Curated OER
The End of the Civil Rights Movement
Middle schoolers examine the relationships between blacks and whites in their community. In this racial discrimination lesson, students make race relations observations within their community and then write letters that reveal their...
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
Cultural Capital
Students research the adaptation and acculturation of immigrant groups in the United States. They create culture capsules aimed at preserving the cultural heritage of new peoples in American society.
Curated OER
Troubled Times
Students address their questions, anxieties and other feelings about the changes in American society since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 and the subsequent reactions around the world.
Curated OER
Those Amazing Animals
Middle schoolers understand the roles of animals in entertainment and sports. In this animal welfare instructional activity, students recognize that some animals are used humanely and others are used cruelly. Middle schoolers classify...
Curated OER
Drake’s West Indian Voyage 1588-1589
Students examine the exploration routes of Sir Francis Drake. In this American exploration lesson, students investigate primary sources to trace the routes and contact with the natives that Sir Francis Drake experienced on his voyages in...
Curated OER
Title IX: Examining the Inadvertent Effects of Court Rulings
Learners research two cases and the unintended effects that they had on women's rights in American society. They write a summary of each case, including both the intended and actual results of the ruling.
Curated OER
Problem in Inarqi
Students practice identifying and solving problems. They assume a role to solve an authentic problem. During the simulation, students explain the structure of the government and reasons for adopting that particular structure. They...
American Physiological Society
Drug the Water Flea
This is a flea. This is a flea on drugs. Any questions? Your class will have questions aplenty during an impactful experiment. Lab groups get to know Daphnia magna, the humble water flea, and study the effects of stimulants and...
PBS
Baseball: The Tenth Inning - Bases Divided
Baseball is a relatively high-interest topic through which social studies classes can explore racial prejudice in the US. Video clips provide much of the background information that groups record on their handout and then share with the...
Curated OER
Figure of Speech
Examine the changing nature of language in the U.S. View and discuss excerpts from a PBS documentary with your class and then conduct Internet research, and complete a team project on the evolution of teen expressions.
Curated OER
Opinion Poll-arities
Learners explore the mathematics behind opinion polls, as well as provides a framework for interpreting trends in opinion poll graphics.
Curated OER
Mapping the Mediasphere
Students compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...
TCI
Dreams Progress
Has society progressed to the dream Martin Luther King Jr. expressed in his famous address during the civil rights movement? Learners work with a partner to analyze one excerpt from King's "I Have A Dream" speech and find a current image...
Curated OER
Teaching Justice: Schooling and the Four Waves of U.S. Immigration
U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Over the course of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on...
Curated OER
Great Depression and New Deal
The five activities outlined in this resource packet engage class members in projects that ask them to research the causes and the effects, both national and local, of the Great Depression and the New Deal policies of FDR.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Molecules and Fuel Cell Technology
A fuel cell is where the jailer keeps gas guzzlers. Scholars review chemical reactions, chemical bonds, and chemical structure in order to apply these concepts. Participants construct fuel cell kits, using electrolysis to run the car and...
Curated OER
Comedy Across the Curriculum
The New York Times Learning Network provides the resources that permit pupils to examine and then write and perform a fake news broadcast in the vein of “The Daily Show” or “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update. The generated reports...
Federal Reserve Bank
Could It Happen Again?
The final instructional activity in a series of six about the Great Depression focuses on the Federal Reserve's role in stabilizing the economy.
American Chemical Society
Colors Collide or Combine?
As part of a unit investigating the dissolving of M&Ms® candy coating, this lesson examines whether or not the different colors combine. There are no new concepts revealed in this particular lesson, but learners will see that the...
Curated OER
Pacifism vs. Patriotism in the 1920s
Students examine the philosophy of different organizations after World War I. They discover the impact of the "Red Scare" and how this affected peace organizations of the time.
Curated OER
Imperialism in China
If you are completing a unit on the European impact on China, this short lesson plan may be useful. It requires an excerpt from Chinese Civilization: A sourcebook, by Ebrey, that gives Liang Qichaos's account of his visit to America....
Curated OER
Jazz in America
Students explore the Swing Era and its implications. They answer questions and listen to music from the era.
Curated OER
The Industrial Age in America: Robber Barons and Captains of Industry
Middle schoolers define terms "robber baron" and "captain of industry," list positive and negative actions of one or more captains of industry/robber barons, and take and support stand as to whether particular financier/industrialist is...