...
Curated OER
Using a Matrix to Compare, Contrast, and Analyze Connections
Students explore writing techniques by comparing fiction vs. non-fiction. In this literature analysis lesson, students read stories from Aesop's Fables and compare the themes and characters to stories from their own life. Students...
Curated OER
Creating Artwork to Explain Environmental Change
Students review artwork that relates to the environment and communicates a value. They view and analyze art by Andy Warhol, Eric Carle and Albert Bierstadt and then create original pieces with an environmental theme.