Maine Content Literacy Project
Understanding Theme
The ninth in a fourteen-instructional activity series, this plan marks a sort of midpoint in a unit devoted to the study of short stories. Pupils learn about theme and work on their short story projects by adding to their blogs, checking...
Curated OER
Who am I Mobile: Ceramics
A getting-to-know-you activity that is perfect for the beginning of the year! Kids craft their portrait out of clay, then make a mobile by dangling ceramic representations of things they love. This project builds self-awareness, motor...
Curated OER
American Minority Groups
Explore the contributions individuals have made in the lives of American minority groups. Twelfth graders write a five-page expository piece providing a social history, examples of discrimination, and patterns of assimilation for an...
Annenberg Foundation
Masculine Heroes
What were the driving forces behind American expansion in the nineteenth century, and what were its effects? Scholars watch a video, read biographies, engage in discussion, write journals and poetry, draw, and create a multimedia...
Annenberg Foundation
Exploring Borderlands
What motivated Europeans to explore the New World, and what effects did their exploration have on Native American populations? The second installment of a 16-part American Passages series prompts pupils to watch a video and read several...
Apple
A Curriculum for Digital Media Creation
Consumer technology has made it possible for filmmakers to create entire movies from the comfort of their home computer. Guide high school film buffs through the process of designing a documentary with an extensive unit published by...
Annenberg Foundation
Modernist Portraits
How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...
Curated OER
Biography of a River
Young scholars examine the importance of rivers. They conduct research on a select river, and develop a river biography that includes a century report, description, interviews, and an epitaph in the form of a Cinquain.
Curated OER
RESEARCH PROJECT
Students develop a list of famous people and choose an individual from the list. They create a web design for notes. They research their individual and add information to their bibliography. They finish by writing a report on the person.
Curated OER
Free Reading Project
Students participate in a free reading project to improve their reading skills. In this reading project lesson, students spend 30 minutes reading each day and complete journal entries for the lesson. Students complete a short in-class...
Curated OER
World War Ii - Holocaust Oral History Project
Seventh graders conduct an interview with someone who lived through World War II. They watch a video of an interview, develop a list of interview questions, record their interview, and write and publish a summary and transcript of their...
Curated OER
Living History- An Intergenerational Philanthropy
Students gather information from a senior friend to write a biography. For this living history books lesson, students organize information to complete a book about their senior friend. Detailed teacher instructions for completing the...
American Battlefield Trust
Creating Civil War Multimedia
What was it like to live through the Civil War? Learners investigate the question by creating multimedia presentations. With a scaffolded approach that includes research, creating a biopic poem, storyboard, and then polished multimedia...
Channel Islands Film
Telling Your Own Story
After watching and discussing a video on the Voyage of Cabrillo, individuals craft their own origin story and design and build an artifact they feel best represents their history.
Curated OER
Writing and Sharing Community Stories
Students use interviewing skills to explore and express the culture of their community. For this literacy/writing lesson, students interview a community member as a basis for a biographical writing project. Each class member contributes...
Curated OER
A Pixie Biography Report
Students practice biographical writing after completing research on the subject. In this journalism lesson, students read a story of an important person's life and discuss the important moments along the way. Students utilize...
Curated OER
The Early Suffragists
Young scholars research early suffragists in an effort to find the most influential leader of the movement. They give presentations and the class chooses a winner. They write letters to the postmaster suggesting they be placed on a stamp.
Curated OER
How To Write In Biographical Format
Students are introduced to the proper way to write a biography. As a class, they view examples of the format and what information to include. To end the lesson, they begin to write their biography and develop their voice when writing.
Curated OER
Cultural "I Amm" Speech Project
Eleventh graders use the internet and other sources to research a selected individual. They explore important events, challenges, and the impact and influence the person had on US History. Using the information gathered, 11th graders...
Curated OER
Famous Virginian Biography Project
Fourth graders research, analyze and complete a writing project on the history of Virginia. They are assigned a famous Virginian to research utilizing a variety of resources and then prepare a written report and an oral presentation to...
Curated OER
I Search My Family Project
Students research their family's heritage. They follow a guide, document their family's history and put it together in report form.
Curated OER
Girls Around the World: Communicating Through First-Person Narratives
Teams select a society to investigate and create a chart comparing and contrasting the status of girls in that society with their own. They then craft and illustrate a personal narrative written from the point of view of a girl living in...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Heroes: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Gloria Estefan, Lou Gehrig. A biography, a civil rights quilt, inspiration poetry. This packet of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on heroes, contains enrichment activities...
Whitewater Valley Railroad
Teaching and Learning with The Polar Express
Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take...