Curated OER
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Students research the importance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In this holiday instructional activity, students are introduced to the meaning behind these Jewish holidays and identify geography of Israel.
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Enduring Influence: Rome, Greece, and Byzantium
Pupils explore ancient cultures. For this ancient history lesson, students view programs that depict the ancient Roman, Greek, and Byzantine cultures. Pupils consider how archaeologists, geologists, and scientists have uncovered the...
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Rainforest Resources
Students explore products of the rainforest. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students discover the resources that the rainforest holds and examine products from the rainforest used around the world.
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Exploration and Encounters
Fourth graders research explorers of the New World. In this American history lesson, 4th graders conduct internet & textbook research about various New World explorers. Students compare and contrast the sources used for...
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Family History
Eighth graders examine immigration patterns. In this family history instructional activity, 8th graders investigate their own family histories and then compare and contrast immigration patterns of their class to national immigration...
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A Troubled Relationship
Students discover information about Iran and Britain. In this current events lesson, students visit websites and listen to lectures to learn about Britain's Navy personnel that were taken hostage by Iran. Students investigate the history...
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Giants Stalk the High Street
Students explore consumerism in Great Britain. In this current events lesson, students visit selected websites to determine how shopping habits have changed in Britain throughout the years. They also evaluate changes in market shares of...
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The Greatest Survival Story of All Time
Students use the Internet to read about an explorer's survival in the Antarctic. They try to find a better route for him to have taken.
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Every Picture Tells a Story
Students examine the ways in which a work of art represents the culture or lifestyle of people living in a state. They analyze the back of the Iowa quarter and discuss how art reflects the time period in which it was created.
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Dancing Rainbows: A Pueblo Boy's Story
Learners read the book "Dancing Rainbows," and complete a variety of activities across the curriculum. In this Native Americans lesson plan, students create pottery, discuss Pueblo traditions, discuss the importance of rain, and learn...
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The Hunter Using Children's Literature to Teach the Geography of Africa
Students are able to answer basic questions about the region and the use of natural resources, sketch a mental map of the story's setting, and find their way through the thematic maze/map.
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LA CENERENTOLA (Cinderella)
Young scholars work in groups to create a map key. The map key represents the diversity of each of the Cinderella stories previously read. They explore the cultural dimensions and contributions of the arts.
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Antebellum North Carolina
Eighth graders examine pictures & documents relating to the Hayes Plantation (Edenton, NC). They also use various maps of North Carolina to help them analyze how James Cathcart Johnston used, modified and adapted to the physical...
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Giving Generously
Learners explore philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students read Runaway Rice Cake, identify the elements of the story, and make rice cakes to share with others.
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Trouble With Trolls
Students listen to The Trouble With Trolls and discuss fables. In this story elements lesson, students work on reading skills. Students participate in different reading activities.
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LA CENERENTOLA (Cinderella)
Students investigate different cultures' versions of the Cinderella tale in comparison to the Rossini opera synopsis. They experience dramatizing a Cinderella tale and study about the group and individual process required for theatrical...
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Hero Within
Young scholars interview a hero. In this heroes lesson, students read Number the Stars to begin a discussion about heroes and then create mind maps on each character. Young scholars pick a local hero and interview them and then write a...
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More Than Anything Else
Second graders investigate the life of Booker T. Washington by reading a biography. For this biographical lesson, 2nd graders read the story More Than Anything Else, and examine the geographical locations Washington once resided...
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Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River. In this U.S. Geography lesson plan students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River. Students...
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A Year (a Day or a Week) In My Life as a Shorebird
Students describe the basic life history of one shorebird common to their area. They use the writing process which includes brainstorming, rough draft writing, peer editing, and re-writing to create a factually and grammatically...
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How Far Can a Butterfly Fly
Students draw a picture of their favorite insect and describe. Students make a paper art project ladybug and write a story about it. Students map areas where certain insects are more prevalent. Students count dots on ladybugs and record.
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The Pony Express
Fourth graders answer four math questions based on their reading of a short story on the history of the Pony Express.
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Language Arts: Women in History
Students read excerpts from Amelia Earhart's autobiography, "The Fun if It," and identify her character traits. To aid visualization of her transatlantic flight, they search books and the Internet for photos related to Earhart's flights....
Smithsonian Institution
The Sounds of an Island: Jamaican Music for the Classroom
Introduce young explorers to the music and history of Jamaican culture through game songs and dances. As a bonus, class members get to play simple songs transcribed for the recorder.