Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Analyzing Political Campaign Commercials
Imagine a lesson that models for learners how to separate facts from opinions. How to detect bias. How to evaluate a source of information. How to identify propaganda. Although designed for middle schoolers, the activities in this packet...
Smithsonian Institution
Women's Role in the War Effort
Did you know that many women were Confederate spies during the Civil War? The resource focuses particularly on the important role women played for both the Union and Confederacy. It uses exercises such as a discussion, video, analyzing...
Folger Shakespeare Library
Julius Caesar Curriculum Guide
Julius Caesar need not be Greek to kids. The background information and suggestions for teachers, as well as the activities for learners, make this curriculum guide a must-have for your Shakespeare curriculum library.
Anti-Defamation League
Exploring Solutions to Address Radical Disparity Concerns
The deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice, and the protests that followed the 2014 shootings, are the focus of a current-events activity that asks class members to brainstorm and research possible strategies to address the...
Curated OER
The Statue of Liberty: The Meaning and Use of a National Symbol
Engage your class in a series of activities, each related to the use or analysis of symbols used to convey patriotic or national concepts. They identify different national symbols and explain their meanings, discussing the importance of...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
You know global warming is real when your squirrel feeder is full of popped corn instead of kernels! Activity two in a series of five allows learners to explore climate change through the eyes of another. After briefly analyzing their...
August House
The Archer and the Sun
Reinforce reading comprehension with a instructional activity about The Archer and the Sun, a Chinese folktale. Kids learn some background information about Chinese culture before reading the story, and answer literacy...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
Sometimes, the best solution to a problem can be found by walking in someone else's shoes. Here, scholars use character cards to take on the roles of people around the world. They determine how their character's...
Northern Ireland Curriculum
Money Wise
Does money seem to slip through your middle schoolers' fingers? Encourage them to examine spending, saving, and budgeting habits with a unit on consumer skills and money management. Young spenders study the waste that occurs with school...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
How does climate change affect you? First in a three-part series, the activity focuses on how individuals living around the world are affected by climate change. Individuals take on the role of a given character and share their...
Curated OER
Touching Spirit Bear
Designed to be used in conjunction with a reading of Ben Mikaelsen's Touching Spirit Bear, the worksheets and activities in this 32-page packet focus readers' attention on how to break the cycle of violence and develop more productive...
Smarter Balanced
Food Waste and Food Access
Forty percent of food in the US goes uneaten while 14.5 percent of US households lack a secure supply of food. As part of the preparation for a performance task assessment, groups consider statistics such as these about food waste and...
Curated OER
Hoot: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Augment your unit on Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with a series of activities about the environment, civil disobedience, making an impact in the world, and growing up. A list of literary concepts and themes helps you to write your lessons to...
Curated OER
The Seven Continents Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn't enjoy an engaging scavenger hunt? Here, scholars listen to, and discuss, the informative text, Where is my Continent? by Robin Nelson. They then explore the seven continents and four major oceans using...
University of North Carolina
Sociology
What exactly does sociology entail? Sociology is a broad field that covers many topics, including culture, mass media, and social movements. A helpful handout prepares scholars for typical writing found in college-level sociology...
American Institute of Architects
Architecture: It's Elementary!—Fifth Grade
Young citizens construct an understanding of urban planning in this cross-curricular unit. Covering every aspect of city development from the political, economic, and social influences to sustainable building practices, this...
Children's Theatre of Cincinnati
A Charlie Brown Christmas Study Guide
Bring A Charlie Brown Christmas to social studies, language arts, math, science, and art class! Learners ponder the meaning of Christmas trees, write about Christmas during the original release of the television special,...
Rainforest Alliance
Trees and Carbon
You'll find everything but the kitchen sink here ... or just a carbon sink. In the activity, pairs or groups of middle school learners go outside and measure a tree's circumference and height to estimate its carbon storage potential and...
US Institute of Peace
Taking a Step Toward Peacebuilding
What can someone do to increase the peace? Pupils take small steps toward a big peacebuilding role in the final lesson in a 15-part unit. Individuals identify their roles as a peacebuilder and create a stepping stone that reflects their...
Population Connection
The Carbon Crunch
Carbon is in the air; should we care? Teach the class why it is important to pay attention to carbon levels and how the world population and various countries across the globe affect the carbon levels in the atmosphere. High schoolers...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Soviet Espionage in America
The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of three lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1950. This first lesson asks groups to read an introduction that describes the Verona Project and...
Mathematics Assessment Project
100 People
It's a small world after all. In the middle school assessment task, learners use data that imagines there are only 100 people in the world to answer questions about population demographics. Young mathematicians use ratio and proportional...
Scholastic
Hillary Conquers Everest
If a field trip to the summit of Mount Everest isn't in your school budget, make the trek virtually! An interactive lesson allows class members to follow Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's trail up the mountain, and provides...
University of the Desert
A Plan For Positive Action
Can one person really make a difference? As the culminating lesson in a twelve-part series, learners discuss how they can partake in an intercultural dialogue that can have a lasting impact on the global community, and how single...