Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Gayle Forman
Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #7 - Positioning Solar Panels I: Explorations with Tracking
In this first part of a two-part lesson, learners track and record the sun's azimuth using a solar panel. They graph and analyze the data to identify relationships among the time of day, the altitude and azimuth of the sun, and the...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Cultural Change
High schoolers research the passage of the 19th Amendment as an illustration of the mutual influence between political ideas and cultural attitudes. They also read the Seneca Falls Declaration and explore the cultural shifts it both...
Curated OER
Card Catalog Cards
Prepare students on how to use the library's card catalog system as well as the online version. Author, card catalog, the Dewey system, and so much more is addressed. This would be a great tool to use in the classroom or library.
EngageNY
Synthesizing Research: How Colonists Were Interdependent
Following the formative assessment of this unit, young scholars present the information they gathered on their specific colonial trade to the rest of the class. Working in groups, learners create posters describing the particular job...
Curated OER
Draft Dilemmas
Consider the possibility of a new U.S. draft with this lesson, which encourages class debate and persuasive arguments. Middle and high schoolers discuss how such a draft might be enacted and how they would feel about it. They write...
Curated OER
Technical Merits
What is technical knowledge? The class explores what technical knowledge might mean to an Olympic athlete. They catalog the different types of information that athletes would need to compete in various Winter Olympic sports and develop...
Curated OER
Fire Fight
While somewhat dated (students write letters to President George W. Bush about the Iraq War), this lesson could be a good way to reinforce rhetorical reading and critical thinking. Students examine information regarding Operation Iraqi...
Curated OER
White House Havoc
The president of the United States must be able to keep a cool head in moments of crisis to lead his or nation out of the darkness. A history instructional activity encourages learners to study the ways various presidents have handled...
City University of New York
Urban Politics: Machines and Reformers
What were political machines and whom did they serve? As part of a study of US immigration patterns and how these patterns influenced politics, groups investigate how Tammany Hall and other political machines gained support from voters.
City University of New York
Woman's Suffrage and World War I
How did women use President Wilson's ideals and rhetoric in their bid for suffrage? To answer this essential question, class groups analyze primary written documents and visual images.
EngageNY
Reading Proficiently and Independently: The Power of Setting Goals
Scholars reflect upon their reading strengths and challenges to create personal reading goals. Participants use goal-setting verbiage in an accordion-style graphic organizer, a first step in writing a letter that details their reading...
Curated OER
Rocking the Vote
Students explore how a presidential candidate can win the popular vote but not receive enough electoral votes to win the election. They analyze various regions' voting trends, explore how these trends reflect the outcome of the 2004...
Curated OER
Putting It on the Map
Learners consider the purpose of various types of maps and their different uses throughout history. They create their own maps and reflect on the map-making process.
Curated OER
The Right to Remain Resilient
Students examine the Civil Rights Movements in the U.S., both current and historic. In small groups students investigate a specific civil rights group, create an illustrated timeline, noting key events, people, and state and federal laws.
Curated OER
She's All Over the Map
Students consider female authors and their literature. Working in partnerships, they research and map the life and work of a Nobel Prize-winning female author of their choice. Students write individual letters expressing their thoughts...
Curated OER
Staying Safe on the Job
Students share their opinions about the rights and responsibilities of employees, businesses and the government in maintaining a safe work environment. They prepare arguments supporting their assigned positions concerning workplace...
Curated OER
Running Rings Around the Competition
students explore the debate behind Beijing's bid to host the 2008 Olympics from the perspectives of different groups involved. They then 'cast votes' as members of the International Olympic Committee as to which city should be chosen.
Curated OER
Changing the Channel
Young scholars explore the historic transfer of the Panama Canal from the United States to Panama, investigating how this shift might affect various aspects of Panama's economy, relations with other countries, and international trade.
Curated OER
Buying Time
Students explore the financial and political relationship between the Palestinian Authority and Middle Eastern countries.
Curated OER
Math on the Mound
Students explore mathematical applications of the current intra-city World Series. After learning how one school district is incorporating the World Series in its classrooms, students consider possible applications of the Series in their...
Curated OER
Birds of a Feather Flock to the Web
Students define the term "evolution" and relate it to species adaptation, supporting their ideas with examples. They locate, correctly cite, and briefly review two Web sites with information on finches commonly found in their state or count
Curated OER
The Fight for Human Rights
Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own 'Bills of Human Rights' and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them.
Curated OER
Eye in the Sky
Students use the Internet to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the Hubble Space Telescope by participating in an Internet scavenger hunt, searching for information about the objectives, past successes and repair of the telescope.