US House of Representatives
Hispanic Americans in Congress During the Age of U.S. Colonialism and Global Expansion, 1898–1945
To be Puerto Rican, in the words of one politician, is to be "foreign in a domestic sense." Young historians consider the American role in colonialism and its impacts on Hispanic Americans through the first part of the twentieth century...
EngageNY
Determining Main Ideas and Summarizing: Philo Farnsworth’s Early Years
Teamwork makes the dream work! Learners work in groups to analyze pages 2-9 of The Boy Who Invented TV, The Story of Philo Farnsworth. They complete a first read to determine the gist and a second read to identify main idea and provide a...
US House of Representatives
Legislative Trends and Power Sharing Among Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1977–2012
Bilingual education, voting rights, and Congressional redistricting come up often in the news. Explore these topics from another view—the perspectives of Hispanic members of Congress. Activities include an article with comprehension and...
Center for History Education
Freedom for All? The Contradictions of Slavery and Freedom in the Maryland Constitution
Freedom for the few! An interesting lesson focuses on the Maryland Constitution and its lack of freedom for African Americans. Scholars examine the premise of freedom for all—which only extended to a limited few. Academics complete...
Google
Be Internet Awesome
Teach the qualities of a digitally smart citizen with a set of lesson plans created by Google. Along with creating strong passwords, learners explore how to protect their privacy, when to stand up for others against cyberbullying, and...
Visa
Making it Work Together: Money and Roommates
Balancing money and first-time roommates can feel like a daunting prospect. Support your class members in understanding how financial agreements between roommates function, as well as the underlying importance of how to communicate about...
Curated OER
Galaxy Adventure
Working in groups, learners create a mnemonic device, give an oral presentation, and create a pictorial representation of the correct sequence of the planets and asteroid belt from the sun. An assessment rubric is included in the lesson.
Curated OER
Shaquille O'Neal Hand & Foot Span
If Shaquille O'Neal wears a size-20 shoe, how big are his hands? Learners will use the average ratios of foot length to hand span to calculate the hand span of Shaq, but first, they have to collect the data! They will measure their peers...
Poets.org
Ghosts and Spirits
Connect poetry to a naturally kid-friendly topic: ghosts! Draw on your class's prior knowledge of the paranormal to help them access the classic poem "Haunted House" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. After a fun warm-up activity describing...
Curated OER
Expression: Masks - Activity 1
Students create art plans for an "installation" after viewing a video of Native American mask making that centers around the Salmon rack idea. Emphasis is placed on collaborative work in this introductory lesson.
Alabama Learning Exchange
CELEBRATE!
Strengthen research skills by reviewing the months of the year and the holidays celebrated during those months. Learners draw and label a timeline for the months and label each holiday. They work in groups to research the holidays, and...
Curated OER
Comparing Michigan to Other States
Fourth graders work in groups of 2 or 3 and choose a state to compare with Michigan. They use the Internet to locate information on other states allowing students time to research how Michigan compare to their state and incorporate their...
Curated OER
Who Is the Best Person for the Job?
Fourth graders work in groups of four, they are the managers of a new company, needing to hire employees. They brainstorm what they believe is important information to know about a future employee and share their list with the class....
Curated OER
Human Embryo Development and Birth Defects
Open this lesson with a discussion on birth defects. Break the class into groups to visit a website and learn about what happens at each stage of human embryo and fetal development. Assign each group a particular birth defect to...
Curated OER
What's Shaking? Three-Lesson Unit
Your young architects use the Internet to research tall structures or sky scrapers to help in the design of their scale drawings. This is lesson one of three in which learners design, build, and test model skyscrapers for seismic safety....
Curated OER
Help Me Learn About the Holocaust
Young readers select a book from a provided list to use as the basis for an intensive class study of Holocaust novels. After completing their novels, groups create a multimedia presentation highlighting the elements of literature...
Curated OER
Becoming Part of the Action
Students improve visualization skills through role play, texture identification, and storytelling. They discuss connections between a painting and their own lives.
Curated OER
Creating Mind maps
Students discuss their impressions of Africa. They work in groups to create a mind map. Students are explained what a mind map is. They discuss what they think are the defining features of the continent of Africa. Students create a giant...
Curated OER
How To...
Students create "how to" presentations using speech skills, the Inpsiration educational software, digital cameras, and iMovie (or similar presentation software) in this technology-based Language Arts lesson. The lesson includes possible...
Curated OER
Hey Classmates! Let's Get to Know One Another!
Two word puzzles encourage collaboration among learners. One sheet has numbers and initials that show a relationship and the other has pictorial images that represent a phrase. Partners cooperate in order to develop functional working...
Curated OER
Character Sketches
Students are introduced to the types of characters found in short stories. They read a short story in class and produce sketches of the protagonist and antagonist. Finally, they create their own characters and write about them in their...
Curated OER
Many Passages: The Voyage of the Slave Ship Brookes
Examine three perspectives of the slave trade - captain, sailor, and captive - through this collaborative analysis activity. Small groups study one perspective with a primary source to analyze. They discern what is a historical fact and...
Curated OER
Cooperative Puzzles
Students discuss and demonstrate how to play and work cooperatively with other people and with a group. In small groups they role-play how to work cooperatively with each other, with the goal of completing their group's puzzle using...
Curated OER
Smoker's Lung
The plan is to have adolescents work in groups to reserach the effects of smoking cigarettes on the lungs. Once they have collected information, they create a presentation to share with the rest of the class. This is part health lesson...