PBS
Lessons - Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!
Volcanoes are among the most spectacular geological features on the planet. Jump into an exploration of these amazing phenomenon with this multimedia lesson plan series. Working collaboratively in small groups, young scientists view...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Direct-to-consumer Genetic Testing
If you knew that you were likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in your future, how would it affect your life in the meantime? This and other similar thought-provoking questions are discussed in a lesson plan about the availability of...
Personal Genetics Education Project
DNA, Crime and Law Enforcement
Civil rights meets biotechnology in a instructional activity that scrutinizes the collection of DNA of citizens who have been arrested, but not yet convicted of a crime. Real-life cases are examined in which the DNA of a relative was...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics, history and the American Eugenics Movement
A poignant 20-slide show introduces high schoolers to the amazing accomplishments of genomics and raises the question of eugenics. This lesson is only for mature audiences, as it deals with rape and other sensitive topics, but it is...
Personal Genetics Education Project
Genetics and Reproduction
Disease prevention or designer babies? Use a set of slides to introduce the growing practice of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD. Teens read related articles and then break into groups to address different scenarios. Afterward,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath": The Inner Chapters
Here’s a must-have resource for anyone using The Grapes of Wrath. Everything from guiding questions to background information, from photographs to documentary films, from activities to assessments is included in a richly detailed packet...
Curated OER
The Crayon Box that Talked: Welcoming Indviduality
Just like a box of crayons, every child has a special way of contributing to the greater picture.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
Curated OER
The Five W's of Tax Day
Use April 15th to teach your students the fundamentals of the American federal tax system.
SeaWorld
Animal Migrations
Here is a fabulous set of activities for your young scientists. Each instructional activity contains map, hands-on, and game activities that will help the class understand why and how animals migrate from one place to another. First...
Curated OER
Stock Wars: Bringing Wall Street to your Classroom
Using interactive apps and structured assignments, you can make the stock market accessible to all students.
Clark County School District
Hollywood's Take on the Cuban Missile Crisis: Thirteen Days
Watching the film Thirteen Days is an engaging way of acquainting learners with the Cuban missile crisis, and this learning exercise is the perfect accompaniment for viewership! It includes 15 questions for your young historians to...
University of California
Roots of the Cold War
When and how did the Cold War begin? To answer this question, you will not find a better-organized, in-depth, activity- and inquiry-based resource than this! Executing best teaching practices throughout, each portion of this inquiry...
Curated OER
Socratic Seminar on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail
Key in the struggle to gain the rights of democratic citizenship was the April 1963 arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil disobedience. To deepen their knowledge and understanding of events during the civil rights movement,...
National Museum of the American Indian
Lone Dog's Winter Count: Keeping History Alive
What is oral tradition, and what unique tool did the Native Americans of the Northern Great Plains use to help them remember their complex histories? Through pictograph analysis, discussion, research, and an engaging hands-on activity,...
Curated OER
Standing Up to Injustice
To help students move beyond the role of bystander, give them real-world examples of young people who fought injustice.
Curated OER
Women's Many Paths to the History Books
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, it’s important to show young women that various female historical figures paved very different ways to the history books.
Curated OER
Places Where Women Made History
Using places can help students identify with the history-making women associated with them.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Classroom Paper Recycling
After reading about the history and recycling of paper, creative crafters collaborate to think of a new process for making recycled paper. A complete teacher's guide and student worksheets are included. There is no written procedure for...
Possibilities
Disability Awareness Activity Packet
When you have an inclusive classroom it is important to help your general education students understand their peers with disabilities. This packet provides information and activities to assist elementary-aged children in building a...
Gallaudet School for the Deaf
The History of the American School for the Deaf
To better understand the significance and history of the American School for the Deaf, hearing-impaired learners conduct research, hold discussions, and write a play. The activity spans three class periods and allows the class to explore...
Baylor College
Mapping the Spread of HIV/AIDS
Where is HIV/AIDS most prevalent and what are the current trends regarding HIV? Have groups work together to map the world's HIV/AIDS rates, then create a class map with all the data. Lesson includes cross-disciplinary concepts including...
Student Achievement Partners
Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston's "Farewell to Manzanar"
Passages from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar provide the context for a study of the historical themes of experiencing war, resilience during war, and understanding the lasting trauma of war. Appendices include extension activities,...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nonviolent Resistance
Was nonviolent resistance the best means of securing civil rights for black Americans in the 1960s? In this highly engaging and informative lesson, your young historians will closely analyze several key documents from the civil rights...