Curated OER
Making a Difference
Students create a plan to better their school. In this civil service lesson, students will deepen their understanding of the term "philanthropy" by reflecting on Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and a quote by John F....
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Nonprofit Organizations in Our Community: Interviewing Representatives
Students interview representatives from nonprofit organizations. In this philanthropy lesson, students prepare questions for a representative from a nonprofit organization. After conducting the interview, they are to prepare a short...
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Is Modern Civilization Civilized?
Students examine the concept of civility. In this modern civilization activity, students study Gandhi's teaching about the attributes of civilized societies and discuss how they can contribute to fostering civilization in their own...
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Class and Health: You Are What You Eat
Students determine a working definition of class in order to determine how social class can affect personal health. They research their own nutritional needs and work to encourage healthy change in their communities.
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Committing to Nonviolence: A Lesson from Viva La Causa
Students examine the social change movements of the American 20th century. In this nonviolence lesson, students research the work of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Caesar Chavez. Students compare and contrast the social...
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State v. Russell, Minnesota Supreme Court
Students examine the impact of court decisions. In this Minnesota Supreme Court lesson, students read the State v. Russell case study regarding cocaine drug use. Students take notes on the case and respond to discussion questions...
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The Power of Empathy
Students investigate the emotion and social practice of empathy. They role play being in various situations in order to understand the feelings of others. Students pick an adult to interview who has overcome great difficulty.
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Where Do You Live?
Students discuss the community in which they live. They take an observation field trip and then use paper and boxes to design and construct a model of their community.
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3D Houses
Students construct 3-dimensional structures from 2-dimensional paper. They design and compile their structures to resemble a neighborhood community.
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Introductory Lesson on Interconnectedness
Students are introduced to the concept of interconnectedness and make connections regarding conflict in their community, country, and the world. For this interconnectedness lesson plan, students define the word conflict and what that...
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Credit Card Danger and Abuse
Students, utilizing the computer, excel and internet, study all the downfalls of consumer debts and the complications that come with them. They assess a spreadsheet to graph their data and then present their graphs to their classmates.
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Lights, Camera....Ticket
Using a variety of linked sites, young scholars gather information about the pros and cons of traffic light cameras generating tickets. Students are encouraged to interview city officials. They prepare a presentation, and decide for...
Channel Islands Film
Magic Isle: Lesson Plan 4
After watching West of the West's documentary on Catalina Island, The Magic Isle, class members research how Walt Disney's and William Wrigley's different visions impacted the island.
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Public Officials, DUI And Role Models
Students research on Internet and in any available law books to find drunk driving laws in their state, including ramifications of refusing breathalyzer or other tests, identify rights of someone arrested and charged with DUI-related...
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Social Studies: Families Today and Yesterday
Students examine past and contemporary family life. Using Venn diagrams, they compare and contrast the two and write short statements about them. Among the areas for consideration are clothing, food, transportation, and traditions.
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Health and the Community
Students illustrate cause and effect of pollution to human health through the analysis of an image from the American Industrial Era. They investigate how industry affected rest of the community or city.
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The See Family
Third graders examine photographs as primary source documents. Students are broken into groups and are given photographs of the See Family.
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What are the Rules?
Get young learners involved in the development of classroom rules! Students and the teacher discuss the purpose of having rules, including how rules provide order, security and safety. Then learners design pictures to accompany the...
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...
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Burr Airlines Flight to Asia: Building Inquiry Skills
What a wonderful way to explore this topic! Learners take an imaginary trip to Asia, take a visual tour, and formulate questions for a research project. As a final project, they create a travel brochure.
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Sustainable Transportation
Here is an impressive series of lessons that has learners work together to create a sustainable community transportation plan that could be implemented where they live. This is an ambitious project for your pupils to take on, and will...
City University of New York
The 15th and 19th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution
Who gets to vote? Learn more about struggles for suffrage throughout United States history with a lesson based on primary source documents. Middle schoolers debate the importance of women's suffrage and African American suffrage before...
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Social Studies: Family Ties
Pupils discuss the qualities needed for a strong family and marriage and identify and compare the strengths of various ethnic families. After viewing a Powerpoint presentation on family and marriage strengths and needs, they take a...
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Get Your Mojo Workin': Part 1 Writing Your Very Own Blues Tune!
Upper graders listen to the blues. They discuss blues scale, read a description of the blues, and work together to write an original piece. A lesson like this ties into American history and African-American musical contributions very...