Curated OER
Men of Steel
Students explore early 20th century steel making. In this U.S. history steel making activity, students view and describe a postcard and a picture depicting exaggerated aspects of the steel industry. Students listen to a poem about Joe...
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Animated Alphabet
Students explore English by completing an interactive language history activity. In this word recognition lesson, students discuss word formations and the phonetic relationship between letters. Students identify the origin of individual...
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Idioms
Use this podcast lesson plan to familiarize scholars with the characteristics, history, and cultural implications of idioms. As part of the Walking Classroom curriculum, kids listen to a 12-minute podcast as they walk around campus. If...
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"Whose (Is)land is This?": topics in Immigration and The Tempest
Class members compare the ways the subject of immigration is treated in The Tempest, Act I, scene ii, Act II, scene i and Act III, scene ii with patterns in American history. After tracing their own family’s journey, a series of...
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Ye Olde English Sayings
Discover the historical roots of modern English with your young learners, and then discover the meaning of many old English sayings. What a great chance to explore the history behind many of the words and phrases we use today!
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Aztec Myths: Writing Editorials
Middle schoolers write an editorial giving an opinion of whether or not Quetzalcoatl has arrived and if so, what the Aztecs should do. They discuss whether or not they believe Quetzalcoatl is a god or a man, and use an Editorial...
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Lunch Pail
Explore a 1900s lunch pail. In this oral language and 1900s history lesson, students view a photograph of an old-fashioned lunch pail. Students describe the object and make predictions about what it is and its possible uses. Students...
PBS
Master of the Airwaves: How FDR Used Radio to Ease the Public’s Fears
The political and economic climate during the 1930's was uncertain and tumultuous. But Americans' minds and hearts were eased with the reassuring words of their president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and addresses over the radio. High...
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Exploring Arthurian Legend
Learners investigate the evolution of the King Arthur stories and analyze them as a window into the culture that preserved them. They trace the legends through their earliest versions through medieval and Victorian times and into the...
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Sculpting a Modern Hero
Middle schoolers examine the sculpture of the Greek hero Herakles. In this visual arts lesson, students choose a modern hero and create a sculpture that features the hero’s identity and attributes.
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Exploring the Roots of Modern Dance in America
Students develop an understanding of how African culture impacted modern dance in the United States.
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Modern Greece Fights For Ancient History
Students study the history of Ancient Greece and its society through Internet research. They investigate information about the Parthenon and its marble structures.
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A Modern Pandora's Box
Students research the myth of Pandora's Box. In this mythology lesson, students examine myths and are introduced to the story of Pandora's Box. Students create a modern-day version of Pandora's Box.
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The History of Furniture
Students investigate historic furniture. In this art history lesson, students compare and contrast two chairs from different periods. Students create a collage from images of the past.
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Let's Find a Good Time in Art!
Fifth graders make a Hyperstudio presentation based on their study of different time periods in art history. They complete a timeline using a teacher made template to complete the project.
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Military History Of China And Japan
Students examine how the Chinese and Japanese used art and literature to bolster the legitimacy of military regimes. The lesson concludes with small group Powerpoint presentations.
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Checkmate: What is the History of Chess?
Students create a timeline. In this history of chess lesson, students use the Internet to examine the chess history timeline. Students read books on the history of chess, answer questions and create a timeline using a software...
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Thanksgiving History
First graders decode Thanksgiving vocabulary while learning about the history of this holiday. In this Thanksgiving history lesson, 1st graders listen to a story, trace their hands to make turkey feathers and listen to a turkey poem. ...
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The Arts of Sub Saharan Africa
Students research Sub-Saharan African art and the regions it comes from. In this African art lesson plan, students discuss art and compare the tribal and ceremonial art and what it is used for.
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History/Mystery: Regionalism and Ethnicity in the American Detective Novel
Learners use mystery novels to focus on the history and ethnicity of different regions of the United States. As a class, they are introduced to the elements of a mystery and compare them to the other types of novels they have read. In...
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Ancient Abstraction
Pupils compare and debate how an ancient Greek sculpture is similar to modern art. Then they orally describe the cultural contributions of early Greek civilization and their relationship to the modern world.
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Depicting Women and Class in a Global Society
Young scholars explore visual arts that feature women. In this women in art lesson, students analyze "Marquise de Miramon, née Thérèse Feuillant" by Jacques Joseph Tissot and "The Milliners" by Edgar Germain Hilaire Degas. Young scholars...
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Whitewashing History
Students revisit issues of civil rights in the U.S. They use the recent national discussion of retiring Senator Strom Thurmond's 1948 Dixiecrat Presidential campaign as a starting point.
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Modern Mosaics (Grades 6-8)
Students explore the elements of contrast, emphasis, pattern, and color schemes by identifying how the artist manipulated tesserae in the mosaic. They create original mosaics by manipulating torn paper to depict different textures and...