Curated OER
Fill-In - October Event in History
A lot has happened in the month of October in the past 100 years or so. Kids fill in the blank for 31 events, each of which occurred on a day in October. Each event can be found in a New York Times article from the past 100+ years....
Curated OER
Fill-In : March Events in the News
What happened on March 13, 1868? What happened on March 21, 1965? Eager readers fill in the missing historical event occurring on one day in March from 1862 - 1995. There are 31 events each occurring on a different day in March. This is...
Literacy Design Collaborative
A Pale Blue Dot: That's Here. That's Home. That's Us.
21st-century learners live in such a visual world that many are unused to letting their minds imagine the picture that words create. An excerpt from Carl Sagan's lecture, "The Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space,"...
Curated OER
Curriculum Guide For Teaching Texas History
Follow Texas history from Native Americans all the way to the 21st Century. Teachers analyze the creation of a year-long course on Texas history and use a wide range of teaching subjects and materials to guide them through the state's...
Curated OER
Putin: 'No way back' from democracy
Imagine a meeting between President Bush and Putin. Get your class thinking about global awareness, democracy, and totalitarian modes of government. They examine how two leaders approach major governmental issues and run their countries...
Academy of American Poets
We Sing America
Pair the famous poems "I Hear America Singing," by Walt Whitman, and "I, Too, Sing America," by Langston Hughes, with a more recent poem by Elizabeth Alexander called "Praise Song for the Day" to demonstrate a theme and introduce your...
Curated OER
LBJ-- Escalation in Vietnam and Domestic Programs
Eighth graders investigate the Vietnam War. In this Vietnam War lesson plan, 8th graders research the escalation of the war during Lyndon Johnson's presidency. Students also explore the domestic programs that Johnson promoted. Students...
Curated OER
The Arab-Israeli Wars (1956-present)
A striking contrast of Israel in 1947 versus 1949 begins this presentation, helping to set the context of the ongoing strife between the Arab and Israeli peoples throughout the 20th (and 21st) centuries. Providing a good background to...
Curated OER
Presidents: Past and Present
Students identify George Washington and the current president and distinguish between past and present events. They listen to a text about Washington and make predictions. They generate a list of synonyms for past and present and...
Curated OER
Carter’s Approach to Facing the Energy Crisis
High schoolers examine President Carter's stance on the energy crisis of the 1970s. In this energy crisis instructional activity, students analyze primary sources that feature the crisis during Carter's term. High schoolers script and...
Curated OER
Analogy: Reasoning by Comparison
"Life is like a box of chocolates. . ." "Barack is a Mac, Hillary is a PC." Literal and figurative analogies are featured in a presentation that models how to use analogies to bolster arguments.
Curated OER
GroWing Up
Students investigate a short biography of George Washington's childhood. They examine the differences between life for students in the eighteenth century and today.
Curated OER
Our Unfinished Work
Students investigate the racism elements after the election of President Barack Obama. In this racism lesson, students read a recent article about 'post-racial' society. Students compile a list of achieving a post-racial society and...
Curated OER
The Price to Be Paid For the Next Scientific Revolution
Seventh graders work as advisors to the President evaluating issues like cloning, cryogenics, assisted suicide, etc. They research the Scientific Revolution of the past and the outcome and then put together a plan for the President.
Curated OER
The Chinese economic and political model.
Ninth graders study the unique and economic and political model of modern day People's Republic of China. They make an effort to determine if the unique brand of socialism with a market-type economy as currently practiced is ...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss and Read Across America
What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class members write a...