National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...
Curated OER
History of Ponce de Leon in Florida
Based in sound Educational Theory, this instructional activity uses art to convey the story of Ponce de Leon. Mild to moderately disabled students hear the story of the Fountain of Youth, examine a paining of Ponce de Leon, and act out a...
Curated OER
Hype!
Eight various activities have your learners looking at hype in the media. Advertisements for films, politics, music, and philanthropy all contribute to emotional appeals and marketing strategies trying to convince consumers to...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Arts Showcase
An art showcase encourages class members to explore the themes of social justice and tolerance. They create an original artwork, engage in group discussions, and journal writing. The art gallery also provides a chance for families and...
Curated OER
International Festival: Mexico
Students explore the culture of Mexico through music and food. In this multicultural lesson, students read the book Mexico and listen to samples of Mexican music. Students use ingredients to make tacos.
Curated OER
Sense of Place: No River Too Wide-Bridges
Fifth graders discover the history of their hometown Des Moines River. In this U.S. Geography lesson students speak with Iowans that tell stories of the settlers and early villages near the Des Moines River. Students document their...
Curated OER
Mother's Day Story Time Activities
Young scholars examine all of the jobs a mother does. In this Mother's Day lesson, the teacher read the book Five Minutes' Peace, then students brainstorm a list of things their mother does. Young scholars role play the job of a mom...
Curated OER
Kandinsky Color Studies
Students study the artist Wassily Kandinsky as well as his art and and music. In this art appreciation lesson, students view a variety of Kandinsky's work and circular color studies. Students relate the use of color to emotion and listen...
Curated OER
Jazz In America - Lesson Plan 6
Fifth graders explore cool jazz and how it reflected American culture in the 1940's and 1950's.
Curated OER
The Mozart Effect
Music has been said to effect short term memory. Learners test out this hypothesis, graphing how knowledge retention in a biology classroom changes when music is played in the background. In the end, a better appreciation of the dynamics...
Curated OER
A New Life, a New Home
Students connect with an immigration unit through research, journal writing, digital photography, and a movie production using iMovie. By acting out the immigrant's experience, students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of...
Curated OER
"Jazz is About Collaboration": Jim Crow Laws And Segregation
Students explore development of jazz music in the 1930s by forming imaginary jazz bands which tour several cities in Depression-era America. Jazz band members create imaginary identities for themselves, develop publicity for their tour,...
Curated OER
Woody Guthrie and The Grapes of Wrath
Students examine American idealism. In this literature and music instructional activity, students analyze the lyrics of Woody Guthrie songs as well as the themes of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. Students examine parallels between the...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Kinds of Nouns
With so many different kinds of nouns, it can be hard for young learners to keep them all straight. Help clarify this important part of speech for your class with this series of worksheets which clearly addresses the difference...
Curated OER
Five Little Frogs
Students use music to study concepts in math. In this music math lesson, students sing songs, read books, and learn counting skills in frog themed activities.
Curated OER
25 Greatest Protest Songs
Students view and discuss The 25 Greatest Protest Songs video as compiled by VH1. They focus on when and why each of the songs were written, looking for patterns.
Curated OER
Northwest coast Button Blanket Art
Learners explore artistic design by viewing video clips on the Internet. In this blanket making activity, students view tutorial videos in which they discover the creative process in button blanket designing. Learners create their...
Curated OER
Columbian Folklore
Students learn about Columbian Folklore and make a mini documentary based on their own cultural background. In this culture lesson plan, students include Canadian cultural diversity in their presentation.
Curated OER
Multicultural Holidays
Students create a cube exploring different holiday traditions. In this multicultural appreciation lesson, students research Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Kwanzaa holiday traditions. This lesson encourages the use of an individual...
Curated OER
The Talking Stick
Learners examine the lives of the Aboriginal peoples of Saskatchewan. In this talking stick lesson, students discover dance, art, music, and traditions of the First Nations people. Learners design and create a talking stick to represent...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Poems vs. Lyrics
Combine your pupils' love of music with their growing knowledge of poetry! First, have them bring in their favorite songs for a discussion on word choice and literary devices. Then, use a Venn Diagram to compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
Silk Dragons - Activity 1
Students investigate and discuss Japanese art and culture through an online video and a KWL chart. This lesson is an introduction to Japanese art with two supplemental lessons provided for further activities.
Curated OER
Value: Truth, Topic: Accuracy
Sixth graders listen to music as they reflect on a time they told the truth without hurting anyone. Students listen to a story about a person who falls from a roof and breaks his leg. The person lies about how it happened. Students...
Curated OER
Music/Craft
Students develop an appreciation of melody. They gain enjoyment from singing. They participate in an art activity.