Curated OER
Go To The Head of the Cloud
Students pretend they are water droplets traveling through the water cycle. Using their text, they discover the steps in the cycle and the different paths water can take. They write a report about their journey through the water cycle...
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Government: War Powers Limitations
Students examine historic examples of authority during wartime. They interpret the Fifth Amendment. They debate the merits of the Patriot Act.
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A Time for Justice
Young scholars explain the protections and privileges of individuals and groups in the United States.
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We the People
Middle schoolers create a map illustrating the three branches of goverment. They identify the branches of government and the shared or exclusive powers of each. Students use mapping as a prewriting stategy. They discuss our national...
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Bullying: What Is It Good For?
Fifth graders examine how to respond to bullying in a proactive manner and to identify how to descrease incidents of bullying at their own school. They participate in a discussion and brainstorming activity, watch a PowerPoint...
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Everyone Has a Culture -- Everyone is Different
Students are shown various statements and respond to each as a class. They discuss the differences between different groups of people and why they behave differently as well. After completing a worksheet, they discover aspects of their...
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Research Project
Students fill out a form which asked the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, and WHY about the person they were assigned to research, they gather their information from different web sites on Lightspan and Yahooligans. They create a HyperStudio and...
Facing History and Ourselves
Socratic Seminar
New to the socratic seminar format? Check out a resource that not only provides the rationale for the procedure and step-by-step directions, but also provides a list of suggested topics, rules and model statements.
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3 Branches of Governement
Sixth graders use the "Making the Grade" books, citizenship packets, and the "Ben's Guide" website to create a poster and a report on their assigned government branch. They then present their poster and report to their classmates.
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Federalist and Antifederalist Papers
Students debate the Federalist and Anti-federal Papers after using the Internet as a research tool.
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The Death Penalty
Eleventh graders perform a study of the rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights and focus on the protection against cruel and unusual punishment in the Eighth Amendment as it relates to the death penalty. Prior to formulating a...
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The Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution
Students relate the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution through web based research and scenarios.
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Rights and Responsibilities
Students focus on the rights and responsibilities of being an American citizen as they develop a T-chart and discuss the topic.
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Segregation in Prince Edward County
Eleventh graders examine the history of integration as it applied to Virginia high school in Prince Edward County. They evaluate a map of Virginia counties, read and analyze a first person narrative of a young girl involved in a boycott...
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Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself
Students investigate the years during World War II in which Japanese Americans living on the West Coast were held in internment camps.
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Background Beliefs
Students explore the beliefs and values of others. They discover that different types of background beliefs and experiences have a profound effect upon a person's world view. They explore whether a disagreement is over facts or values...
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Soil Composition: Then and Now
Students identify the location of their school from a 1926 digitized Soil Sample map. Using remaining landforms, they determine the type of soil identified during that time, and compare it to the soil currently found near the school.
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Courtroom Testimony and Presentation
Twelfth graders examine the court process and practice writing and reviewing reports. They practice their public speaking skills as they pretend to present information to a court.
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Running the Road to ABC
Second graders, while reading and discussing the book, "The Best Older Sister," by Sook Nyul Choi, practices predicting the meaning of a passage based on its title and illustrations. They experience determining the main idea from text...
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U.S. President: Facts
Students gather information from a chart. They become familiar with the names of the presidents of the United States. They complete a worksheet imbedded in this plan on the many facts associated with the Presidents.
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How Does Sound Travel As Waves?
Seventh graders participate in a number of activities designed to increase their understanding of how sound is generated and how it travels.
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Research Project
After reading books about Black history, complete an outline and research important African Americans in history. Use the included outline to write a report.
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Creating Historians: Giving Scholars the Answers
How allowing index cards on tests can empower critical thinking; part one of a series on approaching social studies as a group of historians.