Whitewater Valley Railroad
Teaching and Learning with The Polar Express
Use a series of extension activities to enhance your class reading of Chris Van Allsburg's holiday classic, The Polar Express. From a biography of the author to filmed book reviews and research about the railroad, kids can take their...
Curated OER
Digitizing History: Exploring moments in time through Web design
Students create a website based on a history unit they have just completed. In this web design lesson, student analyze qualities of an effective website and create an architectural design for the home page and connecting pages. Students...
Curated OER
The Math in the Design and Building of Bridges
Research various types of bridge designs. Your class will be asked to consider what it would be like without bridges while learning about how they work. They will construct a model bridge based on given parameters. They then calculate...
Curated OER
Texture Hunts and More: Madonna and Child with Saints
Students investigate different painting techniques by studying classic works of art. In this art history lesson, students observe the famous Madonna and Child with Saints painting and describe the texture and images they notice....
Channel Islands Film
The Legendary King of San Miguel: Lesson Plan 3 - Grades 9-12
The documentary, The Legendary King of San Miguel Island, introduces the fascinating tale of Herb Lester, his family, and their life on San Miguel Island. Viewers have an opportunity to expand their study of the island and of Lester's...
Curated OER
Let Me Tell You About My State
State reports can be a lot of fun, especially when the learners get to choose the state they study. This research and writing-focused social studies lesson engages learners in collecting information, essay structure, research, and...
Curated OER
Geography and Culture of China
Take out a map, a paper, a ruler, and those coveted colored pencils for a lesson on Chinese culture and geography. This is a multifaceted approach to basic geography skills that incorporate story telling, class discussion, primary source...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Berlin
The inevitability of World War II has arrived: Berlin has fallen. Young historians watch contemporaneous footage of the event, analyze primary source documents, and write a news report that details the roles of the Soviet, British,...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Japan and the Atom Bomb
Though the scientists who developed the atom bomb did not believe it should be used to end World War II, American President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were of like mind in their decision to drop the bomb...
Curated OER
Country's Music
Jazz, Blue Grass, Hip Hop, Swing. Gospel, R&B, Ragtime, Disco. So many music genres born in the USA. After reading an article about the fate of New Orlean's Jazz after Hurricane Katrina, class members investigate the life cycles of...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Diversity in World Literature Lesson 5: The Tragic Hero
Should identifying a tragic hero be based on a universal definition or a definition based on the morals and values of a specific culture? As part of a study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Sylvia Plath's "Colossus" and then...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 11
You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful lesson. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about primary and secondary...
Curated OER
Billie Holiday's Song "Strange Fruit"
Pupils 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 the anti-lynching...
Scholastic
A Reading Guide to A Wrinkle in Time
Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...
Curated OER
Follow the Drinking Gourd
Students create an art project based on "Follow the Drinking Gourd," a song used to guide slaves to freedom during the Civil War. They read a picture book to learn the story of how Harriet Tubman and Peg Leg Joe led slaves to freedom.
Curated OER
Aboriginal Web Design
Students explore world history by participating in a web design activity. In this aboriginal history instructional activity, students discuss the different jobs associated with designing a web site and identify the types of media that...
Curated OER
History on Film: Creating Heritage Moments
Fifth graders examine significant events in fur trade history. In small groups, they conduct research, develop and write a script, and create a videotaped "Heritage Moment."
Curated OER
Women's History
Students research famous women in history. In this Women's History month instructional activity, students choose one historical woman to research and use biographies and websites to gather information. Students complete an included...
Curated OER
Service Learning Project
Students plan a service project to contribute to their community and then reflect on their experience. In this service project lesson, students help in a food pantry or donation center in their community. Students then write statements...
Curated OER
An Ancient Greek and Roman Festival
Third graders label a map of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations and do a written report on one element of these two cultures. They participate in discussions of food, farming, daily life and government (among others). Students use the...
Curated OER
Project Whistlestop:Missouri Vacation Learning Unit
Fourth graders reserach the state of Missouri. In this Missouri History lesson, 4th graders plan a vacation to a region of Missouri. Students work in collaborative groups to determine all aspects of the trip. Students use math skills for...
Curated OER
Family Genealogy
Middle schoolers create a family tree. In this genealogy lesson, students research their family history and create a pictorial representation of their family tree. Middle schoolers use the computer to design the layout and scan pictures.
Curated OER
Publisher Brochures
Students create brochures on subjects they are studying in Publisher. For this nonfiction writing lesson, students use Publisher to create a brochure telling all the main ideas of a topic they are studying. Students use text boxes, fonts...
Curated OER
History of Film: Creating Heritage Moments
Fifth graders, in groups, research a specified topic of Canadian history. They dramatize their findings, become familiar with many filming techniques and film themselves in a historical skit for presentation to the class.