Curated OER
A Special Place
Learners research distinctive homes and habitats of the past and present using electronic and library resources. They then design innovative new homes and habitats for the future, synthesizing information discovered from research.
Curated OER
OLYMPIC SHADOW BOXES
Students acquaint themselves with little-used library resources/reference materials and create shadow boxes to be displayed in the Media Center based on the research they've done regarding the Winter Olympics.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Analyzing the Rhetoric of JFK’s Inaugural Address
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your. country.” Did you know that John Kenneth Galbraith, Adlai Stevenson, and Theodore Sorensen helped John F. Kennedy craft his 1961...
Facing History and Ourselves
Life for German Youth in the 1930s: Education, Propaganda, Conformity, and Obedience
The German youth faced an onslaught of propaganda when they went to school, thanks to the Nazi regime led by Hitler during World War II. Pupils relate their education experiences to German youth by analyzing primary source readings,...
Curated OER
Let's Talk About Painting
Discuss art and read Matthew's Dream. For this visual arts lesson, students recognize that there are different styles of art, each with its own techniques. Use simple techniques to understand art and work at stations to...
Curated OER
A Weave of Woods
Focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and analysis while reading A Weave of Woods, a colorful picture book by Robert D. San Souci. Young learners use worksheets to preview, predict, practice paraphrasing, and make comparisons. The...
Perkins School for the Blind
Accessible Labels
When you're blind it is extremely important to be able to navigate your environment in as independent a way as possible. This idea isn't a lesson plan, but it is a great way to foster independent mobility and literacy skills while making...
Facing History and Ourselves
#IfTheyGunnedMeDown
As part of their continued investigation of the reporting of the shooting of Michael Brown class members analyze photos of Michael Brown and the social media response to these images. The class then develops a guide they...
Curated OER
Graph the Presidents At Inauguration- How Old Were They?
Students construct a graph of the presidents' ages at inauguration. In this U.S. history lesson, students use online resources to gather data about the presidents and accurately present their results on a graph.
Curated OER
Take a Tour of a Biome
Explore the five biomes: aquatic, desert, forest, grassland and tundra by using online resources to investigate one of the five biomes and use MediaBlender to create an informational web site for a tour of that biome. Note: Other...
Curated OER
U.S. Geography: The Northeast
Students investigate U.S. Geography by creating a map in class. In this natural resource instructional activity, students create a map of the United States and research the Northeast based on their resources and recyclable...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels vs. Alternative Fueling Systems
Fourth graders brainstorm the differences between the fossil fuels that people use in their transportation now and what they could use to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. They use a variety of techniques from webquests to writing...
Curated OER
Using Geometric Shapes in Architecture
Third graders identify two and three dimensional shapes used in architectural designs by viewing images on the Internet. In this geometry lesson, 3rd graders create their own building designs and identify the geometric shapes that...
Curated OER
Past and Present: Using baseball statistics to teach math
Students use baseball cards to add up batting average and reinforce math skills. In this batting averages lesson plan, students use old baseball cards to practice different math skills and look at other baseball statistics.
Curated OER
In the News
Fourth graders will use AlphaSmarts/Neos to create a one page newspaper in Word which features an early explorer. This lesson can be done entirely in the classroom. The students will perform research about the explorer prior to the...
Curated OER
The Bear Facts
In this library research worksheet, students will use resources from the library to match the types of bears in the word bank to the list of bear facts.
Curated OER
Bytes: A Summer Byte
Students create a collage from their own digital pictures using Adobe Photoshop Elements. Following a step-by-step instruction guide, students create a collage from pictures of their summer vacation as part of a writing assignment.
University of Chicago
Ancient Egyptians and Death
What archaeological evidence remains of ancient Egyptian burial and mortuary practices, and what can this information tell us about ancient Egyptian society?
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
What Brought Settlers to the Midwest?
Drawn by promises of fertile land, thousands of settlers poured West because of the Homestead Act of 1862. By examining images of the ads that drew them westward, learners consider the motivations for movement. They also consider how the...
Curated OER
The Founders’ Library: Thinking as a Founding Father
Students analyze the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. government lesson, students examine books, movies, and music that influence them today and then investigate writings that influenced the framers of the...
Facing History and Ourselves
Kristallnacht: Decision-Making in Times of Injustice
Have you ever been singled out in a crowd before? Pupils investigate and analyze the events of the Holocaust. They dive into the life of a middle school student, as well as the diary entries of those in Kristallnacht during World War...
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...
Curated OER
Not Just Books
Students consider uses of a library and explore the collections at the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City, and create proposals for exhibits of various artifacts.
Curated OER
Online Public Access Catalog
Fourth graders learn how to find books in the library. In this library lesson, 4th graders observe how to use an online system to search for a book by title, author and subject. Students practice searching for books.