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Finding Our Place in Time
Students utilize interviewing skills of an historian to research the time period of the 1970's. They use prior knowledge of the 1960's to explain the mood of the country in the 1970's.
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The Impact of the IWW on the Nation or Who were the Wobblies?
Learners evaluate the role labor groups had on the U.S. Government in the early 1900's. In this teaching American history instructional activity, students complete several activities, including response writing and listening to music,...
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Bob Dylan: No Direction Home
Students hold panel discussions on selected topics about the 1960s and their impact on modern-day events. As visual reinforcement, they watch the film about Bob Dylan and research the music of the period as well as his musical...
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Using the Patterns and Symbols of Mali Mud Cloth to Convey Identity
Students participate in relating the role of the arts in defining identity. They examine the community in West African society and how members of that community define their role. They view how artifacts, music and performance can...
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Woody Guthrie: Ain't Got No Home
Learners examine the music of Woody Guthrie and how the political and economic climate influenced his work. They read and discuss online articles, define key vocabulary words, take a Political Orientation Survey, and write a position...
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African American Poetry: Songs of Protest and Pride
Students are introduced to various time periods in history in which African Americans wrote songs and poetry to cope. In groups, they travel between different stations to listen or read poems and music from the Civil War period, Civil...
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B-A-N-J-O: A Bluegrass Version of Bingo
Students explain the history and relevance of the following instruments in bluegrass music: fiddle, guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin and stand-up bass.
They identify the defining characteristics of each bluegrass instrument and participate...
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Creative Voices of Harlem
Students explore the Harlem Renaissance. In this American history lesson, students examine a poem by Langston Hughes and identify the characteristics of the Harlem Renaissance. Students research and report on a famous Harlem artist.
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Isn't It Romantic?
Sixth graders investigate the ideas, literature, music, and art of the Romantic Movement. They apply romantic ideals to their original writing and art, analyze poetry, discuss key vocabulary, and analyze artwork from this era.
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Stand Up And Sing
Students examine pieces of sheet music and identify context, purpose, and perspective with regard to the political, social, and economic conditions existing at that time. They create a cover illustrating a topic of the Progressive Era.
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Kidding Around In The 1980s
Young scholars examine pop culture of the 1980s. In this historical time period lesson, students view a Smurfs cartoon from the 1980s and discuss its similarities and differences to cartoons today. Young scholars work in groups to...
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Arts of the Gilded Age
Learners study the art forms of the Gilded Age. In this integrated arts lesson, students research the art, music, dance, and drama of the historical era and then create their own personal projects that exemplify the time period.
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Social and Cultural Issues in the Civil Rights Movement
Learners watch videos, listen to speeches and analyze the information that is presented about the civil rights movement. They examine visual art of the period.
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Did Disco Change America?
Students examine the economics of a time period along with the music.
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Renaissance: Rebirth to Revolution
Sixth graders use a variety of resources to research the Middle Ages and Renaissance over a nine-week period. Working in cooperative teams, they become experts on specific topics. Students hold a Renaissance Faire and role-play as...
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The Warrior Role in Greek Society
High schoolers are introduced to the various gods and goddesses in ancient Greek mythology. In groups, they use print and electronic resources to research the ways Greek culture has influenced the modern world. To end the instructional...
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Harlem Renaissance and Toni Morrison's Jazz
Students study the historical time of the Harlem Renaissance, including key events and figures. They read literature that weaves fiction and history and survey some of the references to the Harlem Renaissance in the novel, Jazz, by Toni...
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Exile: Cuba and the United States
Young scholars gain an understanding of U.S./Cuban Relations. In this world history lesson plan, students examine the events of the Cuban revolution and their effect on U.S.-Cuban relations and U.S. foreign policy.
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Patriotic Songs
First graders recognize patriotic songs of America. In this historical music lesson, 1st graders discuss the historical background of the song "Yankee Doodle" and repeat the lyrics after the instructor. Students read the lyrics to the...
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Birth of a Nation
Fifth graders portray one of the actual framers of the Constitution. They summarize each class period with a journal entry and culminate the experience with the actual framing and signing (or not signing) of the Constitution.
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The Gift Drawings of the Shakers
Students create their own "gift drawings" that are inspired by the dreams and visions of the Shakers. In this gift drawings lesson plan, students learn the history of the Shakers, make their own drawing, and practice elements of design...
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Dinosaurs Here Yesterday Gone Today
Students take a pre-test to show their prior knowledge of dinosaurs. Using the internet, they reasearch the time period in which they roamed the Earth. Focusing on the area of Connecticut, they compare and contrast the large and small...
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Bossy Britain Upsets Colonists
Students examine the causes of dissatisfaction that led to the American Revolution. Then they make a Flap Vocabulary Book and glue on a map of the thirteen colonies and make a title page called "Road to War in it." Students also...
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“Home on the Range”
Fourth graders analyze the song "Home on the Range" and identify its meaning and setting. For this timeline and retelling lesson, 4th graders use dictionaries to find definitions of unfamiliar words, create a timeline and retell the...