Curated OER
High School Students meet Veterans
High schoolers meet Veterans. In this veteran lesson, students interview groups of Veterans from WWII, The Vietnam War, the Gulf War, The Korean War, and our current war. High schoolers collect audio and visual media to create a website...
National First Ladies' Library
The Power of Images in Shaping Ideas
Learners examine the role of photography in recording and sharing history. They view online photos that Life magazine has identified as changing the world, then conduct research on one of the photos. Learners create and present an oral...
American Museum of Natural History
Dress Up a Horse
Walk, trot, gallop! Young equestrians have an opportunity to learn all about horses with an engaging resource that lets them select tack to dress up a horse, create flip books that illustrate the various gates, have questions answered by...
Curated OER
Art as Social Commentary
Students view artworks that make a statement about social conditions. They discuss the artworks, write about them and present their ideas to the class. They create socially conscious art pieces of their own.
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Through the Lens of Robert Capa
Learners use Guided Reading techniques to learn about Capa's style and to discover the techniques that made him a great photographer. Students examine the basics of telling compelling stories through photos and each student creates a...
Curated OER
Looking at Photographs
Students evaluate photographs as historical documents and photographs as propaganda.
Curated OER
Thanks for Your Service
Students thank their freedom fighters. In this Veteran's Day lesson, students honor members of the U.S. Armed Forces by designing a program to pay tribute to them. Students use technology tools to conduct interviews, take pictures, and...
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Looking at Photographs
Sixth graders evaluate photographs as historical documents. In this social studies lesson, 6th graders analyze photographs as propaganda.
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Windows of Wisconsin (History)
Fourth graders research the history of Wisconsin. They explore Wisconsin's culture, sovereignty and environment. Using multiple computer technology resources (computer, scanner, camera, internet), 4th graders develop a book on the...
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The Civil War
Eleventh graders study selected prints and/or photos and consider how Americans of the 19th century chose to present themselves to other Americans and the world by means of visual images. They share their observations and opinions.
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Number the Stars by Lois Lowry : Art Activity
In this reading response worksheet, learners create a word of art depicting a scene in Lois Lowry's novel Number the Stars. Students use lead pencils or charcoal to make a picture in black and white because color photography was not...
Curated OER
America in Film and Fiction
Students begin the lesson by reading a book on film study. After watching the movie "Citizen Kane", they work together to identify the issues concerning the United States before World War II. As a class, they discuss how the ideas and...
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W. Eugene Smith: Photojournalism and Compassion
Students examine the work of the photojournalist W. Eugene Smith. They analyze photo-essays by Smith, construct a pinhole camera, and create their own photo-essay.
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Student Photographs and Suburbia
Third graders read photographs for information and discuss reactions. They take pictures of several sites or topics that depict change, tension, historic sites or community icons. They choose one to describe, mount and label.
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Public Interventions
Students analyze the work of two artists who made interventions in public spaces. In this art analysis lesson, students investigate ephemeral and site specific art. Students complete image based discussion and related projects.
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Read All About It! Events and People of the 1930s and 1940s That Shaped California and the Nation.
Learners look carefully at four photographs by Dorothea Lange and discuss them in terms of what is depicted and what she may have wanted to communicate. They review what they learned about the Dust Bowl, the Depression, the war era, and...
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Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
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Teaching the Holocaust Through Poetry
W.H. Auden’s poem “Refugee Blues” launches a study of the problems of refugees. Background information about the poem and general information about Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria are provided, as are discussion questions and...
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Putting a Face on History with Photographs
Use the Library of Congress to draw your students into history through photographs.
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Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Martha Rosler
Have a class discussion to better understand the art of Martha Rosler. Young art critics consider Martha's art as it is used to express issues of political unrest and social awareness. They look at each of the five images and use the...
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Political Humor
Though slightly dated (around the 2008 Presidential election), the information and discussion points in this presentation about political humor are solid. Use the slides in your language arts class in a lecture about semantics, or in a...
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Scarcity and Choice: Mercantilism - the relationships between England, Africa, and the Americas
High schoolers trace the meaning and importance of mercantilism; past and present.
Museum of the Moving Image
Developing Critical Analysis
To gain an understanding of how images and sounds are used to influence viewers, class members analyze these features in Presidential campaign commercials from 1952-2012.
Curated OER
ESL: Punctuating Titles
When are titles underlined, italicized, or placed in quotation marks? Take your class to the computer lab to give them some independent practice. Here they read through the information, examples, and explanations provided. They then...