Curated OER
Gather the Stones!
Review how gristmills affected the lives of the Pennsylvania community. The class uses documents and pictures to explore the purpose of the gristmill. They simulate members of the community and write a paper about colonial forces...
Curated OER
Maps with a "Spin"
Students, in groups, research and map the effects of a proposed airport three miles outside of town. They prepare a presentation based on a set of maps they make and explains its different points of view from the viewpoints of the town...
Curated OER
Paleoclimate of the Hudson Valley
Students recognize how the climate of the Hudson Valley has changed since the last glaciation and be able to explain these changes. They reconstruct the paleoclimate of the Hudson Valley.
Curated OER
Nellie Bly's Newspaper Club: Introducing the Science of Writing
Students evaluate a video about Nellie Bly, a famous reporter from the 19th century. They consider what makes a high-interest news article, write an essay in pairs and present it a literary tea.
PBS
Document This
Being a historian requires serious sleuthing. They examine primary source documents and look for evidence, for clues that reveal who wrote the document, when, and why. After watching two historians model the process, young history...
PBS
Who Knows Best
Finding an expert in a given field when conducting research can be a challenge. This guide provides step-by-step directions as well as links to resources that help young sleuths find the authorities and experts they need. As a bonus, two...
Curated OER
What Famous Landmarks Have You Visited?
Responding to blog posts can increase written communication skills, critical thinking skills, and the use of social media as a means for discussion. Kids will compose a blog post in response to the provided article related to famous...
Curated OER
Creative Writing - Research and Letters
Here's a fresh approach that combines research, business and personal letter writing, and creative story telling. Student groups research different decades in the life of a famous Japanese astronomer. They then craft a decade fact sheet,...
Curated OER
Elders as Resources
Students participate in an oral history project where they interview a person's valuable insights to their life stories. They gain personal experience in an interactive process that brings history alive all over again. Students conduct...
Curated OER
Orangeburg Massacre
Students study the Orangeburg Massacre. In this social studies instructional activity, students discuss the Civil Rights Movement and the protest movements that took place. Students examine the events that led up to the Orangeburg...
Curated OER
The Pennsylvania Turnpike: Then and Now
Students study the history of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. For this Pennsylvania history lesson, students use primary documents to study the history of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In a culminating activity, students create an advertisement...
Curated OER
Black Hawk Island Hike
Students explore Wisconsin's natural and cultural history through hands-on exploration of Upham Woods. They are shown the basic paddling skills and they work in teams to paddle across the river on barge. Students describe cultural...
Curated OER
Roswell and the Civil War
Students consider the impact of the American Civil War on Georgia. In this Georgia history lesson, students discover Roswell's contributions to the Confederate effort and then create children's books that illustrate the destruction of...
Curated OER
Newspaper Fact Treasure Hunt
Students explore the newspaper. In this research lesson, students search for answers within the newspaper. Students collaborate with classmates to find the answers.
Curated OER
Sybil Ludington's Ride - a poem
Fourth graders examine the role a teen from the Hudson Valley played in the American Revolution. They view the map of Sybil's ride and calculate the distance using the map's legend.
Curated OER
Honoring Neighborhood Heroes
Read biographies and use the internet to research stories of courage.Young writers compare and contrast characteristics that societies value. They write reports about their family and community's heroes.
Curated OER
Technology And Our Quality of Life
Eighth graders design a product or machine and determine the impact their invention has on a person's quality of life. They present their design and machine with a description of its possible impacts to an audience of peers and adults.
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Islamic Civilization in Spain
There may be elements of this lesson that are useful for a unit on Islamic influence in Spain; however, there is little alignment between the learning objectives and the final product --a ten page report. For example, some of the...
Curated OER
Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago - Chicago Blues
Watching Great Performances’ Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival Chicago launches an investigation into and discussion of how the electric guitar and guitarists have changed the sound of the blues over time. An engaging way to...
Curated OER
FBI Counts Mosques
Young scholars gather as much background as possible about this controversial FBI directive and what Muslim and civil liberties groups believe about it. They perform interviews with Muslim students to gather opinions and then form a...
Curated OER
The Photoelectric Effect
After some online instruction, chemistry aces use their creative abilities to produce a poster describing the photoelectric effect and one type of imaging technology that uses electromagnetic radiation. This simple, straightforward...
Curated OER
What's in a Name?
Students explore how one uses examples from history to inform themselves of past and present events. After reading an article, they examine the significance of renaming a base in Germany after a soldier who survived the Holocaust. They...
Curated OER
Soil, Designer Soil: From Rainforests to the Prairie
Students explore the role and importance of soil in the ecosystem. In this Science and Social Studies instructional activity, students complete an experiment using various kinds of soil and clay and then examine how soil has a direct...
Curated OER
Say Cheese
Students examine the differences in the working and eating conditions between the late 1800s and today. They engage in an Internet Quest for information on cheese which culminate in a hands-on cheese-making experience and tasting activity.