TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Don't Be a Square
After watching video clips from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie, young scholars explore the use of Punnett squares to predict genetic trait inheritance. The objective of this lesson plan is to articulate concepts related to...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Action/adventure
This slideshow focuses on the genre of action/adventure; it provides background information, common elements, a list of pop culture movies (made from books), three famous literary examples, and an excerpt from a fourth with commentary.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Engineering Out of Harry Situations
Under the "The Science Behind Harry Potter" theme, a succession of diverse complex scientific topics are presented to students through direct immersive interaction. Student interest is piqued by the incorporation of popular culture into...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Superman's Secret Identity
CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...
PBS
Pbs: Don't Buy It Get Media Smart
PBS provides resources to help teachers encourage media literacy. Access, evaluate, and analyze electronic and print media. Dissect pop culture and advertisements. Use the Get Media Smart Resources to uncover advertising tricks, make...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Louisa May Alcott: Transcendentalism
Explore the impact of transcendentalism on the life of Louisa May Alcott and American society in this video [4:00] from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women.' Emphasizing self-reliance, civil...
Yale University
Yale: Popular Mexican Arts
This unit on Mexican art comes with four lesson plans, art activities, a bibliography, video suggestions, and web links.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Reading 2: The Glen Echo Amusement Park
A history of Glen Echo Amusement Park in particular and trolley parks in general. Includes comprehension questions.
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Examining Transcendentalism
Interactive instructional activity that allows learners to view the works and ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau through the popular culture of their time. Students use multiple genres to grasp the concepts of...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: America Rocks and Rolls
Read a brief history of rock and roll and its roots. See why this form of music shook the establishment and shattered the idea of conformity.
Other
Bob Stepno: The Evening Graphic's Tabloid Reality
During the 1920s, newspapers and tabloids began printing graphic stories about murders, true love and true detective cases. This article by journalism student, Bob Stepno, investigates the truth behind the stories found in the "Evening...
Other
Nlbpa: Negro Leagues Baseball History
Find out about the history of early Negro baseball beginnings in the late 19th century before reading about the advent of the Negro National League in the 1920s. Baseball was the American pastime for everyone in the 1920s and 1930s.
Other
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: Downtown: Nickelodeon
Along with a black and white picture of a nickelodeon, find a great description of the first one, located in Pittsburgh, and a history of the motion picture. From an article published in 1919.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Invention of the Week: Alexander J. Cartwright
Read about the man who invented the modern-day sport of baseball, Alexander Joy Cartwright. This article talks about the history and development of the sport and gives example the rules in other "versions" of baseball.
Tom Richey
Genesee Community College: Chapter 2: Perspectives on Mass Communication
A 30-slide presentation on three different perspectives for understanding mass communication. These include the functions of mass media, the critical/cultural perspective, and the research-based empirical approach. It looks at the many...
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Eighteenth Century European Dress
Explore fashion from the 1700's with the slideshow. Includes a discussion of popular styles, textiles and silhouettes.
Library of Congress
Loc: The Modern Dances and How to Dance Them: The Castle Walk
This resource describes the history of a dance callled the Castle Walk, which was popular in the early 1900's. Includes information on the orgins of the dance, as well as text and images from a dance manual of the period.
Other
Natural Resources Defense: Canadian Boreal Forest; A Conservation Ethic at Work
The successful conservation ethic of the Poplar River First Nations,located north of Winnipeg, is profiled. The trees, plants and wildlife of the Canadian forest have been relied on for food, medicine and the survival of cultural beliefs...
Other
Bing Crosby
Biography of Bing Crosby. In-depth article on singing and acting career. Crosby entertained the troops during World War II as well as recording one of the most popular war songs, "White Christmas."
Victoria and Albert Museum
Victorian & Albert Museum: Introduction to 18th Century Fashion
Learn about the trends that came to define men's and women's fashion in the 1700's. Includes images and a discussion of popular fabrics and women's hairstyles.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Radio Fever
Radio created a mass entertainment culture that could bridge the gap between those in California and those in New York. Read about the advent of radio stations, and the companies that owned them. See why the federal government had to...
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: The Black Sox Trial
A very good site on the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal, which ended in the banishing of eight major league players for life from the game of baseball. Also includes great information on the ensuing trial and a link to the manuscript of...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: Poetic Stickup: Put the Financial Aid in the Bag
See performance artist, Carvens Lissaint to use language, metaphor, and imagery to express an emotional plea to make college education more accessible to all. [5:05]
PBS
Art21: William Wegman
Features a biography of the artist and links to art work, video clips and interviews. On this page there are also links to lesson plans and other artist pages.