Curated OER
Chicago Tribune vs. US (1942): When Does Freedom of the Press Go Too Far?
Students define freedom of the press in peace and war time. As a class, they identify the need for the public to be informed, but discuss where the line should be drawn to protect national security. They develop their arguments and...
Curated OER
Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Young scholars explore the concept of Japanese internment. In this Japanese internment lesson, students examine primary sources that enable them to discover what internment camp life was like and its implications, Young scholars write...
Curated OER
Memorandum Regarding the Enlistment of Navajo Indians
Young scholars examine the Navajo dictionary used by the U.S. military in W.W. II. They role-play Navajo messengers and Marine Corp staff. They research the Battle of Iwo Jima and confirm or discount the claim that Navajos made the...
Curated OER
Holocaust Theme
Learners complete a unit of lessons on the events of the Holocaust during WWII. They write daily journal entries, create a collage, view and discuss videos, read and analyze novels and poetry, and complete a novel project.
US Mint
Absolutely and Relatively: The Puerto Rico Quarter Reverse
How much does your class know about Puerto RIco? How much can they learn from the back of a 2009 quarter? Use the coin, part of a series of quarters that depict US territories, to teach learners about the geography, culture, and history...
Curated OER
Alliance Game, International Alliances
Ninth graders play the Alliance simulation game, which allows them to explain how alliances made before WWI influenced the makeup of the war and its outcome.
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 4 - What Went Wrong?
Fifth graders compare and contrast two early colonies and make a T chart. They list examples of worked well and what did not, and significant historical events. They use higher order thinking skills by deducing how different scenarios...
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 11 - Group Presentations and Summatives
Fifth graders give presentations on colonial research. The others take notes on the presentations. They play a card game which helps them review content. They take a summative assessment and present their research notebooks.
Curated OER
D-day Message from General Eisenhower to General Marshall
Students analyze a "top secret" document written by Eisenhower. They identify and chart cliches for those about to go into battle and read related poetry. They invite a veteran to describe the D-Day invasion.
Curated OER
Adolf Hitler: Was Hitler a Passionate Lunatic?
Young scholars investigate WWII by researching Adolf Hitler. In this dictator biographical lesson, students identify the role Adolf Hitler played in the self destruction of Germany by reading secret transcripts from German leaders. Young...
Curated OER
The Power of Speech
High schoolers prepare and deliver a speech on equal rights. They explore equal rights issues as they practice the skills necessary for public speaking.
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 3 - Marking Time
Fifth graders refer to text and timeline to fill in a graphic organizer and timeline from 1492-1607. They participate in a class discussion that allows for speedy accumulation of events and fill in their own timelines. They work in small...
Curated OER
Culture Collage
Young scholars investigate their cultural heritage and make observations on how much influence their past has on their current values and lifestyle. They brainstorm a list of things that represent a certain country or cultural heritage...
Curated OER
Jewish Assimilation In Contemporary American Literature
Students form groups to help each other read, analyze, and conduct research on important background information about Jews and their assimilation into modern American society. They write their own stories of assimilation.
Curated OER
Japan Writing Activity
Seventh graders explore the current tensions in Asia by completing a graphic organizer. In this Asian politics lesson, 7th graders examine a Powerpoint slide and news article which gives them the information needed to fill in their...
Curated OER
Current Contexts
Students examine how they are affected by world affairs. After reading an article, they examine Otto Frank's attempts to immigrate to America. Using the New York Times, they identify examples of news, advertisements and photographs...
Curated OER
Planting Seeds of Philanthropy
Students explore the importance of maintaining a democracy through philanthropic actions. In this character education lesson, students discover what the Japanese internment camps were, and why they were an infringement on personal...
Curated OER
The White Rose
Students explore the "White Rose" movement. In this Holocaust lesson, students create timelines and collages regarding "White Rose" events as they research the resistance movement in Nazi Germany.
Curated OER
Heroes
Students explore reading comprehension strategies. In this character development and reading comprehension lesson, students brainstorm common traits of "heroes." Students read Heroes, then identify the personal conflicts the story...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Anne Frank: Writer
Learners explore the writings of Anne Frank. They discuss how Anne did or did not change during her two years in the Secret Annex. Students take a stand on how much Anne has in common with contemporary young people.
Curated OER
TB - Lusitania Day (1916)
Students, after brainstorming all the different types of propaganda, explore, analyze and study the nature, origin and purpose of propaganda and how its aims are achieved. They assess how the sinking of the Lusitania was manipulated by...
Curated OER
How I Became Me
Learners examine their own identities and read about the experiences of adopted Chinese daughters celebrating the Jewish rite of passage, the bat mitzvah. They write personal poems or speeches illustrating how their identities evolved.
Curated OER
Foods and Languages of the World
Students learn about the foods of Italy. For this Italy lesson, students learn about the different types of food from Italy, create their own pizzas using paper and markers, share their pizzas with the class, and go to the cafeteria and...
Curated OER
Learning from Letters and Other Mail
Students explore the history of our mail system. In this postal lesson plan, students evaluate mail as a means of communication, create a mail system in their classroom where they can send and receive mail. Once the students receive...