Curated OER
VH1's When Disco Ruled the World
High schoolers choose a minority culture or an event and research the musical influences of that culture or event on American popular music. They discuss how minority cultures and events in American society influenced the Disco era.
Curated OER
Pictures Telling Stories
Students see the importance of primary sources in the study of history, but also the limitations of relying only on primary sources of taking the money, as it were, at face value.
Curated OER
Money Talks
Students move from fact finding to interpretation as they examine paper money from the time of the American Revolution. In the final exercise, they use the issue dates of the bills to construct a chronology of political changes during...
Curated OER
Cinco de Mayo
Students investigate the Cinco de Mayo holiday. They discuss the history of Cinco de Mayo, listen to the Legend of the Mexican flag, color a worksheet of the Mexican flag, and create a class coat of arms.
Curated OER
Oliver Cromwell: Hero or Villain?
In this Oliver Cromwell worksheet, learners read 10 facts about Cromwell and label each "hero" or "villain" depending on which each given fact supports.
Museum of Tolerance
Disenfranchised People of the New Nation
Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were disenfranchised, and their...
Curated OER
Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.
Curated OER
Stories of the Wrights' Flight
Pupils examine and compare primary and secondary source accounts of the Wright brothers' first flights on December 17, 1903.
Curated OER
American History Review
Pupils examine how people have contributed to American history, regardless of culture, race or religion. They develop a sense of pride for their own efforts, as well as for the efforts of others. They also study how to work both...
Curated OER
Mineral Scavenger Hunt
Students complete a scavenger hunt worksheet as they find examples in their classroom, at home, etc., of minerals. Excellent worksheet!
Curated OER
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Students examine Harriet Tubman's contribution to the Underground Railroad. They read and discuss an excerpt from the book "The Tamarack Tree," listen to the CD for the book "Follow the Drinking Gourd," and write a journal response from...
Curated OER
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 14 multiple choice questions about The Last of the Mohicans. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
Minerals, Crystals, and Gems
Students discover the relationships between minerals, crystals and gems. They bring in rocks that they find at home, in the schoolyard, etc. and examine them and attempt to identify them. They set up a classroom exhibit that includes all...
Curated OER
Climate and Cultures of Africa
Young scholars gain an understanding of the relationship between climate and culture in the sub- Saharan Africa. Students will complete short exercises pertaining to the various cultures of Africa and the climate in which they live....
Curated OER
Slavery in the Antebellum South
Students discuss Stephen Foster's depiction of slavery. Using the internet, they discover what the life of a slave was really like in the antebellum South. As a class, they discuss contemporary arguments for and against slavery.
Curated OER
Second Graders Create Their Own Social Studies Book
Students develop their own social studies textbook. Students gain knowledge of American immigration and Ellis Island. Students discover the process of becoming a naturalized citizen and what it means to be a citizen
Curated OER
How Things Fly
Students observe photographs of selected twentieth-century aircraft at the National Air and Space Museum and note differences in the design of aircraft wings, fuselages, and engines.
Curated OER
Spy on a Spider
Students view slides or live specimens to name and describe the distinguishing features of groups of arthropods, especially spiders and insects. They complete worksheets, observe webs and then search for and record where spiders can be...
Curated OER
Creatures from Planet X: Spiders
Students are given a description of some fascinating animals from "Planet X". They follow the descriptions given to illustrate one of these animals paying careful attention to introduced vocabulary such as 'appendages', 'receptors', and...
Curated OER
Lewis and Clark: The Language of Discovery
Students replicate some of the trailblazing methods of Lewis and Clark on a fifteen-minute "writing journey" through the school or neighborhood.
Curated OER
How Things Fly
Students, by drawing on their own experiences, discuss and examine the basic physics of flight. They participate in a variety of activities regarding flight.
Library of Congress
Loc: The Civil War: The Nation Moves Toward War
Examine the causes of the Civil War using primary source documents. This lesson plan gives background on the Civil War, includes a timeline, and a bibliography for further reading. Primary source documents include music, newspapers,...
University of Pittsburgh
Center for American Music Library: Civil War Homefront
A great lesson plan using Stephen Foster's music and lyrics to show what life was like on the homefront during the Civil War.
PBS
Pbs: Music, Slavery and the Civil War
This lesson could serve as the basis of a curriculum unit on slavery and/or the Civil War. Spirituals are analyzed, especially their cultural implications.