Curated OER
Questions of War and Peace: Using Case Studies to Teach the History of American Foreign Policy
Students read three case studies to focus on how the United States dealt with foreign policy issues. In groups, they read about the decision to drop the atomic bomb, the commitment of troops to Vietnam and wwhether to send troops to...
Curated OER
What is an Atlatl?
Let's go an an archaeological dig! Prepare your kids with a list of vocabulary terms relating to archaeology, including different types of items that one might find. They study pictures of each item and play a memory game based on the...
Museum of Tolerance
The Role of Citizens in a Participatory Democracy
Groups research participatory democracies and compare the role and rights of citizens in ancient history with those in recent U.S. history. Guided by a series of questions, individuals compose a persuasive essay in which they discuss the...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Character Clovers
Build a classroom community with a lesson that uses character clovers to examine scholars' roles. Following a whole-class discussion, participants list four roles they play and accompany it with the character traits that go along with it.
Missouri Department of Elementary
An Apple a Day
Three apples—green, red, and rotten—exemplify character traits, negative and positive. Following a discussion about the classroom community, scholars complete an apple-themed worksheet that challenges them to read each trait, color it...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Fly Your Kite
Encourage scholars to become a productive community member with a kite-themed lesson. Following a review and discussion, learners complete a Venn diagram that displays the connection between character traits needed to make a home and...
Missouri Department of Elementary
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: A Basic Skill
Imagine seventh graders developing a school wide plan to promote respect in their school. That's the vision behind the second lesson in the R-E-S-P-E-C-T series. In preparation for designing a school-wide media campaign, class members...
Peace Corps
Introducing Culture
Growing up within a culture leaves a lot of ideas and values unspoken. Take a closer look at the cultures in which your learners live with a discussion activity that addresses cultural identity and traits of those living within the...
Missouri Department of Elementary
The Many Roles I Play in My Community
Small groups brainstorm their roles in the community. Then, individually, complete a community roles web worksheet. Peers share their completed product and extend the conversation to include the feelings and character traits that go...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Community Wellness Fair
Seniors work with teachers, counselors, and administrators to organize a community wellness fair. Committees take on the responsibility for the various tasks (publicity, set up, hospitality room, agency contact, thank you letters, etc.)....
Alabama Department of Archives and History
New Deal Programs in Alabama
New Deal programs are the focus of an activity that prompts middle and high schoolers to consider the end of the Great Depression. Groups examine primary source materials to gain an understanding of how these programs were implemented in...
North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies
Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: African Americans in Revolutionary Times
What's missing from most studies of the American Revolutionary War is information about the role African Americans played in the conflict. To correct this oversight, middle schoolers research groups like the Black Loyalists and Black...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Debate Against Slavery
Slavery is a serious topic that can be challenging for middle schoolers to study. Young scholars can see firsthand through primary sources what occurred during that time period in the United States. The third of five lessons provides...
Media Smarts
News and Newspapers: Across the Curriculum
Did you know that the Chinese Court Gazette is the longest continuing news paper in history? In addition to some great background information, this resource includes suggestions for activities across grade levels and across the curriculum.
Redefining Progress
Have and Have-Not
Is there a correlation between a country's wealth and the extent of its ecological footprint? What exactly constitutes an ecological footprint, and how does one country stack up against the rest? This is a unique instructional activity...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of Women in the United States
Six diverse activities make up a substantial unit on the women's rights movement in the United States, past and present. A few of the topics at hand: the fourteenth and nineteenth amendments, the Equal Pay Act, the Lily Ledbetter Act,...
Anti-Defamation League
The Hate U Give
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas became a quick hit in the young adult literature genre before its adaptation in the 2018 film of the same name. Use a thorough lesson, discussion guide, and series of activities to discuss the social...
Curated OER
Lesson: Text Messages
Can a neon sign be considered art? Kids consider two different works that use neon text as the basis for conveying artistic social messages. They then analyze a truism from Jenny Holzer's web site that holds meaning to them personally....
Curated OER
Finding Meaning in the Badge
Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The lesson is discussion-based and requires learners to compare and contrast...
Museum of Tolerance
Creating an Ideal World
To conclude a study of social justice and tolerance designed to prepare classes for a visit to the Museum of Tolerance, class members brainstorm a safe and peaceful world. They then write about their own vision of this world.
Curated OER
Lesson: Ginger Brooks Takahashi: Powerstich: A Forum for Community-Building
This is a great way to build community in your school, experience process-based art, and explore the critical-thinking process. While quilting as a class collectively (just like a quilting bee) pupils listen to poetry and prose of a...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Infectious Diseases Classroom Activity
Here is a different approach: emerging epidemiologists first go home to interview family on the topic of infectious disease. Then they come to class and view a video and PowerPoint that explore how climate change may increase the...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Working in Birmingham's Iron Industry
What did railroads, iron, and industry contributed to Birmingham's successful growth? The instructional activity explains how the iron industry worked. It also describes how the location of Birmingham and its proximity to railroads....
PBS
What Are the Primaries and Caucuses?
What are the essential differences between primaries and caucuses? As part of a study of the process by which Americans select their candidates for US president, class members examine the nominating process, the changes that have...