PBS
Dear Pen Pal
Explore cultures from around the world with an engaging pen pal resource. Through a series of classroom activities and written correspondence, children learn about the favoritec pastimes, schooling, geography, and weather that is...
Curated OER
Credible Sources on the Internet: What to Trust, What to Dismiss and When to Cite a Source
Wait, you mean researchers don't all use Wikipedia? Teach your class about intelligent research with a lesson plan about evaluating digital sources. The lesson plan starts with a quickwrite and includes vocabulary exercises and several...
National Australia Day Council
True Blue? On Being Australian
Who or what is an Australian? Discover a plethora of student-centered, engaging activity ideas on the question of Australian identity, organized according to five major themes: people, symbols, place, sport, and words.
Curated OER
Spanish Country Report
Students select a Spanish-speaking country they would like to visit. They gather information and present it in Spanish in the form of a written and oral report.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Educating European Immigrant Children Before World War I
As if surviving a journey to America wasn't enough of a feat for early 20th century immigrants, they then needed to settle into American life. Learn about the ways New York public education attempted to meet the needs of its students,...
NOAA
Climate, Corals and Change
Global warming isn't just an issue on land; deep ocean waters are also showing troubling signs. Young scientists learn more about deep water corals and the many recent discoveries researchers have made. Then they examine data related to...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Two Eyes, A Nose, and A Mouth
Students read Two Eyes, A Nose, and A Mouth by Roberta Grobel Intrater. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding faces and facial features. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-OGBO : Sharing Life in an African Village
Students read OGBO: Sharing Life in an African Village by Ifcoma Onyefulu. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Nigerian culture. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social...
Curated OER
The Spread of Enlightenment Ideas
Looking for a simple and straightforward reference on the Enlightenment for your young historians? Check out this list of key terms and important figures from the period, followed by a traditional assessment where your learners will be...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Lincoln: A Photobiography
Students read Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the life of Abraham Lincoln, including, but not limited to, the Civil War. Included are reading, art, math,...
Curated OER
Tasty Topics
Learners analyze a graphic from an article and predict what the article might be about. After reading an article, they discover a journalist's experience of traveling across the United States to compare fast food restaurants. They...
Cornell University
Fibers, Dyes, and the Environment
Nanofibers can be made through electrospinning or force spinning in order to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Pupils study the role of fibers and dye on the environment through a series of five hands-on activities. Then,...
National History Day
Heroes Who Made a Difference: Memorializing a Distinguished Service Cross Award Recipient
Ever wonder how to memorialize World War I heroes in the classroom? Activities in a high-quality social studies resource prompt middle schoolers to research Internet sources, complete a graphic organizer, and write an editorial feature...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of the Child
Don't be fooled by the size of the resource: these few pages provide the blueprint for a substantial, thoughtful unit on children's rights and the different philosophies and approaches that the United States and other countries have...
Curated OER
High School EcoHouse Curriculum
How has the level of carbon dioxide changed over recent years, and what is contributing it? Groups work together to research and present their findings in a creative way. Also built into the lesson is a visit to a sustainable house, but...
National Endowment for the Humanities
People and Places in the North and South
North and South: two opposite directions and two opposite economic and social systems in time of the Civil War. Pupils peruse census websites and primary source photographs to understand what life was like for the everyday person before...
Space Awareness
Where on Earth Am I?
Almost every phone has GPS installed, but a large number of teens don't know how the technology works. An initial activity illustrates how GPS determines a location on Earth. Scholars then apply trilateration procedures to a...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Surprise!: Challenge Activities (Theme 2)
Surprise! is the theme of this series of challenge activities. The surprise comes from the information your scholars will discover when researching topics such as alligators and crocodiles, living in other countries, becoming a...
It's About Time
Communication Through Space
If humans do find aliens, how would we communicate with them? An intriguing lesson walks through some of the challenges associated with this question. How long would a message take to reach a specific destination, what language should we...
National Constitution Center
Civil Liberties and Rights Worldwide
How do governments differ in how they protect human rights? While the United States prides itself on its Bill of Rights, other countries have their own ways of protecting citizens' liberties. An interactive website, paired with...
Mr. Nussbaum
Abraham Lincoln Reading Comprehension—The Presidential Years (Part 2)
How does a president save a country from itself? Readers learn how the Civil War began and how Lincoln managed it with a reading comprehension passage. They then demonstrate their understanding with multiple choice questions that...
Curated OER
Country's Music
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
Curated OER
Online —On Stage—and Action
Use your tablets to participate in a culture-sharing project with a class in a foreign country. Your class can communicate and share ideas with a class in another country, swapping information regarding language and culture. Together you...
Association for Library Service to Children
Summer Reading List Grades 3-5
Encourage your charges to pick up a book (or two, or three) over the summer! They'll find 25 different ideas on this list of summer reading books for kids. Each book is paired with publication information and a brief synopsis, so your...