Story Corps
The Great Thanksgiving Listen
StoryCorp provides a resource that captures and preserves the remembrances of family or community elders. Prior to the Thanksgiving holiday, class members select a person they want to interview, record the conversation, and then upload...
Curated OER
Introduction to Community Helpers
Young scholars examine different types of community helpers. For this introduction to community helpers lesson, students discuss stories and view a PowerPoint presentation of young scholars working as community helpers and defining the...
Curated OER
Social Studies: 9/11 Banners
Students explore the history of flags and design banners for their communities. their designs reflect sentiments shaped by the events of 9/11. In addition, they write phrases beginning with, "being an American means..." Students...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Service Project
Students develop a community service project. In this service project lesson, students identify a concern within their community, set a goal, from a plan, and carryout a service project using the project guidelines.
Curated OER
Animal Shelter Service Project
Students complete a community service project. In this community service instructional activity, students discuss the needs of animals in animal shelters. They contact an animal shelter and help with one of these needs.
Curated OER
Homeless Shelter Service Project
Students research ways to help a homeless shelter and design a service project to meet the needs. For this service project lesson, students identify and develop a list of ways to meet a homeless shelter's needs. Students then conduct a...
Curated OER
Women's Shelter Service Project
Students research ways to help a women's shelter in a service project. In this service project lesson, students develop ways to meet needs of a women's shelter. Students select a need, plan, and conduct a service project to meet that need.
Curated OER
Showing Your Community to the World
Middle schoolers investigate the environmental and human implications to local communities of hosting a major exposition or fair in their region. They study current site conditions and develop a comprehensive plan.
Curated OER
Exploring Community Needs
Students identify the needs of their community. In this communities instructional activity, students brainstorm the needs of their community and prepare a letter to a local official to address the community need.
Curated OER
Opening Lesson: Community
Students participate in a community service project and present an art project. In this lesson on community service, students read Rainbow Fish and discuss its meaning for them as it relates to community. Students create an art project...
Curated OER
Our Community Helpers
Students explore community helpers in order to explain how they fit into their community and the world.
Curated OER
Project Based Learing: Social Responsibility
Students explore social responsibility. In this service learning lesson, students participate in 4 weekly activities that require them to research "communitarians", write poems about their contributions, and create works of art that...
Curated OER
Community Helpers
First graders identify community workers and what tools they use by successfully completing a concentration game, matching community workers with a tool they use.
Curated OER
Community Construction
Students are assigned the task of building a community building. They construct the building using a computer graphics design program. The simulated building when completed be put together to form a small town.
Curated OER
We Live in an International Community
Learners locate the different countries from which their clothing originates. Using a blank map, they identify and color in those areas.
Stanford University
Observing Human Rights Day
How much intervention is appropriate for America to take in cases of human rights violations? Class members ponder a question that has lingered since the birth of America with a series of primary sources that reflect the degree to which...
Curated OER
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross
A fabulous lesson on the life of Clara Barton awaits your class. They describe how Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross, and the role it played in organizing help for those in need. Additionally, young historians explain how...
iCivics
Step Eight: Positions, Please!
Everyone sees the results of public policy, but not everyone understands the strategy that goes into creating an effective one. Now that your class understands the brainstorming process from earlier in the series, they continue on to the...
Curated OER
Places in My Community - Parks, Library, Hospital, School
Students exhibit their knowledge of community. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify areas of their neighborhood and local community by recognizing pictures of various locations, including parks, libraries, hospitals,...
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Social Studies: Great Circle Route
Students compare routes between Minnesota and China using a map and globe. Using the "great circle route" method, students find the shortest route between two points.
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Community Helpers
Students examine the roles of community helpers. They design stick puppets to match community helpers in order to show how they make one's community a better place to live.
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Community Helpers
Students examine who community helpers are and what they do. They determine ways in which they can become community helpers themselves. They listen to a teacher read aloud of Bernard Waber's, "Lyle at the Office" before writing sentences...
Curated OER
The Great Kapok Tree: A Social Studies Lesson
Students examine how plants, animals and people need each other in order to survive. They simulate an ecosystem in a food web and role play certain animals or plants. They answer questions about their simulation to finish the lesson plan.
Curated OER
Social Studies: Medieval and Contemporary Class Structures
Students discuss and compare contemporary class systems with those of the Middle Ages. They explore Websites on HyperStudio stack and review art and music of the Middle Ages. In groups, students design and draw castles reflecting manor...