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Activity
Shmoop

ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Comparing information found in images, charts, and graphs with that found in written text can be a challenge for even senior high scholars. Provide learners with an opportunity to practice this skill with an exercise that asks them to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Go for the Gold!

For Teachers 5th - 12th
The options are vast with this Ancient Greece and Olympics research project! Using Scholastic online resources, historians have interactive and educational supports to guide them through researching and writing about the 2004 Olympics in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Straight to the Source

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Research famous figures from history through the primary sources they created! Explore how these types of documents can enrich our study of the past with your middle and high school learners. They create picture books to illustrate...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Digging Up Artifacts On Line

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Why is it important to preserve historical documents and artifacts? Examine the role of primary source documents and the availability of these documents on the Internet. Middle and high schoolers write a journal about the nature of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

That's the Spirit

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The ABCs of the Holocaust

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The ABC book format is used to organize information found in a Holocaust research project. Class members use the library and/or online resources to collect information and organize their findings under key terms, places, or names. Before...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Research Skills: Information Retrieval and Evaluation

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Focus on research skills, specifically identifying key words and concepts on a specific topic and evaluating information for relevance and authority. This is part of a multi-step lesson on Ancient Rome; however, it is useful for any...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

It's Your Right: A Civil Rights Brochure

For Teachers 12th
Learners examine the US Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Supreme Court cases in order to broaden their understanding of the US Judicial System. They research a variety of textual and Internet resources to create a tri-fold brochure,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Online Information: Fact or Fiction

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Discuss ways to determine if the information middle and high schoolers gather online is accurate. Using the Internet, they cite two sources that show conflicting points of view on a subtopic of conservation. They summarize and analyze...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

American Minority Groups

For Teachers 12th
Explore the contributions individuals have made in the lives of American minority groups. Twelfth graders write a five-page expository piece providing a social history, examples of discrimination, and patterns of assimilation for an...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

The Great Gatsby Historical Background Using Multi-Genre Research Project

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Before beginning F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, create a historical context of the Roaring 20s with this lesson. Set up a gallery walk with the provided PowerPoint, which features 10 topics related to the 1920s. Then begin a...
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PPT
Curated OER

Evaluating Potential Sources: Deciding What to Use and What to Reject

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Teach young researchers how best to choose sources. This PowerPoint presentation underscores the need for accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills

For Teachers 9th - 12th
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They then...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Hispanic World - Spain

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Take your class on an electronic field trip to Spain! Visit Cordoba or Barcelona, and run with the bulls (virtually) in Pamplona. Groups search the Internet to find sites that permit them to explore the original Spanish-speaking country....
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Cardboard History

For Teachers 3rd - 11th
A PBS clip focused on collecting sports memorabilia launches this research project lesson. Class members then read Dan Gutman’s Honus and Me in which Wagner’s baseball card is used to time travel. The lesson ends with researchers...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil War Research Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Give your WWI study collaborative energy using a group research project. Groups are assigned one of the six main themes (included). Each group has an outline to guide research but will need an assignment guide. Consider supplementing the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Careers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Now that your career explorers are thinking about the world after high school, it's time they learned how to research their options! Here's a great resource to get them gathering information from multiple sources. Learners brainstorm...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Idea-Noun Definition: Source Searching

For Teachers 11th - 12th
A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Showdown on the Frontier

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Especially critical following a series of shootings in schools, theaters, and religious buildings, it's safe to say that we need to evaluate the current laws on gun control. Eighth graders read a New York Times article in order to better...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Discuss Current Events

For Teachers 4th - 12th
Investigate articles from the daily news and share opinions with classmates. Using current events, learners view a news program without sound and predict what news is being discussed by analyzing the visuals. Then they read news articles...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Personal Travel Guide to a Chinese City

For Teachers 6th - 11th
Scholars become travel guides in this group research project to investigate a Chinese city or region for a presentation. Heavily based on Internet research, the activity requires participants to jigsaw the final project, so each team...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reporting on the 1920s

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Use this roaring 1920s history instructional activity to have young writers research primary and secondary sources. They use their research to examine the events or famous public figures of the time period. Next, they imagine they're in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Be That As It Maya

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Creative projects are a great way to engage your class and can be a fun way to assess mastery! Learners create brochures and postcards that might have been created by and for travelers to ancient Mayan cities. They read and discuss the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Personalities of the Renaissance

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Have the class interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. They examine sources regarding architecture, art, exploration, government, literature, religion, and technology of the era. Then they use their...