Curated OER
This Ain't No Tea Party!
Create food-safe bowls with your class, then organize a meal for the community using the class's bowls to serve. This lesson is based on the Empty Bowels Project, where school kids gain an understanding of global hunger through community...
City University of New York
Women's Suffrage and World War I
Democracy cannot exist where not everyone has equal rights. Discuss the state of democracy and women's suffrage during World War I with class discussions, debates, and primary source analysis, in order for class members to connect with...
Santillana USA
Celebra Kwanzaa
¡Celebramos Kwanzaa! Celebrate Kwanzaa through the fictional story Celebra Kwanzaa con Botitas y sus gatitos to delightfully explain the seven principles of Kwanzaa. Dual language learners participate in reading and vocabulary activities...
Stanford University
Voices of the Struggle: The Continual Struggle for Equality
As part of a study of the Civil Rights Movement from 1868 to the present, class members examine first person narratives, the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, and other significant events in civil rights history. They then...
American Evolution
Virginia Runaway Slave Ads
What does an ad reveal about a culture, or about the values of its intended audience? Class members examine a series of runaway slave ads—one of which was written by Thomas Jefferson—and consider what these primary source documents...
Curated OER
A Lesson To Accompany "The First Bank of the United States: A Chapter in the History of Central Banking"
Here is an interesting topic. Learners examine the economics that led to the founding of the First Bank of America. They participate in a reader's theater experience depicting the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson...
Curated OER
The Voting Game
Upper graders play the voting game to help them understand voting patterns, political movements, and build a content specific vocabulary. Each student creats a chart to determine if his or her political view veers liberal or...
Canadian Civil Liberties Education Trust
Seeking Refuge: Then and Now
Participants examine refugee law and policies and read several case studies to prepare for a discussion of this hot-button issue. The packet includes a wide range of materials representing a variety perspectives.
K20 LEARN
Diversity Quilt: A Lesson on Culture
After brainstorming the various aspects of cultural identity, class members interview each other, examine video clips, and read stories to discover how these aspects reveal one's cultural identity. Individuals then craft a quilt square...
National Park Service
A Tale of Two Men
Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores were both born in 1858, and both came to the Dakota territory in 1883, but they influenced the developing country of America in different ways. Elementary and middle schoolers apply written and...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Cricket's Supper
Interested in a special folktale to read with your class? Then this lesson might be for you. Readers will build an understanding of the food chain while creating a storyboard that includes the characters, setting, and plot of the story....
NPR
This Isn't Right: Women Reform Leaders
The 20th century saw many new possibilities open up to women in America, thanks to many well-known female historical figures — and some women who are not as famous but who are equally accomplished. Learn about the women who contributed...
Stanford University
Beyond Vietnam
On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-lesson unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications of King's stance.
Global Oneness Project
The Nature of Happiness
The U.S. Constitution states that the pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. The United Nations' Global Happiness Index ranks countries according to the happiness of its citizens. As part of a discussion of the nature of...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Globalization and Fair Trade
Have you ever traded something? How do you know you got a good deal? Scholars use case studies and research to determine the role of globalization in fair trade. Class members examine consumer demand and competition bring to light the...
University of Chicago
Exercise in Conflict Resolution
How do major religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, differ in how they view the role of individual freedoms within society, the definition of morality, and the importance of politically satisfying the greater good? Here...
University of the Desert
What Do You Want Your Country to be Like?
How would you like your country to be by 2020? What issues do you feel are most important, and how do those compare with your peers? Learners tackle questions regarding the evolving national and global culture of the twenty-first century...
Media Smarts
Movie Heroes and the Heroic Journey
An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Slaves and Indentured Servants
In theory, at least, indentured servitude and slavery were two different practices in the American colonies. Class groups conduct a close reading of two primary source documents, one written by a slave and one by an indentured servant,...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Marriage and the State
What defines marriage in society? Scholars investigate the moral and legal arguments of what defines marriage. They analyze different marriage traditions and social customs around the world along with Supreme Court decisions. Individuals...
Teaching Tolerance
Modern-Day Heroes: People Who Are Making a Difference
Not all superheroes wear capes. An engaging lesson delves into the world of modern-day heroes and activists for change. Academics learn there are many different ways to be a hero as well as explore what makes a person a hero. The...
Center for History and New Media
A Look at Virginians During Reconstruction, 1865-1877
The transition between rebellion to reunification was not smooth after the Civil War. Young historians compare primary and secondary source documents in a study of the Reconstruction era in Virginia, noting the rights that were not...
PBS
March on Washington: A Time for Change
Young historians conclude their study of the events that lead up to and the planning for the March on Washington. After examining videos and primary source documents, they consider the civil rights objectives that still need to be...
Teaching Tolerance
Parallels Between Mass Incarceration and Jim Crow
Is history repeating itself? A riveting lesson examines the parallels between mass incarceration in the U.S. and the Jim Crow Laws of the past. Academics review Jim Crow Laws and compare them to mass incarcerations of African Americans....
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