Facing History and Ourselves
California Grape Workers’ Strike: 1965–66
The California grape workers' strike of 1965-66 is the focus of a lesson that asks high schoolers to investigate the strategies farmworkers used to organize and gain contracts with grape growers that ensured higher waters and better work...
Facing History and Ourselves
The 1968 East LA School Walkouts
The East LA School walkouts are the focus of a lesson that looks at the importance of an education that honors the culture of all learners. Class members watch videos and read an article on the LA student demands to gather background...
Facing History and Ourselves
Hardship and Hope: Teaching Amanda Gorman's "New Day's Lyric"
Class members come together to study Amanda Gorman's poem "New Day's Lyric." After a close reading of the poem, learners watch a video of Gorman reading her poem, and then craft additional lines for the poem where they offer suggestions...
Facing History and Ourselves
Finding Your Voice
To begin a study of what it means to be American, high schoolers first consider their own identities. They draw a picture of what they think an American looks like and share their images. Next, they examine an image of the "Flag of...
Facing History and Ourselves
Identity and Names
Would a rose smell as sweet, as Juliet Capulet asserts, if called by any other name? The importance of names and the connection between names and identity are examined in a lesson that explores identity in the United States. After...
Facing History and Ourselves
Identity and Labels
Scholars look at the connections between identity and labels, assumptions, and stereotypes, in a lesson plan that examines identity in the United States. To set the stage for a discussion of these connections, class members analyze a...
Facing History and Ourselves
Identity and Choices
Timshel! Thou mayest! is the big idea in a lesson that reminds learners that they have choices about how they present themselves to others. To begin, individuals rate the degree to which the choices they make each morning are influenced...
Facing History and Ourselves
Connecting to the Past
Young historians research the connections between their personal histories and the histories of our country to gain a deeper understanding of who they are. To begin, class members write about an object that they consider significant to...
Facing History and Ourselves
Many Voices, One National Identity
To conclude the unit on "Exploring Identity in the United States," pupils consider whether it is possible to combine many voices into one national identity. After creating an identity chart that lists words, phrases, and images that they...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-The Tree That Would Not Die
Young scholars read The Tree That Would Not Die by Ellen Livine. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities as they read of an ancient oak tree that has lived for nearly 500 years. they focus their attention on the events in...
Curated OER
Children's Organization for Civil Rights
Pupils analyze a speech from Constance Baker Motley, examine student Organization for Civil Rights' documents, and then create their own plan of action for what the C.O.C.R. might be like if it existed today.
Curated OER
Exploring Adlai E. Stevenson II
Fifth graders research work to research six areas in the life of Adlai E. Stevenson II: His Early life, Governor of Illinois, Campaigns for president, Ambassador to the UN, famous quotes, later years. They create a supply of notecards...
Curated OER
South Asian Architecture
Seventh graders review and discuss architecture from South Asia. They then study images of various buildings from North Africa/Southwest Asia, and make comparisons
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News Coverage WWII
Students explore how Americans were affected by news coverage of World War II.
Curated OER
An Acquaintance with Darkness, a Civil War
Eighth graders explore the Civil War, and people and events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and his funeral procession.
Curated OER
Edgar Allen Poe And The Art Of Composition
High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
The Magic School bus Inside A Hurricane
Students investigate the concept of a hurricane by using the cartoon series "The Magic Schoolbus" to simulate the fantasy of traveling through a hurricane. The lesson uses a KWL graphic organizer in order to guide student inquiry and as...
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Coming To America
Students investigate the history of America with the help of children's literature. The story is structured as a timeline that begins at the time of Columbus and progresses to the present. The teacher reads the story with the class and...
Curated OER
On The Day You Were Born
Students engage in a study about the holiday of a birthday with the help of using children's literature. They make cognitive connections of using the characters of the book and relating them to the personal celebration of a birthday.
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The Faithful Friend
Students work in co-op groups to create a Reader's Theater production of the story. Students create a flow map that sequences the major events in the story. Students research the island of Martinique and create a travel brochure...
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Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales
Students discuss the illustration's allusion to the myth, Pandora's Box. Students locate instances of folk sayings or expressions that make these tales seem authentic to the reader. Students draw a Venn diagram comparing Catskinella and...
Curated OER
Hatchet
Students write about a time when they were in a situation where nature frightened them. They write about how Brian solved the problem of how to start a fire in the story. Students complete a short research paper on one of the plants or...
Curated OER
A Look At Rocks
Students write letters to organizations, such as United States Geological Society, to find out more about rocks. Students write about a pretend time they found a magic pebble. Students calculate distances to travel to see various...