Curated OER
Aesop and Ananse: Animal Fables and Trickster Tales
Students complete compare and contrast activities dealing with fables and trickster tales to determine how each uses animals to portray human characteristics, specifically strengths and weaknesses, as well as pass wisdom from one...
Curated OER
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Christmas Bells
Students read and analyze the anti-slavery poem, "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They discuss the content and form of the poem, write an essay, write an original poem, examine how this anti-slavery poem was converted...
Curated OER
Picturing America: Images and Words of Hope from Romare Bearden and Langston Hughes
A carefully crafted three-day lesson plan integrates poetry and visual art. By analyzing and comparing Langston Hughes' poem "Mother and Son" and Romare Bearden's collage "The Dove," readers explore the theme of hope. The lesson plan...
Curated OER
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Learners read and understand the book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. In this language lesson, students understand the Ebonics and colloquialisms of the book. Learners discuss the events and vocabulary used. Students explain their...
Curated OER
Cast of Personalities - The Louisiana Purchase
The origins of the state of Arkansas are the focus of this history lesson plan. Elementary schoolers to high schoolers identify persons associated with the development of the state from the very first European contact to statehood in...
Curated OER
Immigration
This 3-day immigration study draws on historical trends and current events. A worksheet accompanies initial research on one group's U.S. immigration history, giving opportunity for collaborative learning through sharing findings. Groups...
Curated OER
Louisa May Alcott: The Candle and the Mirror
Students discuss the life of Louisa May Alcott and create an outline of a biography of her life and times. In this Louisa May Alcott lesson, students explore the Transcendentalist involvement in the abolitionist movement, relating...
Curated OER
Gazebos and Other Worlds
Design a simple structure such as the gazebo. Work with your class to identify the six faces of a cube pattern and name other uses of patterns in industry. They draft, cut out, and assemble a cube pattern. They draw out and assemble two...
Curated OER
Stowe's Reviewers
Young scholars read, evaluate and respond to both positive and negative reviews of Harriet Beecher Stow's, Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Curated OER
Meet the Underground Railroad
Students research and learn about the Underground Railroad. In this Underground Railroad lesson plan, students take 2 weeks to research an individual, complete journal writings, read passages in small groups, list major events, and more.
Curated OER
Pizza for Everyone
Pizza is the inspiration for the cross-curricular instructional activity detailed here. Start out with a poem about pizza and move into a discussion about balanced eating. To close the language arts portion of the instructional activity,...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Xenophobia
For this historical events worksheet, students analyze an anti-immigration political cartoon and respond to 3 talking point questions.
Curated OER
A Different Drummer
Eighth graders investigate philosophy and meditation techniques by discussing Emerson and Thoreau. In this philosophical traditions lesson, 8th graders identify the men Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, their work, and their...
Curated OER
Stolen Property or Finders Keepers
Students explore the questionable acquisition of priceless artworks gained as spoils of World War II. They become investigators and reporters looking into the matter of ownership of the world's greatest art.
Curated OER
Geometry of Democracy
Students explore the architecture of New England by identifying geometric shapes. In this architectural activity, students examine photographs of classic building architecture and use a transparency to trace geometric shapes they...
Curated OER
Whose Buffalo?
Seventh graders examine how the Plains Indians vied with white commercial buffalo hunters for the millions of Great Plains buffalo. They create an illustrated broadside supporting the interests of either the Indians or the commercial...
Curated OER
Yankee Doodle... More than Just a Catchy Tune
Students investigate the history of patriotic music and practice singing the tunes with classmates. In this U.S. History instructional activity, students examine lyrics of the traditional song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and discuss the...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Pioneer Living
Fourth graders research pioneer life. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders read the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and discuss what life was like for early pioneers. They research pioneers and show what they have...
Curated OER
Pioneer America: Journey West
Fourth graders experience pioneer life on the Oregon trail. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders research the reasons for moving west and what life was like on the trail. They create a map, complete an oral presentation, and write about...
Curated OER
Cracking Catlins's Code
Students create a chart comparing visual clues with artistic meaning. This lesson plan is designed to introduce students to the ways in which consistent patterns of gesture and pose chosen by an artist (specifically George Catlin)...
Curated OER
America's Castles: The Age of Invention
Students tour the estates built by America's wealthiest visionaries during the years 1911-1929. They discuss the Age of Invention and the people associated with that age in US history.
Curated OER
James Whitcomb Riley
Students describe James Whitcomb Riley's poems and identify the themes they portray. In this poetry lesson plan, students read the history of James Whitcomb Riley and read some of his poems.
Curated OER
Prairie Voices: German Immigrants Move to Iowa
Students create historically accurate travel journals. In this Iowa history lesson, students research the German immigration experience as they write travel journals that feature a German family's move into an Iowa county.
Curated OER
Pizza Portions
Students explore mathematics by participating in a pizza pie activity. In this nutrition instructional activity, students identify the caloric intake in a piece of pizza and estimate the average number of slices eaten by a person....