Frames Within Frames: Perspectives on Native-American Heritage
In this lesson, students are given the opportunity to focus on the variety of responses the film Return of Navajo Boy evokes as they create their own "film within a film," learn about cultural expression, and engage in discussion and reflective writing activities.
An Issue of Loyalty: Exploring the Treatment of Japanese Americans During World War II (1941-1945)
This lesson is designed to explore the issue of loyalty and disloyalty with regards to Japanese Americans in the internment camps during WWII. Students will examine these abstract ideas as they relate to their lives.
Exploring Family Compositions
The activities in this lesson are designed to help children explore their own families' composition and that of their classmates.
What Is a Neighborhood?
A lesson for students to think about the neighborhood they live in and what makes a neighborhood.
Seeing Inside a Black Box
This lesson includes a "hands-on" activity in which students use scientific method and observation skills to discover what the insides of sealed boxes may look like. This activity not only teaches the scientific method but also offers students an example of how scientists can understand what something looks like even if they cannot "see" it.
Time Management
The aim of this lesson is to develop students' understanding of the importance of managing time. It is the first lesson in the study skills series and is intended to support adult learners who are embarking on a course of study and need to acquire skills which will help them to be successful. The lessons are designed as a package with key skills reinforced in each subsequent lesson so that a study culture is developed over time. They can be delivered sequentially or used individually, as a whole
Seeing Stars
This lesson introduces students to the way in which images of celebrity are constructed and promoted by media professionals. Students explore what they understand "celebrity" to mean and examine the images of "success" projected by stars. They further explore what this all says about our values and what we believe to be important.
Active Learning
The aim of this lesson is to enable students to take control of their learning in a positive way. It is the third lesson in the study skills series and is intended to support adult learners who are embarking on a course of study and need to acquire skills which will help them to be successful. The lessons are designed as a package with key skills reinforced in each subsequent lesson so that a study culture is developed over time. They can be delivered sequentially or used individually, as a whol
Oral Presentation Skills Using Family Stories
The fourth lesson in the Family, History and Memory module focuses on developing students' presentation skills. It offers students detailed guidelines on how to deliver a good presentation and invites them to practice the skills using their family stories. Peer group evaluation is included in this class. The lessons can be delivered as a module or as individual units.
Setting Up Study Groups
The aim of this lesson is to enable students to take control of their learning through setting up self-help study groups. It is the fourth lesson in the study skills series and is intended to support adult learners who are embarking on a course of study and need to acquire skills which will help them to be successful. The lessons are designed as a package with key skills reinforced in each subsequent lesson so that a study culture is developed over time. They can be delivered sequentially or use
Managing Stress
The aim of this lesson is to enable students to be aware of how to manage their approach to studying to reduce stress. It is the fifth lesson in the study skills series and is intended to support adult learners who are embarking on a course of study and need to acquire skills which will help them to be successful. The lessons are designed as a package with key skills reinforced in each subsequent lesson so that a study culture is developed over time. They can be delivered sequentially or used in
Producing a Family Memoir
In the second of five lessons in this Family, History and Memory module, students analyze memoir as a genre. They then organize the information researched in the first lesson and put together their own family memoir. The lessons can be delivered as a module or as individual units.
Modeling Research Skills
The fifth lesson in the Family, History and Memory module centers on developing students' research skills. Using the book The Diary of Anne Frank as a starting point, it guides students through the necessary steps for conducting good-quality research and developing a subsequent presentation. Students work as a group to develop their presentation. The lessons can be delivered as a module or as individual units.
Using Documentary Film to Explore Family History and Memory
In the third lesson in the Family, History and Memory module, students explore their family stories in a historical context. The PBS documentary Daughter From Danang is used to illustrate the dramatic impact that the Vietnam War had on the family and identity of an Amerasian child as she grew into womanhood. The lessons can be delivered as a module or as individual units.
America's Library
We hope you will find this Web site entertaining and fun to use. And, of course, we hope you will learn something from it. The site was designed especially with young people in mind, but there are great stories for people of all ages, and we hope children and their families will want to explore this site together.
Great Depression: Dust Bowl Migration
includes photos, a teachers guide, and other resources for learning about the largest migration in American history. This migration occurred in the 1930s when poor soil conservation practices and extreme weather in the Great Plains exacerbated the existing misery of the Great Depression.
Everyday Mysteries
Did you ever wonder why a camel has a hump? If you can really tell the weather by listening to the chirp of a cricket? Or why our joints make popping sounds? These questions deal with everyday phenomena that we often take for granted, but each can be explained scientifically. Everyday Mysteries will help you get the answers to these and many other of life's most interesting questions through scientific inquiry. In addition, we will introduce you to the Library of Congress' rich collections in sc
An introduction to teacher research
Every day, teachers develop lesson plans, evaluate student work, and share outcomes with students, parents, and administrators. Teacher research is simply a more intentional and systematic version of what good teachers already do.
The Secchi Disk
This Great North American Secchi Dip-In website offers a comprehensive guide to Secchi disk use. It features links to a series of pages that answer questions such as: what is a Secchi disk; what (or who) is Secchi; and why are Secchi disks black and white. The links also include information such as considerations in Secchi disk design and procedure, monitoring methods, and evaluating eutrophication by Secchi depth.
America on the Move
This activity guide accompanies the exhibition America on the Move. It delivers a variety of historical primary-source materials from the exhibition directly to your classroom. Through these documents and activities, students can build a deeper understanding of how transportation shaped American commerce, communities, landscapes, and population migrations.
