Syracuse University
Harlem Renaissance
The music and literature of the Harlem Renaissance defined American culture, including its poetry. Using a poem from the period, individuals explore its musical qualities and how it is reflective of the period. Then, they use what they...
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Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm
Students read Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm by Jerdine Nolen Harold. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of balloons. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social studies, and library...
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Historical Fiction Project
Students be engaged in a history project that is combined with Language Arts with the purpose of teaching students how to cite bibliographic information. This is important for doing future research.
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Grassland Animals
Third graders will be able to cut and paste from Internet into a word document with 100 percent accuracy. They use their research to write a 1-2 paragraph paper about their animal with 90 percent accuracy.
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Fairy Tales
Students research the Internet using hotlists to find two different versions of a fairy tale after watching a teacher presentation of two versions of The Three Little Pigs. They design a PowerPoint presentation that shows the comparisons...
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Italian Americans
Fourth graders research the importance of Italian Americans and search for information and pictures about them. They create an interactive PowerPoint presentation to present to the class.
Maine Content Literacy Project
Setting in "Hills Like White Elephants"
Continue your study of the short story with the next lesson in this fourteen-lesson series. After wrapping up a study of "Hills Like White Elephants" through a quiz and discussion of the setting, learners are introduced to the final...
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The Atomic Bomb Debate
Tenth graders play the role of a citizen from Hiroshima or President Truman. Using the internet, they research information to portray their part correctly. They present their position in a debate and examine the same events from various...
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Civil War Timeline
Seventh graders identify the major events before, during and after the Civil War. In groups, they use the events to create a timeline and research the figures and places involved in their specific event. They present their information to...
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Study of Animals
Third graders use the internet to research about an animal. After watching a demonstration, they follow the same steps to gain access to the internet as their teacher and find a picture of their animal to print. They complete a worksheet...
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This Land Is Our Land
Young scholars research federal land holdings. They explore how those lands are used. They map these lands and design their own legends. They discuss whether or not the land is being used accordingly.
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The Alphabet Garden
Third graders transplant, tend and observe a plant for each letter of the alphabet in a school garden. They work individually to research and select a plant that will grow in their local climate. Students then care for and observe the...
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Middle Ages Diary
Young scholars research life in the Middle Ages. They write a historical fiction diary based on a character they create. Students use the six steps to process writing to complete their diary. They orally present their diaries to the class.
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Famous African-American Fabric Paintings
Students examine famous African-Americans. In this African-Americans activity, students research and give an oral report on a famous African-American.
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Hurricanes
Young scholars research the formation and life-span of hurricanes and, after analyzing statistics, try their hand at plotting and predicting the course a hurricane.
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Hawaii: A Stolen Star
Explore the islands of Hawaii. Investigate Hawaiian culture and compare their personal traditions to Hawaiian traditions. They locate Hawaii on a map and research the history of Hawaii.
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100 Questions
Gather around to play a game! Middle and high schoolers answer questions (provided here) using various reference materials. Bring encyclopedias and other reference materials to class, as each group has limited Internet access! An answer...
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OLYMPIC SHADOW BOXES
Students acquaint themselves with little-used library resources/reference materials and create shadow boxes to be displayed in the Media Center based on the research they've done regarding the Winter Olympics.
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Centennial: Secrets From Beyond...
Fourth graders identify cemeteries as a source of information for historical research. They consider the types of information cemeteries can provide, review local headstones and create a database of the collected knowledge.
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Civil War Weapons and Changes
Students research the weapons of the Civil War era, how they were used and manufactured, and how they have changed over the years since the Civil War.They complete a 3-5 page paper about a weapon that was used in the Civil War.
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Suspension Bridges: Connecting Lives
Learners explore bridges. In this bridge instructional activity, students design and build a suspension bridge after visiting related websites and reviewing famous bridges in non-fiction books. Learners follow the instructions from the...
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Create Your Own COMMUNITY
Students discuss "their community" and the elements they have chosen to include in their ideal community by presenting to the class a collage of ideas incorporating the ideas presented by the instructional activity rubric.
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Signature History
Students review the meaning and application of primary and secondary sources in research. They determine how researchers locate primary source documents before looking at signatures as a validating factor on many primary sources....
Library of Congress
Oral History and Social History
Students examine the Great Depression. In this oral and social histories instructional activity, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of the America in the 1930's.