Curated OER
Plot Mobiles
Students read folktales and identify the plot of the story by making a mobile. In this inventive and colorful activity, students listen to a variety of famous folktales, and practice identifying the plot. Then, they work together to...
Curated OER
Using Effective, Evocative Writing as a Model
Students analyze the author's style to learn techniques for strengthening their own writing. They re-read "Music in the Fields" and highlight images that create vivid pictures in their minds-places where Young "shows, not tells" and...
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Delicious Words
Fifth graders work together to make simple menus more interesting by adding descriptive words. This plan works well with the Six Traits of Writing as it covers the trait of word choice. This is a really fun way for students to practice...
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The Beautiful People of Africa
Students discover the people of Africa by creating a PowerPoint presentation. In this African culture activity, students utilize the Internet to investigate a specific African tribe and their specific location, culture, and way of life....
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Taking It to the Streets
Students read about a protest in France, led by students against the government's labor laws targeting youth. They research student-led protests over the past 50 years and role-play student protesters, reporters, and government officials.
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Hernando De Soto's Trip Through South Carolina
Fourth graders become familiar with the explorations of Hernando DeSoto. In this DeSoto lesson plan, 4th graders recognize the routes and territories of DeSoto's explorations. Students use primary and secondary sources and research to...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin and the Long Struggle for Independence
Students explore U.S. history by reading biographical material in class. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson, students identify the life of Franklin and the events that led him to become one of America's first heroes. Students complete an...
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Researching North American Tribes: The Cree
Students research the Cree tribe of North America. In this Native American lesson, students will research on-line, then compare and contrast the differences between the Cree tribe and other Native American tribes. Students will break...
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LA CENERENTOLA (Cinderella)
Students investigate different cultures' versions of the Cinderella tale in comparison to the Rossini opera synopsis. They experience dramatizing a Cinderella tale and study about the group and individual process required for theatrical...
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Dramatizing Tam's Slipper
Students investigate the Japanese version of the Cinderella tale. In this fairy tale instructional activity, students read Tam's Slipper and construct a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the tale with the American version.
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Pioneer America: Pioneer Living
Fourth graders research pioneer life. In this pioneer lesson, 4th graders read the book Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder and discuss what life was like for early pioneers. They research pioneers and show what they have...
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Boston Spies' Report on the Redcoats
Students collect information about British actions in Boston and send it by secret message to leaders in Philadelphia.
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"The Big Orchard Book of Funny Poems"
Students read and analyze various poems from the book "The Big Orchard Book of Funny Poems." They clap to the rhymes, identify patterns, compare and contrast poems, and write an alternative poem based on the poem "Christine Crump."
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The Voices of Slavery
Fourth graders recognize and can describe the settlers of Early America. In this American colonies instructional activity, 4th graders research using primary and secondary sources, Native Americans, Europeans, and African Americans role...
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Create Your Own Ad
Students examine the elements of advertising. They analyze the format and structure of advertisements. They develop awareness of advertising techniques and explain that media messages and products are composed of a series of separate...
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The West "The People": The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Fourth graders become familiar with the conditions facing the members of the Expedition in the early 1800's, as well as the causes and consequences of the Expedition. They describe the conditions of the land in the 1800's and during the...
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"We few, we happy few": Motivational Speech in Henry V
Students explore how to write and deliver a motivational speech by examining King Henry's in "Saint Crispin's Day".
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Johnny Tremain for the 21st Century
Seventh graders complete a unit of lessons on the American Revolution based on the novel, 'Johnny Tremain.' They define key vocabulary terms, develop a timeline, write a report on a colonial craft, make a colonial flag, and create a...
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Great Lakes at Stake
Students explore conservation of the Great Lakes. In this geography and ecology lesson, students identify the Great Lakes on a map and view a video depicting the history and importance of these lakes. Students work in groups to research...
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It’s a Big, Big World
Students examine the role of the explorers. In this explorers and conquistadors, students create word puzzles (Wordles) regarding the time period in history. Students conduct research regarding a particular explorer and create foldables...
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Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: The Novel as Historical Source
Young scholars examine historical fiction as historical sources. In this historical fiction lesson plan, students analyze excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as well as Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of...
Curated OER
The Elephant
Students listen to a story about helping others. In this citizenship lesson, students investigate a group of animals that do not want to help an ant. Students learn about elephants and sing songs about the elelphant in story.
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Shipwreck Mystery
Young scholars draw inferences about a shipwreck. In this marine archaeologist lesson, students examine historical and archaeological data to draw inferences about the age and identity of shipwrecks.