Curated OER
Pressing Cases
Students investigate famous criminal cases in which the media has played a significant role and reflect on how the news helps to shape attitudes and behaviors in their own lives.
Curated OER
'Twasn't the Night Before Christmas
Students describe the elements that make up particular writers' styles. Small groups then choose an author, write something in his or her style, and invite other groups to play 'literary detective' in identifying whose style they have...
PBS
Being Heard
Examine the work of contemporary authors who use their writing to express opinions about the struggle against prejudice and oppression in our society. A short lesson on the Harlem Renaissance introduces learners to the most prominent...
Curated OER
Looking at Human Struggle Through The Language Arts Curriculum: The Faces of Slavery
Sixth graders examine the use of slavery in the United States. Using a map, they draw the route of the Tecora and Amistad voyages. Individually, they write an essay describing their opinions on whether the Africans on the ships should be...
Curated OER
African American Poetry: Family and Traditions
Students are introduced to the elements of African-American poetry. As a class, they are read different types of poems to discover there are different styles of poems and practice rhyming words. They share information on their family...
Curated OER
Developing Good Written Communication Skills and the Word Processing Student
Students are introduced to the skills needed to complete a word processing assignment. In groups, they identify the reasons why it is important to communicate in different situations and participate in role-playing exercises. They...
Curated OER
Falling Apples
Students practice identifying individual sounds in words by interacting with the phoneme /a/. They recite the tongue twister, "Abby had an apple in the bag," and play the game beware of the falling apples. Each student also reads the...
Curated OER
Reciprocal Teaching: Aunty Misery
Fifth graders investigate the qualities of a good reader by participating in a role play with the provided scripts. They focus on the five main strategies of good readers -- predicting, clarifying, questioning, summarizing, and...
Curated OER
Critic's Corner
Students role-play the role of book critics in their classroom. Individually, they write an evaluation on each book they reading along with a book review. In groups, they examine a variety of professional book reviews and share their...
Curated OER
Public vs. Private
Students watch two commericals from previous presidential elections on the topic of healthcare. After reading an article, they identify the position of the various candidates for the 2008 election. In groups, they brainstorm their own...
Curated OER
One Room Schoolhouse
Students study pictures and artifacts of the one-room schoolhouse. For this compare and contrast lesson,students list similarities and differences in schools of today and one-room schoolhouses. Then students use this analysis to...
Curated OER
Dealing with Differences
Young scholars list at least ten things they have a hard time doing. After reading and discussing Be Good to Eddie Lee, Students, in cooperative groups, write at least six ways people can assist people with disabilities.
Curated OER
"I Cannot Tell a Lie"
Students examine and debunk historical myths, using the American Revolution as a starting point. They create and play a game of "American History: Fact or Fiction?"
Curated OER
Connection to the Past
Students learn basic interviewing and biography writing skills. They first identify a senior citizen in their community who remembers the Great Depression.
Curated OER
Dropping (and Adding) Names in Washington
Students research and create profiles of key figures in the current administration and those people who are speculated to play a role if George W. Bush is re-elected in the 2004 election.
Curated OER
Word is to Analogy as...
Middle schoolers complete verbal analogies by playing a group game.
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 11 - Group Presentations and Summatives
Fifth graders give presentations on colonial research. The others take notes on the presentations. They play a card game which helps them review content. They take a summative assessment and present their research notebooks.
Curated OER
America Poems
Students examine examples of how other Americans have expressed their feelings about America through songs and poetry, and write their own poems to express their relationship with America.
Curated OER
Taking It to the Streets
Students read about a protest in France, led by students against the government's labor laws targeting youth. They research student-led protests over the past 50 years and role-play student protesters, reporters, and government officials.
Curated OER
Johnny Tremain for the 21st Century
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the American Revolution based on the novel, 'Johnny Tremain.' They define key vocabulary terms, develop a timeline, write a report on a colonial craft, make a colonial flag, and create a...
Curated OER
Change the Face of History
Middle schoolers create and write a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story as they investigate the Revolutionary War. They choose a historical figure who played a key role in the war who meets other influential figures and has the opportunity...
Curated OER
Colonial History: Fearless and faaithful
Students discuss reasons why early europeans immigrated to North America. Working in groups, they complete Internet activities on the PBS Website. They take a simulated voyage to the new world and rercord their actions on worksheets. ...
Curated OER
What Sticks from '06
Students identify significant events that helped shaped 2006. Completing a news quiz, they discuss the importance and impact of each event mentioned. They create their own news quizzes to be used as a class. They create a poster...
Curated OER
Be Our Guest
Students share their own opinions about proper and poor etiquette in school. After reading an article, they discover matters of etiquette and conflict that occur during holiday rituals. They role-play the potential conflicts and...