Curated OER
African Americans Seen Through the Eyes of the Newsreel Cameraman
Fifth graders examine the portrayal of African Americans in the media. In this socio-political lesson, 5th graders view various news clips of African Americans and discuss the way they are presented. Students create narrations of the...
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Benjamin Franklin: Colonial Printer and Journalist
Fifth graders explore how important print media is to everyone's daily life. Students use present daily newspapers and they are to reproduce weather forecasts.
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Signs Signs - Everywhere Signs
Students examine advertising techniques. In this media literacy lesson, students collaborate to create PowerPoint presentations that feature multimedia formats to share advertising that is present in their community.
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Citing Sources
Practice citation skills with this activity, which takes learners to the Library/Media center. There, they will view a Powerpoint presentation and practice collecting data in both print and non-print sources. All necessary materials are...
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Idea-Noun Definition: Source Searching
A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...
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The Other Drug War
Students examine the concepts of media literacy and how they apply to prescription drug advertising. They watch and discuss the Frontline video, "The Other Drug War," complete a worksheet, and answer questions regarding magazine drug...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Audacity of a Vote: Susan B. Anthony’s Arrest
Susan B. Anthony's speech "Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?" takes center stage in a lesson that asks class members to consider how they might respond to what they consider an unjust law. Groups work through the speech paragraph by...
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Dewey Decimal Game
Engage all the upper elementary classes in your school in a game to learn Dewey Decimal Classification. On 5 or 6 consecutive visits to the library, teams from each class learn how the system works, locate books in each category, and...
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Navigating Nonfiction
Third graders explore the arrangement of nonfiction. In this library skills lesson, 3rd graders examine Dewey Decimal classification as they collaborate to locate nonfiction materials in the library/media center.
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Sorting
Students examine the concept of organization. In this library skills lesson plan, students practice ordering and sorting skills by playing the Flood Game.
NOAA
To Boldly Go...
When we think of ocean exploration, many of us have visions of sunken pirate ships full of treasure or mysterious creatures of the deep. What really motivates deep-sea investigation? The first in a series of diverse six-part lessons...
Curated OER
Library Lesson Plan: Table of Contents
Third graders create a table of contents. In this library skills lesson, 3rd graders read Welcome to the White House and use the provided worksheet to create a table of contents for the book.
Facing History and Ourselves
The Legacies of Reconstruction
The final instructional activity in the seven-resource Reconstruction Era collection examines the legacies of Reconstruction. Class members investigate why the period has been called an "unfinished revolution," "a splendid failure," and...
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Caldecott Medal Winners
Second graders identify Caldecott Medal winners. In this library media lesson, 2nd graders view an overhead transparency of Caldecott Medal winners from 1987-2004 and answer questions based on the data that is displayed.
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Encyclopedia Introduction
Second graders demonstrate how to use reference materials. In this library media instructional activity, 2nd graders are introduced to the encyclopedia and are shown how to use the encyclopedia as a reference. Students use encyclopedias...
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What is a Dictionary?
Second graders explore the purpose of a dictionary. In this library media activity, 2nd graders explore My First Dictionary and identify guidewords, entry words, and captions. Students list ways they can use the dictionary.
Curated OER
1900 America: Primary Sources and Epic Poetry
Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and sounds of life...
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Ask a Librarian
Discuss how asking questions is a vital part of not only the research process, but the lifelong process of information literacy. Middle schoolers work in small groups and practice the skill of asking questions. Afterward, they complete...
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Wisdom of the Ages
Students reflect on the different stages of life that humans pass through. They challenge common sense assumptions and critically engage media representations of people at different ages. They determine that media have embedded values...
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Media and War
Students investigate how written media and word of mouth helped foment rebellion during the Revolutionary War. They compare and contrast that with the role of the news media in the war in Iraq focusing on cause and effect relationships.
Curated OER
Media Literacy: Discovering and Understanding Propaganda
Ninth graders study different types of propaganda and select an issue that is significant to them. In this exploratory lesson students design and create posters on the topic of their choice and write a narrative describing it.
Scholastic
Dear Miss Breed
This compelling plan based on the letters in the book Dear Miss Breed engages readers in learning what it was like for Japanese Americans following the attacks at Pearl Harbor. After reading the letters, young scholars will partake in...
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News Coverage WWII
Students explore how Americans were affected by news coverage of World War II.
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Library Treasure Hunt
Learners conduct a scavenger hunt activity in their library. In this library research lesson, students use treasure hunt worksheets to locate various items on the library computers and in the library shelves.