Curated OER
The Oscars
Students realize that the Oscars are the biggest film awards in the world. They've been going since 1929 and are the awards that everyone in the movie biz wants to win, whether they work in front of the camera or behind it.
Curated OER
Wild Swans
Students, watching the movie, "Wild Swans," explore a writer's journey of discovery about her mother, grandmother, and herself. They also study the Chinese culture and history of the last 50 years.
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"Escuela" Debate
Young scholars observe a documentary on "Escuela" to explore the life and education of migrant families. After discussing the related topics in the movie, students share their conclusions migrant farmworkers. Using the Internet and...
Curated OER
Motion Picture Analysis Worksheet
In this motion picture analysis worksheet, students decipher what type of motion picture they viewed based on a complete list of criteria. Students then answer multiple questions based on their discoveries.
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Stories of the American Experience
Students interview a veteren of any of the major U.S. wars. They must identify one quote from the veteren that sums up their experience.
Historical Thinking Matters
Scopes Trial: 5 Day Lesson
Did Scopes violate the Butler Act? Why did so many Americans follow the Scopes trial? See analytical reading in action with a fantastic five-day lesson plan in which class members consider the historical context that provoked public...
National Wildlife Federation
An Inconvenient Truth in the Classroom
Global warming — what a hot topic! A thorough unit challenges learners to research, read, explore, and write about carbon, its role and increasing nature in our atmosphere, and how global warming is affecting lives and environments...
Curated OER
Michael Moore
In this famous person learning exercise, students read a passage about Michael Moore and then complete a variety of in-class and homework activities to support comprehension, including partner interviews, spelling, cloze, synonym...
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Personal Strengths, Talents and Goals
It's important to discuss individual strengths, goals, and talents. With a partner, fourth graders create a PowerPoint presentation of one of their classmates, showcasing their goals and talents. They then complete a worksheet showing...
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Grass Born to Be Stepped On
Students use the Internet and other resources to research an aspect of history that illustrates rights and responsibilities, including historical events, issues and ideas, and the people involved.
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Films That Make A Difference in History Lesson Plans
Showing films or other types of media in the classroom is a great way to bring history lesson plans alive.
Curated OER
The City Symphony- The Original Reality Show
Students discuss the purpose of city symphonies that were used in the past. In groups, they compare and contrast the social systems of a school and city to create their own city symphony video together. They also write what is known as...
Stanford University
Chicago Race Riots of 1919
Students explore the Chicago Race Riots of 1919. In this American history lesson, students watch the move "Up South" regarding the African American migration following World War I. Students read primary documents regarding the race riots...
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The Fog of War
Students view the film Fog of War and discuss the most striking elements of the film. They focus on chosen lessons from robert McNamara's life such as: empathy, rationality and proportionality.
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Fallen Angels
Students read the novel, Fallen Angels, and examine the theme of coming of age during the Vietnam War. They create timelines of the 1960s, highlighting important issues of the era. They write research papers focusing on one particular...
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"Jazz is About Freedom": Billie Holiday's Anti-lynching Song Strange Fruit
Working in small teams, learners analyze a variety of primary source materials related to lynching (news articles, letters written to or written by prominent Americans, pamphlets, broadsides, etc.) in order to assess the effectiveness of...
Curated OER
Using Primary Sources to Discover Reconstruction
Fifth graders discover how reconstruction had an impact on racial issues in the United States. In this Reconstruction lesson, 5th graders are introduced to primary vs. secondary resources and then rotate through stations to view...
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Cartoons for the Classroom: Al Gore Heats up a Debate
In this current events worksheet, students analyze political cartoons about Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." Students respond to 3 talking point questions.
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Comic Books in the Classroom
You can use comic book projects to teach a variety of curriculum topics.
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Entertaining Films: Vocabulary Skills
In this online interactive vocabulary skills worksheet, students answer 10 fill in the blank questions regarding entertaining films. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
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Viking History
Students learn about the history of the Vikings by watching videos, reading books, and writing journal entries pretending they were Vikings. In this Vikings lesson plan, students also make a long ship out of a milk carton.
Curated OER
Lesson 9- Billy Wilder: Film Noir Inventor and Genius
Students study what influenced and inspired Billy Wilder while determining the plot, characters, and historical context of the film Double Indemnity. They investigate the stereotypes of Film Noir and how it shows the media messages of...
Curated OER
Sharing Our Legacy of Giving
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, students research or interview a local philanthropist. Students write a biography about the philanthropist and share it with others.
Curated OER
Clay Animation
Eighth graders create a visual story without using words. A study of the history and process of clay animation is explored and discussed. Students storyboard a plot of a story and students divide up into groups designing characters and...