Curated OER
Friday Forum (Day 5)
Students evaluate their performance in different debates about the laws of Michigan. They write a letter to an editor of a newspaper sharing their opinions. They write journal entries as well.
Curated OER
Bald Eagle Population Graphing
Students create graphs to illustrate the bald eagle population. They identify the population of bald eagles in Minnesota and the United States. They create three graphs to represent the population data including a line, bar, and...
Curated OER
Patchwork of the Planet
Students are taught how satellite images can be joined to make a picture mosaic. They use actual satellite images to make satellite mosaics regions of the United States. Students use a camera to photograph portions of a globe in the...
Curated OER
Justice at the Local Level: Is it Effective?
Students view a PowerPoint presentation on the court system. They are arranged into groups and evaluate the effectiveness of the criminal and civil courts in local Michigan communities.
Curated OER
Family Heritage Project
Ninth graders research their own family history and relate their own personal history to world events. Each student analyzes reasons why people immigrate, by using their own family history. They also explore immigrants' contributions to...
Curated OER
Selecting the Tap: Water Safety
Examine water as a scarce natural resource instead of taking it for granted. Middle schoolers identify the traits of potable water, and research local water sources to determine if they are impaired or not.
Curated OER
Understanding Other People's Decisions
Students analyze people's choices from different points of view. They read different scenarios and explain how they would react personally in that situation. Then they analyze what they would do in another character's position and...
Curated OER
Promises, Promises
If someone breaks a promise, is that person no longer trustworthy? Present your 6th and 7th graders with a series of statements and have them debate their opinions with supporting evidence. As an extension, have your students write a...
Curated OER
Presidential Power and Influence
Students analyze the powers and duties that Article II of the US Constitution grants the President. They determine the influence the President has on the nation and how philanthropy changes in a nation.
Curated OER
Exploration of Civil War Webquest
Learners use the internet to research what life was like for Confederate and Union soldiers in a specific battle of interest to them. In groups, they complete a webquest on the battle in which one represents a Confederate soldier and the...
Curated OER
Life before Congress
Students name some interesting backgrounds of Members of Congress, identify their current representatives in the legislative branch of the national government, and describe the background of one local representative or senator.
Curated OER
Historical Puppet Play
Fourth graders analyze the book Train to Midnight, based on the Underground Railroad. They compose and perform a puppet play based on the book. Students perform and videotape their puppet plays.
Curated OER
Constitution Day
Students examine and discuss recent court cases involving young people and the Bill of Rights.They use a focus question to create the context for class discussion: How does the Bill of Rights apply to young people and students?
Curated OER
How Should Congress Allocate Money?
Students discover and examine how the government spends money and then determine what they this are priorities for national spending by illustrating their ideas on a pie chart. They research the national spending allocations on the...
Curated OER
Presidential Periods: Times to Remember
Pupils research three specific and relevant events that occurred during a particular presidential period. They research that period, create a multi-media slideshow, and present it to the class.
Curated OER
Civil War Letter
Learners develop a question they are interested in researching about the Civil War. After completing a webquest on the war, they write a letter to their partner using the information they gathered. They use peer editing to check for...
Curated OER
Our Unique Legacy of Giving
Students view The Gift of All, a Community of Givers. In this philanthropic instructional activity, students discuss the gifts of philanthropists they've seen. Students research and write a two page paper with four bullet points....
Voice of America
Henry Ford, 1863-1947: He Revolutionized the Auto Industry
How did Henry Ford change the world? One word: automobile. After reading a two-page passage about Henry Ford's contributions to society with the invention of the automobile, readers respond to a series of 10 reading comprehension...
Curated OER
And Now, What to Plant?
Students build a bird sanctuary. In this service learning lesson, students explore the variety of plants that could be put into the garden and make the selection of best plants for the area.
Curated OER
Preparing and Planting the Garden
Students prepare to build and plant a garden. In this service learning lesson, students take all the necessary steps to prepare a community garden for planting and reflect on the experience.
Curated OER
Investigating Nonprofits
Learners detect and explore local and national nonprofit organizations. In this research project, students explore nonprofit mission statements, activities and career opportunities. Learners complete a research question sheet. Students...
Curated OER
Hero Traits
Eighth graders explore the concept of serving the common good. In this service learning lesson, 8th graders brainstorm a list of real-life heroes and create charts displaying how the actions of the heroes affected others.
US Apple Association
Apples: A Class Act! (Grades Pre-K–3)
Discover the nutritional wonders of apples and get to know Johnny Appleseed with a plethora of learning experiences that cover subjects math, history, English language arts, health, and arts and crafts. Activities include an apple...
Curated OER
Discovering Our Legacy of Giving
Seventh graders examine the characteristics of philanthropists. In this cross- curricular lesson, 7th graders evaluate the character traits of people from a film. Students write a metaphor about responsibility to community.