Curated OER
Dark Voices From Unmarked Graves
Students read The Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa. They view video from Roots by Alex Haley on the capture of Kunta Kinte and reenact household slavery as practiced by the Igbo people. The make a list of major differences...
New York City Department of Education
Myself and Others
Self reflection is an important skill to reinforce in our children, and it's especially helpful to help them realize who they are in the context of their environment. A collection of lessons about self image and community encourage...
Curated OER
Christopher Columbus: The Man, the Myth, the Legend
Learn more about maps by examining Christopher Columbus's voyage to the New World. Kindergartners will learn about basic map skills and how to identify the compass rose, oceans, and land masses. They will also discover the purpose of...
Prestwick House
Wuthering Heights
How many ways can you break down a classic novel? Based on the acclaimed Romantic-period novel by Emily Bronte, the Wuthering Heights activity pack includes a pre-reading exercise. Next, learners create a resume for one of the...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Awesome Authors Website
Students examine the writing techniques of professional authors and apply them to their own work. In pairs, they email authors to discover the tricks of the trade. Students create their own Website for their work.
Curated OER
William Apess and the Mashpee "Revolt" of 1833
Prompt your class with the following question: What was the status of American Indians in Massachusetts during Jackson's presidency? To answer this question, class members will read a series of primary source documents (attached),...
Curated OER
Can You Build a Better Mousetrap?
Students use a variety of linked sites to research information about student inventions and contests that are available for them. They research an invention they would like to see become available. They communicate their results to their...
Curated OER
A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...
Curated OER
Writing to a Specific Topic
After a class discussion where learners make predictions about what will happen in a book based on its cover illustration, pupils are asked to compose a written response about an aspect of the story and include some of their own...
Curated OER
What It Means to Be an American Indian
Pupils analyze primary source documents and evaluate historical evidence to find consequences of the policies that were adopted from the 1830s to today regarding Native American Indians.
Curated OER
Picture America's Sweetheart
Students examine Seventeen Magazine's America's Sweetheart contest and one of their finalists by reading about Sunia Arif and what made Seventeen choose her. Students then write a 300-word essay about what would make them or someone they...
Curated OER
Outsourcing City Hall
Learners examine how some city halls around the country are using private companies to run them. After watching a video, they write a reaction paper to some part of it. They write an article for their school newspaper discussing whether...
Curated OER
Project Playhouse
High schoolers read about Kent State's ongoing support for Hurricane Katrina victims by building and auctioning off playhouses for children. They create an ad for the playhouses, including a headline and some copy (words) plus visuals...
Curated OER
Exploring All Frontiers
Young scholars utilize higher thinking skills to expand their self concept to include physical, cognitive, and affective frontiers. The teacher create activities which allow students to use raw data and primary sources, as well as...
Curated OER
Creepy Crawlers
Students identify the characteristics of an insect and their habitat. They read books about insects, research different types of insects, and create their own insect art. The project also includes the creation of an insect song and...
Curated OER
Science Performance Assessment
You can use performance assessments to obtain a richer and more complete picture of what your students know.
Curated OER
Soaring High with Kites
Learners make kites from patterns. They write haiku poetry. They listen to stories about kite festivals in different countries.
Curated OER
I Just Want to Say
Eighth graders study poetic devices included in conversation poems and explore their eloquent messages. They read and discuss poems by Langston Hughes and Don Marquis.
Curated OER
I'm A Poet and Now I Know It
Eighth graders gather ideas generated from other poems and their own inspiration, to create original poetry. A celebration is included as students bind and submit poems for publication.
Curated OER
Poetry and Our National Anthem
Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. In this American history lesson, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the anthem in your own...
Curated OER
Life Along the Trail
Learners explore the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and the journey of Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery. They read to explain a new topic and write to inform readers of the historic events they explored.
Curated OER
Signs in the Stitching
Students exercise their creativity by designing an original quilt and a written explanation of its meaning. They use primary sources to develop an understanding of Underground Railroad routes through Indiana.
Curated OER
Worth a Thousand Words
First graders examine the significance of the American bison to the American Indians of the Great Plains. They create a story in pictographs in the style of American Indians of the Plains.
Curated OER
Which Would You Choose?
Fourth graders investigate two types of water vessels that were used by Lewis and Clark during the exploration of the Louisiana Territory. They interpret data to determine which vessel was more efficient.