Curated OER
Supreme Court Decisions and Their Effect On Us
Consider five Supreme Court cases and how their outcomes have directly affected the American population. Government students research and compose a 1-2 page pager outlining the examples of our daily life that have specifically been...
Curated OER
Hawaii: A Stolen Star
Explore the islands of Hawaii. Investigate Hawaiian culture and compare their personal traditions to Hawaiian traditions. They locate Hawaii on a map and research the history of Hawaii.
Curated OER
Nonfiction
As scholars begin using informational texts, it's important they understand their uses and features. This visual worksheet has readers match three text titles to corresponding pictures. Next, they examine a book cover with the...
Curated OER
Denial on Trial
What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...
Curated OER
Catch-22
During or after reading Catch-22, have your high school scholars complete this research project. First they'll brainstorm a list of people they might like to research, then they'll dive into your library's resources! There are several...
Facing History and Ourselves
A Scene from a Middle School Classroom
Citizens in the modern world can't imagine making the same social choices made by many Germans in the 1920s and 1930s, but they don't realize that they actually do it every day by ostracizing others. A case study of middle schoolers...
Curated OER
The Ethics of Outsourcing to China
After viewing clips from a documentary on factory work in China and US outsourcing, learners have a fishbowl discussion. They work in groups to build both personal points of view and strong arguments on the effects of outsourcing in...
C-SPAN
Make a “Deliberations” Site
Many hot button issues require deliberations, even in your classroom! Learners work in teams or as individuals to decide on a deliberation question to make into a Google site. They research the topics in depth, discuss both sides of the...
Library of Congress
Investigating the Building Blocks of Our Community’s Past, Present, and Future
As Ken Jennings said, "There's just something hypnotic about maps." Certainly, the longer you look at them the more you can learn. In this project-based learning lesson plan, individuals study both historic and present-day maps of their...
Curated OER
Our Nation's Natural Disasters
Sixth graders classify their regions' natural disaster(s). Within this lesson students enhance their research skills by utilizing different resources, as well as their writing skills by composing short research papers.
Overcoming Obstacles
Using Appropriate Resources
A lesson dives deep into reference materials. The class begins with a discussion of which resources are best used for specific purposes and how to identify ways to get the needed information. Learners share information about the internet...
University of California
The Civil War: Effects of the Civil War
Imagine being on the front line of the Civil War —from the front porch of your own house. Scholars use visual evidence from primary and secondary sources to analyze the impact of the Civil War on all Americans. They examine the research...
C-SPAN
Presidential Debate Analysis
The modern presidency is defined by the development of television—including the use of televised debates in the campaign. Using debates going back to the first one between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, young scholars evaluate...
Curated OER
Glossaries
Explore text structure with a focus on the glossary feature in informational texts. Learners read a brief introduction before examining a glossary from a text about plants. They reference it while completing four comprehension questions....
Discovery Education
Making Your Voice Count
As learners watch a video on voting, they take notes on a worksheet that lists various voting topics, including electoral and popular votes, early voting, and exit polling. Then, young people research the Internet for their state's...
Teach Beside Me
Benjamin Franklin Lesson Ideas
Bring Benjamin Franklin to life in the classroom with a set of five activities. Discover the type of person he was and his accomplishments through a study of his inventions and comments about life virtues.
PBS
Primary Source Set: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
What did Jo write her stories with? How did the March sisters dress? A primary source set designed for Louisa May Alcott's Little Women prompts learners to look over images of household items and clothes from the 1860s before engaging in...
Rainforest Alliance
Protecting the Critical Habitat of the Manatee and Loggerhead Turtle
Explore ocean habitats with a lesson plan that showcases the home of manatees and loggerhead turtles in Belize. Here, pupils compare and contrast the homes of ocean animals to those of humans, listen to an original short story about the...
Curated OER
Long Island Sound - A Research Skill Approach
Eighth graders examine the characteristic of Long Island Sound. In groups, they use the internet to describe how the Sound formed and what environmental changes have altered it. They also discover what humans have done to affect the...
Curated OER
Research a Poet and Explicate a Poem by that Poet
Seventh graders choose a poet to research and find a poem by that author to explicate/analyze using a variety of sources for their research that will include their textbooks, the school library, and the internet. After conducting...
Curated OER
Use the New Internet Library for Adult Learners
Adult learners, examine the Internet to answer life skills, use an online dictionary, evaluate web sites and fill in online forms. They will also write about web sites in this series of activities.
Curated OER
River Research
Young scholars use the internet to research the streams and rivers found in Illinois. Using the information, they identify and describe the rivers and streams along with the physical characteristics of a river ecosystem. They share what...
Curated OER
1900 America: Primary Sources and Epic Poetry
Using Walt Whitman's Song of Myself and Hart Crane's The Bridge as models, class groups first craft their own epic poems for 1900 and, using primary sources, create a multi-media presentation that captures the sights and sounds of life...
Curated OER
Education Research Search
Learners research post-World War II educational development and policy in the United Kingdom. In groups, they develop pro and con arguments about grammar, secondary modern, comprehensive, and independent schools. Collaborative work...