West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word...

Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's...

Students create a graffiti wall using their own name or personal symbol. They examine their own understanding of the film as a source of inspiration and listen to the music from the soundtrack as an effective motivation. They make...

There's nothing like the Wild Wild West! Scholars investigate the American Frontier through the eyes of Kit Carson. To complete the first installment of a three-part series, they use presentations, a short video, and primary and...

Here is a fabulous series of lesson plans on four of the most celebrated artists of the Old Western period in American history. Learners study the works of Charles King, George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, and Thomas Moran. The pack is...

Students access the Oregon Trial website to find information on what it was like to experience traveling the Oregon Trial. Then, in groups, they create dioramas depicting events that could have happened along the Oregon Trail.

Use the Peace Corps to explore a different place and different perspectives. Your class reads the personal narrative "Cross-Cultural Dialogue" by Roz Wollmering, completing an attached story frame sheet in preparation for a class...

Students examine what it was like to travel west on the Oregon Trail. They develop a list of questions about the trip, explore various websites, and create a story about the experiences of a 19th century family travelling on the Oregon...

Students read "The Eiserloh Story" and evaluate decisions made by the government in time of war. They determine if the government violated the rights of innocent civilians. They identify the Bill of Rights and analyze each Right.

Students study direction as they listen to the stories of Little Red Riding Hood and The Jolly Postman. In this cardinal direction instructional activity, learners create a map to show the path Little Red Riding Hood took in the story...

Students view situations from more than their own point of view. They use the incidents in the author's story to explore the concept of crossing cultures and reflect on what it is like to feel like an outsider (in the way that the author...

Students examine the events behind the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the continued struggles to truly unify the former East Germany and West Germany.

Patriots or traitors? Class members analyze images that present widely differing views of the Boston Tea Party, identifying the point of view of the image, the propaganda devices used, and the intended audience.

Students research one of seventeen explorers before filling in a worksheet. Next, they write a song verse using the information and sing it to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." On the next day, they play a game of "Who Am I?" using...

Second graders use cardinal and intermediate directions to locate places on maps and places in the classroom, school, and community. They draw a setting map of "Little Red Riding Hood." Students give five steps of cardinal or...

Fourth graders reasearch the history of the Pony Express on the internet or they can use books from the school or public library. They write a one-page story which incorporates their research. They share their stories with the class by...

Students participate in a variety of activities in a unit about the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway System. They create a diorama, read related stories, and correspond with other classes located in other port cities along the St Lawrence...

Music has often been called the international language that transcends cultures and regions. Scholars analyze the impact of Latin American music on New York City culture in the years following World War II. They research music, video,...

Young scholars identify themes in Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet by analyzing the film or text. In this tolerance lesson plan, students create their own Elizabethan era terms related to interacting with different social groups. In...

Students continue to examine the topic of stereotypes. In groups, they role-play the roles of the "in-group" and "out group". Using the internet, they research the role of polarized stereotyping in war situations and read an article to...

Students explore triptychs.  In this art history lesson, students define the terms "photograph" and "triptych".  Students discuss changes that occur between mothers and daughters and create an original triptych using...

Students read and analyze a personal narrative written about a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in Guinea-Bissau, Africa. They discuss the concept of crossing cultures, analyze maps, complete worksheets, and develop a writing...

Sixth graders study totems of the Northwest Native Americans and design their own.

Students study the role of water in limestone cave formation and create a cave on karst-like grid on paper.