PBS
“He Named Me Malala”: Understanding Student Activism Through Film
Malala Yousafzai has become the face of social activism. After watching He Named Me Malala and short student-made films about what young people can do to become instruments of change, class members reflect on what it means to be an...
Curated OER
Mapping Your State's Role in the Vietnam War
Students recognize reasons to celebrate Memorial Day. Students create a map of victims of the VIetnam War. Using the internet, students research information about soldiers from their state who were killd in action in Vietnam. Students...
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Hopi Running
Students identify why the Hopi tribe practiced running as it relates to health, delivering messages, defeating other tribes, and for ceremonial events. In this social studies activity, students use maps to identify latitude and longitude...
Curated OER
It's a Gas! Or is it?
Oceanography enthusiasts are given a series of thought experiments to consider in order to relate the solubility of gases and solids to underwater volcanoes. It is not particularly engaging to perform these thought experiments. Choose...
Curated OER
It's a Gas! Or is it?
Examine the effects of temperature and pressure on solubility and the states of matter of ocean water. Learners make inferences about the unique chemistry of ocean water at different depths. They engage in an activity related to...
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The Problem with Profiling
Students explore the issue of racial profiling and post their conclusions to a youth message board. They research the issue of racial profiling and post their thoughts to a message board.
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The Civil Rights Movement
Students compare and contrast African-American, Asian-American, Chicano and Native-American movements with the civil rights movement and are exposed to the sociopolitical and economic factors involved in the rise of social movements.
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Evaluating Information on Food Labels
What kinds of foods include corn? Corn syrup? Start by viewing a clip of Food Inc. with your middle or high schoolers. Then, study a list of corn-derived ingredients, encouraging your class to see how many food products contain corn. A...
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Patti Smith: Dream of Life
How do artists affect and how are artists affected by the time periods in which they live? Learners examine the life and work of controversial and influential cultural artist Patti Smith as they seek answers to this essential question....
Polk County Public Schools
Suffragists
The Women's Rights movement is the focus of an engaging and collaborative exercise, in which young historians use information found in textbooks, class notes, and the provided documents to craft a DBQ essay.
Library of Congress
Industrial Revolution
Could you live without your phone? What about cars, steel, or clothing? Class groups collaborate to produce presentations that argue that either the telephone, the gramophone, the automobile, the textile industry, or the steel...
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The Statue of Liberty: Bringing the 'New Colossus' to America
Middle schoolers discuss meaning of symbols associated with Statue of Liberty, read and analyze Emma Lazarus' sonnet, "The New Colossus," and write persuasive letter to a nineteenth-century audience to gain support for bringing statue to...
Curated OER
Teaching with Primary Sources Across Tennessee
Students examine Gee's Bend Alabama. In this resettlement lesson, students view a series of photographs taken of Gee's Bend Alabama. Students will write a series of newspaper articles based on the images, that exemplify the evolution of...
Curated OER
Write Your Own "I Have a Dream" Speech
Young scholars listen to King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. They use a fill-in-the-blanks worksheet to express their dreams for the world in a format similar to King's speech.
Curated OER
Truman's Foreign Policy Decisions
High schoolers examine foreign policy decisions of former President Truman which still affect us today, review factors to be considered in making foreign policy decisions, closely explore specific major foreign policy decisions, and...
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Cells: Structures and Processes
Students explore the basic unit of life, the cell in this nine lessons unit. The cell structure of animal and plant cell functions and how they affect our world are probed in this unit.
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Pioneer America: Journey West
Fourth graders experience pioneer life on the Oregon trail. For this pioneer lesson, 4th graders research the reasons for moving west and what life was like on the trail. They create a map, complete an oral presentation, and write about...
Curated OER
Evaluating Web Sites for Bias
Learners become familiar with checklist they use to evaluate Web content for bias. They use the checklist to evaluate two Web sites from very different sources.
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Kids Get School Named for Obama
Students read about the renaming of a school for Barack Obama. In this political activity, the teacher presents vocabulary words from the news article, then the students read the article and answer comprehension questions. Lesson...
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Twain: Tom Sawyer—Mythic Adventurer
Young scholars take a closer look at archetypes. For this characterization lesson, students examine the setting and the characters of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as they read and analyze the novel. Young scholars consider how Twain...
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Decision-Making Scenerios
Eleventh graders review what they have gathered on the Gold Rush and how the Native Americans lived in the Plains. Using a worksheet, they choose one scenerio they would have liked to be a part of and write their opionions about it...
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Assignment Discovery Lesson Plan World War II
Students examine primary and secondary documents about life on the homefront during World War II. In this World War II instructional activity, students research the conditions of daily life in the United Kingdom, the United...
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Evolving Views about Minority Rights in the United States
Tenth graders compare and contrast majority and minority outlooks on issues. In this social justice lesson, 10th graders research majority and minority values regarding the Salem Witch Trials, Plessy v. Ferguson, the McCarthy hearings,...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Pioneer Living
Fourth graders research pioneer life. In this pioneer activity, 4th graders read the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and discuss what life was like for early pioneers. They research pioneers and show what...