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Quilting Our Diverse Classroom
Students explore diversity and race by creating art. In this ethnic background lesson, students discuss their family history, where their relatives lived and how it affects their life today. Students create pieces of a quilt representing...
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Life for the First Inhabitants
Fourth graders study the contributions of the American Indian culture on the development of Utah. They examine and create American Indian rock art.
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Farewell to Manzanar
Students investigate themes of justice and rights while reading the novel Farewell to Manzanar. They research contemporary civil rights issues and write reports. They also research the background of internment camps during World War II.
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Baseball Memories
Students act as historians by, first, reading and analyzing oral histories of professional baseball players to become familiar with baseball figures. Then, they proceed to interview family members, relatives, or neighbors who have...
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Creating Identity Posters
Students discover the identities of their classmates. In this tolerance lesson, students create individual posters showcasing their identity, history, and family background. Students examine the posters to get a better understanding of...
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A Colony is Born : Lessons 7 - 10 What's My Line?
Fifth graders research their assigned regions, complete regional guide and prepare presentations about the New World colonists. They refer to "Everyday LIfe: Colonial Times" as well as searching marked internet sites.
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Wartime Posters
Learners recognize that, America's eventual involvement in World War II, not everyone initially agreed that intervention was the answer. They conduct research about the political, economic, sociological, and historical factors in the...
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The War: Japanese Americans and Internment
Students examine the experiences of Japanese-Americans at the beginning of World War II in America. After watching an excerpt from "The War", they answer reflection questions about the Japanese being put into internment camps. In groups,...
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Changing Perspectives on the Japanese Internment Experience
Students explore the issue of Japanese-American internment. In this World War II instructional activity, students analyze historical biases regarding Japanese-American internment as they analyze literature, research print and Internet...
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Under the Blood-Red Sun
Fifth graders explore U.S. history by reading an award winning book about World War II. In this Japanese internment camp lesson, 5th graders read the book Under the Blood-Red Sun and discuss the entrapment of Japanese-Americans on our...
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Seven Famous African-American Masters of American Art
Students examine seven different African-American artists. In groups, they use the internet to identify their contribution and techniques to the art world and examine the time period in which the artwork was produced. To end the...
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Clash of Civilizations?
Students identify common misconceptions people have about cultures different than their own. After reading an article, they discover how the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations was founded. They research the misconceptions of the...
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Cartoons: How Have Society's Views of Women Changed Over Time?
Students explore women's rights by viewing cartoon images. For this women's history lesson, students view several images depicting women in a certain way while discussing the meaning of the imagery among their classmates. Students write...
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My Secret War: Lesson 8
Fifth graders explore American history by viewing videos on the Internet. In this Japanese internment lesson, 5th graders discuss the politics that took place between America and Japan during WWII and why it was necessary to incarcerate...
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Dalai Lama: Day 2 of 5
Sixth graders explore philosophy by researching the Dalai Lama. In this Tibetan history lesson, 6th graders discuss the influence of Buddhism on the Dalai Lama and the unique view on life a Buddhist must have. Students read a Tibetan...
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Mesopotamia
Students map Mesopotamia. In this Geography lesson, students are introduced to Ancient Mesopotamia. Students use an atlas to label the defining features and areas of Mesopotamia on a map.
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The Political Dr. Seuss
High schoolers discuss the role political cartoons have played in U.S. politics and public affairs since the 1700's. They analyze some of the political cartoons Dr. Seuss drew during World War II and discuss how these cartoons conveyed...
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Stars and Stripes Forever: Researching Veteran's Day and Historical Events
Sixth graders research Veteran's Day and wars that affected the United States. In this research lesson plan, 6th graders work in small groups to create an oral presentation based on Internet and conventional research. They complete...
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The Monkey Dance: Exploring Balinese Culture
Students explore Balinese culture. In this Balinese integrated fine arts instructional activity, students listen to a podcast of "The Monkey Dance," taking notes about important features of the dance. Students participate in a jigsaw...
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A Colony is Born : Lesson 6 -To Leave or Not to Leave
Fifth graders connect reasons for coming to the New World with identity. The create identities and place them in one of three settled regions. They refer to prior study notes in their Colonial Notebooks to establish their identities.
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Create a Travel Brochure
Students demonstrate an understanding of the contributions of the Ancient Roman civilization. They identify, study, and provide evidence for the significance of Roman citizenship and the spread of Christianity. Students then demonstrate...
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Afraid! Who, Me?
Learners confront fear through literature. In this literary elements lesson plan, students discuss fear and what they know about the horror genre of literature. Learners then examine the painting "The Scream," by Edvard Munch and listen...
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Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Lesson: Immigration
Many of your class members will have heard of Executive Order 9066 and the Japanese internment camps of World War II. Some may even recognize the terms “Issei” and “Nisei,” but few will have heard of Enemy Alien Hearing Boards, of the...
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WWI Through the Film, Foot Soldiers
If your historians are watching the History Channel documentary, Foot Soldiers during their WWI unit, this plan has some simple recall questions and one referential/debate question ("What was the worst part of the war?") to ask after...