Curated OER
Angling Your Way Through a Picture
Students look at the geometry in an artwork. In this art history/geometry lesson, students research the artist Charles Sheeler and look at his painting Stacks in Celebration. They find the different types of lines, angles, and...
Curated OER
Flight Dreams - Flight Factors
Learners investigate the physics of flight by experimenting in class. In this history of flight instructional activity, students define terms such as gravity, lift, and drag in order to better understand how a plane is able to stay...
Curated OER
Colonization and American Indian Perspectives
Students investigate the colonization of the United States by researching Thanksgiving. In this U.S. history lesson, students discuss the concept of Thanksgiving, who created it and what it was intended to do. Students...
Curated OER
Quilting
First graders investigate the color spectrum by painting their own pictures. In this artistic expression lesson, 1st graders discuss their own families and create ways to express their culture and family history on a picture quilt....
Curated OER
Esperanza Rising: Lesson 9
Sixth graders explore culture by reading a book with classmates. In this Hispanic history lesson, 6th graders read the story First Day in Grapes, and discuss the tough lives of migrant workers. Students answer study questions after the...
Curated OER
My Secret War: The WWII Diary of Madeline Beck: Lesson 11
Fifth graders explore world history by participating in a class game. In this propaganda lesson, 5th graders identify Madeline Beck and the role women played during World War II. Students create fictitious propaganda posters and...
Curated OER
A Tough Nut to Crack
Sixth graders explore agriculture by examining world geography. In this pecan cultivation instructional activity, 6th graders identify the history of the famous nut and the impact it has on the U.S. economy, diet and human body. Students...
Curated OER
The Parthenon
Students research global cultures by creating a model in class. In this Greek history lesson, students identify the Parthenon, what it represented and the architectural achievements used to create it. Students identify some elements of...
Curated OER
Pre-Colonial Native American Groups
Students investigate U.S. history by researching the Internet and taking a test. In this American Indian group lesson, students identify the many specific Native American tribes and their geographic locations. Students research the web...
Curated OER
French and Indian War: Make A Map
Fifth graders create a map of the battles that occurred during The French and Indian War. In this history lesson plan, 5th graders read about the war in their text books, then divide into groups to create a detailed map of a famous...
Curated OER
Photographs and History
Students prepare for a visit to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, to preview a photo exhibit (specifically of James Van Der Zee). This lesson could be adapted when viewing any photo exhibit.
Curated OER
My Secret War: The WWII Diary of Madeline Beck: Lesson 6
Fifth graders explore women's rights by discussing the events of WWII. In this American work force lesson, 5th graders identify the events that led to World War II and how women helped fight the war through non-violent efforts. Students...
Curated OER
Golf
Students view short videos on various trailblazers in the game of golf. They examine the origins of the game of golf, the history of canadian success in golf, and design their own 18-hole colf course for their community.
National Woman's History Museum
Defying British Rule: Women's Contributions to The American Revolution
Primary and secondary sources are the focus of a lesson that showcases the important role women played during the American Revolution. Pairs review sources and discuss their findings. A close-reading of an informational text leads the...
National Woman's History Museum
Fannie Lou Hamer and Social Activism
Not all heroes wear capes. An impactful lesson focuses on the life and activism of Fannie Lou Hamer during the civil rights movement. Scholars read her speeches and other material, participate in group discussion, and complete a jigsaw...
Curated OER
Exploring Gullah Culture...Through Language and Numbers
First graders examine the culture of the ancient Gullah people. As a class, they practice saying and writing the days of the week and numbers in Gullah. They are read a Gullah folktale and put the events of the story into the correct...
Crafting Freedom
The Self-Empowerment of Harriet Jacobs
In a hands-on learning activity, pupils read about and recreate the experience of Harriet Jacobs, author of one of the most famous slave narratives of all time in which she describes her years of hiding from her master in a...
Curated OER
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Students write a first-person narrative from the perspective of a runaway slave, or a historical character of the period, and present their story orally.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Folklore in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God
Learners define folklore, folk groups, tradition, and oral narrative. They identify traditional elements in Their Eyes Were Watching God Analyze and understand the role of traditional folkways and folk speech in the overall literary...
Curated OER
African Americans in California’s Heartland – The Civil Rights Era
Events related to the Civil Rights Movement in Sacramento, California during the 1960s offer class members an opportunity to compare the nonviolent resistance approach favored by Dr. Martin Luther King and the NAACP with those of the...
Curated OER
Roles of Virginians During Revolutionary War Era
Young scholars examine the various roles Virginians played during the Revolutionary War era. They participate in a jigsaw activity, reading an article and presenting information to their group. Students then complete a Venn diagram...
Curated OER
Canadian Identity
Students research and formulate opinions to explain key elements of Canadian identity. They create a simulated television production that represents and justifies their group's opinion about Canadian identity.
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark and Native Americans, Part II
Students research the Native Americans living in the regions explored by Lewis and Clark. They identify the modern-day names of sites claimed by the Lakota Indians, and create a poster of the original Native American names.
Curated OER
Harlem Renaissance
Students investigate the African American culture in the 1920's and the Harlem Renaissance. They read and analyze poems written by poets of the Harlem Renaissance, listen to jazz music and identify the characteristics of the music, and...