“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...

How did free and enslaved blacks work to craft freedom for themselves and their families before the Civil War? Young historians read about the life of Thomas Day, a free black man who also owned slaves and had abolitionist ties in...

This resource outlines an extensive list of websites about different kinds of material culture in Louisiana. The list covers five categories: outdoor and indoor crafts, Louisiana folk life articles, quilt making, house types, and general...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

As part of a study of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, class members respond to, and craft, higher-level comprehension questions based on passages from the text. 

First graders explore American culture by participating in arts and crafts activities. In this Thanksgiving lesson, 1st graders listen to music based upon the Thanksgiving tradition and examine images of the first Thanksgiving. Students...

Celebrate the holiday with your youngsters by practicing cursive writing and crafting wonderfully formed wording, including Independence Day, the fourth of July, July 4, 1776, and the Declaration of Independence.

“What’s in a name?” Just about everything. Barack Obama, Vincent van Gogh, Justin Bieber. Famous names evoke a multitude of reactions and poets often use the names of famous people in their works precisely because names carry...

A rich series of activities introduces learners to the concept of culture by closely examining the behaviors, practices, and art of three distinct peoples: the Highland Maya of Guatemala, the Hmong of China and Southeast...

Students investigate plant life by creating an art project.  In this arts and crafts lesson, students identify several different native Caribbean plants such as guava, ginger, mahogany and hibiscus.  Students create plants...

Students explore Aboriginal culture by participating in an art activity. In this First Nation history lesson, students utilize the Internet to research images and designs from Native American culture. Students create images on quilting...

Slavery in India, Sudan, and Mauritania? What about in the United States? Groups research modern slavery in these four countries, collecting factual evidence (What), determine their feelings about this evidence (So what),...

The Blue Man Group, three bald performance artists painted blue, offer lessons designed to engage, intrigue, and excite the imaginations of all ages of learners. Groups craft a trickster tale, invent melodious mathematical instruments,...

Students are introduced to the culture of African American art. Using the internet, they research the events surrounding the Harlem Renaissance and discover how it produced a wide variety of art and literature. To end the lesson, by...

Remember the Lusitania! As part of their study of the causes of World War I, class members examine newspaper articles and propaganda posters about the sinking of the Lusitania and then craft their own news story about the event.

Students explore William D. Huff's experience during Civil War as portrayed in his drawings, express empathy and demonstrate historical knowledge through creating their own artwork, and craft drawings and captions from perspectives of...

To broaden their understanding of both the short term and long terms effects of the Civil War, class groups examine primary source materials and then assume the role of a family member and draft a letter to a soldier describing life at...

The materials in this 48-page packet are designed to supplement a unit study of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Included are vocabulary lists and activities, discussion questions and quizzes, book report ideas, a bibliography of...

Just like a painting or the symbols on a flag, quilts can express ideas that reflect a cultural context, space, and time. The class discusses the history of quilt making throughout US history and what different types of quilts mean. They...

Students study the Gullah culture by watching a video about Gullah, Gullah Island. They discuss the customs and crafts of the people such as basket weaving, food preparation, pottery, and quilt making. While working in centers, they make...

Students study Taino Art and identify their crafts and stone carvings. They read the life of Campeche as presented and discuss with their teacher the economic and political situation of Puerto Rico in the eighteenth century and how...

Third graders study the Native American tribes of Maidu and Miwok by studying Internet artifacts, culture, language, music, storytelling, architecture, food, clothing, crafts and geology.

Young learners are introduced to the history, and customs surrounding St. Patrick's Day. This colorful and enchanting lesson has the students hunt for leprechauns, four-leaf clovers, and that lucky pot 'o gold.