Curated OER
The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments
Middle schoolers explain the basic positions of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. They chart the differences and similarities between state and federal governments. They write a persuasive essay in response to an open-ended...
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What Do We Owe To Thoreau?
Students use this design as an electronic reading and writing guide to Henry David Thoreau's famous essay, "On Civil Disobedience." They use activities to familiarize students with the political issues of Thoreau's time. Comprehension...
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The Great Computer Debates
Students research controversial Internet technology issues concerning security, privacy, and intellectual property. They formulate and present various perspectives on these issues in a mock television panel discussion.
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On the Oregon Trail
Learners work with primary documents and latter-day photographs to recapture the experience of traveling on the Oregon Trail. Working in groups, they write a scene for the movie that is historically accurate and based on the kinds of...
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Understanding Bias
Students participate in an interactive writing and discussion activity, on the study of bias, as it is used in political debate and decision making. They evaluate the presentation of material and its importance in making informed decisions.
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Shakespeare Shows
Middle schoolers study, interpret, perform, and present various Shakespearean works adapted for middle school Students. They choose a scene from one of the plays covered in this teaching unit to reenact with a group.
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Westmoreland Trail
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the Westward expansion of the U.S. They play the computer game, Oregon Trail III, read primary source documents, conduct Internet research, write diary entries from the pioneer viewpoint, and...
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Four Enlightenment Thinkers
Students examine lives, philosophies, and political beliefs of four Enlightenment Thinkers: Baron de Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Thomas Hobbes, and John Locke. Students then work with partner to write short speech from...
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Mildred Taylor: Understanding the Author of "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry"
Students complete various activities related to the analysis of the novel "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry." They create a collage of words and images of what it was like to live in the South in the 1930's, conduct Internet research, and...
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Us and Them
Young scholars identify/analyze a variety of strategies to explain, create artworks and write about persistent issues involving the rights, responsibilities, roles and statue of individual citizens from a global perspective. A variety of...
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The Feudal System: Castles At War
Learners create a first person account of life in the middle ages from the perspective of a king, noble, knight or peasant. They view and discuss a Discovery Channel video then research the roles and responsibilities of their class...
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Reporting Live from the 20th Century!
Students read and write newspaper articles. In this newspaper article writing lesson plan, students collect and share current news articles, examine how they are written, then choose an event from the 20th century and write their own...
PBS
Be the Press: Local Interviews, National News
High school learners research an issue that is important to them and apply the research to write a newspaper article. After thoroughly researching their topic, high schoolers strengthen research, analyzation, and writing skills, by...
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Bears' House Vandalized, Witnesses Say Blonde Girl Spotted Fleeing from the Scene
Students explore journalism. In this expository writing lesson, students read several newspaper articles and note common features. After reading Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Jan Brett, students work with a partner to write a news...
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Trains, Telegraphs, and Steamships: War’s New Weapons
Learners examine the technological weapons of the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson plan, students research the use of trains, telegraphs, and steamships in the war. Learners write newspaper articles pertaining to the new weaponry.
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World-Water Hero
Students make up a superhero. In this water quality lesson, students create a superhero with super powers that can improve water quality and availability.
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Scenario challenge
Fifth graders become familiar with the geography of New Hampshire and the importance of specific sites in history. In this New Hampshire lesson, 5th graders create a brochure including points of interest and showing distances between...
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First Amendment Guarantee of Free Speech (Senior, Social Studies)
Students receive a list of banned books from which they choose one to read. They read their chosen book and write a paper that includes a discussion of the First Amendment and its guarantees and the reason(s) why they believe their book...
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Learning About Maps
Learners take a "field trip" with the teacher through the school then draw a diagram of what they saw. They bring the maps to the computer lab where they create electronic maps using the software program Neighborhood Map Machine.
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Liberty, Equality, Uniformity?
Students examine the French draft law to ban religious symbols from public schools. They research "secularist" and "pluralist" positions regarding this ban, debate the topic in class, and draft a position paper on the ban.
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Use Or Abuse?
Young scholars explain the meaning of "use value" of nature's resources by researching and writing studenT books personifying an aspect of nature. They produce public service announcements regarding use value for their local community.
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Riding the Pony Express
Fourth graders list the four W's of the Pony Express. They also write an article about Buffalo Bill Cody and discuss the important facts about the Pony Express.
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Food Wars
Students investigate the debate whether schools should regulate the amount or type of food and drink students consume. They write and present position papers after reading an online NY Times article.
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Time Changes Everything
Learners analyze census data from 1915, 1967 and 2006. They read an article about how the world's population is growing at an alarming rate. They use primary source documents to create a timeline on the information they gathered. They...