Available Lessons
"Diary of Anne Frank:" A Podcast
Grade: 8
Social Studies, Technology
Students create a podcast surrounding historical events of Anne Frank and the Secret Annex.
"Lift Every Voice and Sing"
Grade: 8
Social Studies
After listening to the African-American National anthem, students will analyze the lyrics of the hymn in order to identify and explain important historical references.
A Hidden Child's Story:Accounts from the Holocaust Digital Story
Grade: 8
Social Studies, Technology
Students will create a storyboard (using PowerPoint or Microsoft Word) outlining their movie on a hidden child of the holocaust using photos downloaded from the FCIT site (A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust). Students will include narration in the movie describing the events that unfolded in that child’s life. Students will then use their storyboard, along with their downloaded photos and background music, to create a digital story using video editing software.
Acting Styles and Their Practitioners: Research and Presentation
Grade: 12
Technology
The purpose of this project will be for students to research acting styles and their practitioners. Using this research, they will create a video (iMovie or MovieMaker) or traditional presentation (Keynote / PowerPoint) and present this to the class.
Ain't I a Woman - Sojourner Truth
Grade: 8
Social Studies
This lesson works to compare the struggles of the Abolition movement with those of the Women's Reform movement by studying Ain't I A Woman by the prominant abolitionist of her time - Sojourner Truth.
All About Me: Journalism Ice Breaker
Grade: 7
Technology
In the lesson, students are asked to create a presentation (PowerPoint or Keynote) introducing themselves and their roles in the Journalism class to other students. This lesson can be used at the beginning of the course as a culture-building activity.
Alphabet Mystery
Grade: K
Technology
In this lesson, the student will prove whether a text is fact or fiction, discuss the main idea in the story Alphabet Mystery by Audrey Wood and complete a snake alphabet worksheet.
America's Abolitionists: A Digital Biography Project
Grade: 7
Social Studies
Students will use text and web resources to research an abolitionist from the Antebellum era. Students will take research notes, construct a storyboard as a rough draft and compose a digital biography using a video pre-writing software (i.e. Photostory, imovie, moviemaker). Students will present their final product to the class.
An Intro to Google Earth Scavenger Hunt
Grade: 7
Social Studies, Technology
Students will use Google Earth to answer a series of questions. These questions will allow students to explore Google Earth and many of the different features it offers.
Animal Classification
Grade: 3
Technology
Students will learn to classify animals through research and reference presentations. Students will work in collaborative groups, present findings and self-correct.
Apalachee: Point of View Blog
Grade: 4
Social Studies, Technology
Teacher will read aloud the passage "The Apalachee" as students follow along. After reading they will discuss how the Apalachee lived (i.e., how they obtained food and shelter) and what happened to the Apalachee that led to their elimination. As a class, create a shared writing blog entry from the point of view of a Apalachee Indian. The blog entry should include details about how a Apalachee child spent a day. Within the blog entry the details about how Apalachee lived should be evident. After the whole-class shared writing activity, students will add an entry to the blog from the point of view of a tribe member; students can chose to write from the point of view of a child or adult. Students will also be expected to respond to other students' posts on the blog.
Bench Press Math: Mean, Median and Mode
Grade: 10
Physical Education
Using reps and max of weightlifting, students will create a frequency table and compute the mean, median and mode.
Colonial Brochures Activity
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will conduct research on an assigned colonial region. Students will learn about the thirteen colonies by creating a colonial brochure. Students will become experts on their colonial region. The students will share their brochure with other students in class.
Constitutional Amendments: Civil Rights and Liberties
Grade: 7
Social Studies
Students will work together using a cooperative group work strategy to develop an understanding of Constitutional Amendments and examine their significance. Students will analyze a series of photographs to decide which amendment is being depicted. Students will then rank the given amendments on a spectrum, deciding, based on their own opinions, which they feel to be the most important and which they feel to be is the least important.
Dream Vacation: A Math Analysis
Grade: 6
Technology
Students are given the opportunity to select a dream vacation and are give a set amount of money and must plan and execute their trip without going over their allotted funds.
Economic Pull Factor
Grade: 7
Social Studies
This lesson reviews the economic pull factors that cause migration. In addition, students will chart the census data for Florida since 1900 and create a class PowerPoint showcasing your learning.
Exploring America: The U.S. from A to Z
Grade: 7
Social Studies
Teacher will lead a presentation to students in order to introduce cultural and physical landmarks that are emblematic of the United States. During the presentation, students will take notes in a graphic organizer to record important information. At the conclusion of the presentation students will be given the choice to either compose a poem or journal entry to describe landmarks. Students must include a minimum of three physical landmarks and three cultural landmarks for a total of 6 landmarks in either the poem or the journal entry.
Florida During the Civil War
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will explore the role Florida played during the Civil War. Students will explore a document detailing Florida's role and be able to identify key battles that took place on Florida soil. Students will be able to explain how Florida helped the Confederacy during the war.
Florida Scavenger Hunt
Grade: 7
Social Studies
Using a map of Florida along with map skills students will go on a scavenger hunt to find key physiographic features related to Florida.
Geometry Around Your School
Grade: 4
Technology
Teacher will read aloud "The Greedy Triangle" by Marilyn Burns. After read aloud the class will create a list of the geometric shapes from the story. Students will add geometric shapes to the list that were not included in the book (e.g., three dimensional objects). Then students will work with a partner to walk around the school campus to find real-life examples of their assigned geometric shape and take digital photographs of the objects. Students will create a class book about the objects and use their digital photographs to illustrate the book.
Great Depression and the New Deal: Causes and Effects
Grade: 4
Social Studies
Shared Reading: The teacher will read aloud "Great Depression and the New Deal" as students follow along. During the reading the teacher will guide students to complete a whole-class cause and effect chart listing the major causes of the Great Depression and their effect(s) on the Florida economy. Then students will break into groups of 3-4 and investigate a specific cause/effect relationship. Groups will use the internet to locate photographs and additional details and facts about the incident and create a Powerpoint or Keynote presentation with speaking notes to present to the class.
History Through Words: Frederick Douglass
Grade: 11
Social Studies
Students will perform a picture analysis. Afterwards, a passage will be read from a narrative in Frederick Douglass’ My Bondage and My Freedom and then complete the Pick-a-Pair worksheet.
Hurricane Tracking
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will review longitude and latitude using hurricane tracking models along with a review of storm development. This lesson uses an interactive white board and falls into the authentic entry level domain on the technology integration matrix.
Impact of Colonial settlements on Native American populations
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will analyze the impact of European colonization on Native Americans, applying information learned from primary and secondary sources. In heterogeneous groupings of 3-4 students will discuss historical information and facts to determine the overall impact of colonization on Native American populations.
Jamestown Dilemmas
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will explore the difficulties experienced by the English settlers in Virginia and subsequent struggles for survival in the early years of the colony. Students will be given four different dilemmas and will explore possible outcomes to the initial problems faced by the English colonists. After students help resolve the issues through collaborative groups, students will then learn what actually happened in Jamestown and the eventual survival of the colony through strong leadership and the development of tobacco.
Major U.S. Physical Features
Grade: 5
Social Studies
This lesson provides an overview of the locations of major physical features of the United States answering the essential question "What are the major physical features of the United States?"
Mollie Gabe: A Former Slave's Perspective
Grade: 8
Social Studies
This short, stand-alone lesson seeks to give students a perspective of life as a slave from a former slave's perspective. Although this is but one view, it is a view nonetheless. Students will also be asked to use and improve their reading skills by the associated worksheet.
Money ESE grades 9-12
Grade: 9
Social Studies
In this lesson, the student will learn to compare and contrast between different coins. Using hands-on examples, a document camera to review as a class and presentation software (PowerPoint or Keynote) or video editing software (iMovie or Movie Maker).
Multi-Media Book Trailers
Grade: 5
Technology
Students will read a self-selected fiction book independently. After completion of the book, students will create a multi-media book trailer (modeled after a movie trailer) to advertise the book. Students can use presentation software (i.e., Powerpoint, Keynote);
People of the Holocaust
Grade: 9
Social Studies
Students will work in heterogeneous groups of three or four to create a news presentation on an assigned group of people involved in the Holocaust. Groups will research information from a website to highlight important details to use in their presentation. Groups will use the information to create a news presentation. Each group will present their news clip to the class while the class takes noted on the details and important information regarding each topic.
Political Cartoon Analysis
Grade: 11
Social Studies
Students will perform research for political cartoons and analyze their features and significance. Web browsing will be implemented as well as spiral-question analysis in order to complete the first segment of the activity. Further assessment includes a brief writing assignment.
Publishing Poetry: Student Vodcast of Original Narrative Poems
Grade: 5
Technology
The students will create a vodcast of an original poem using video editing software (iMovie or MovieMaker).
RAFT-American Revolution
Grade: 8
Social Studies
The students will take on a role of a person during the American Revolution and explain several significant events based on that person's viewpoint.
Six Essential Elements of Geography
Grade: 6
Social Studies
Teacher will lead students in the facilitation of a presentation to introduce and familiarize students with the 6 Essential Elements. At the conclusion of the presentation, students will analyze a series of photographs to determine which element the photos are depicting.
Skittles Fractions
Grade: 3
Technology
This is a review lesson after the students have already learned about representing fractions. The student will find the fraction of colors in a bite size bag of skittles. They will then predict and discover what color there is the most of in the whole class.
Slave Spirituals
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will listen to slave spirituals and analyze the lyrics in order to identify common themes presented in these songs. Students will construct a venn diagram in order to compare and contrast information identified.
The Calusa: Point of View Blog
Grade: 4
Social Studies, Technology
Teacher will read aloud the passage "The Calusa: 'The Shell Indians'" as students follow along. After reading they will discuss how the Calusa lived (i.e., how they obtained food and shelter) and what happened to the Calusa that led to their elimination. As a class, create a shared writing blog entry from the point of view of a Calusa Indian. The blog entry should include details about how a Calusa child spent a day. Within the blog entry the details about how Calusa lived should be evident. After the whole-class shared writing activity, students will add an entry to the blog from the point of view of a tribe member; students can chose to write from the point of view of a child or adult. Students will also be expected to respond to other students' posts on the blog.
The Tequesta: Point of View Blog
Grade: 4
Social Studies, Technology
Teacher will read aloud the passage "The Tequesta Indians of Biscayne Bay" as students follow along. After reading they will discuss how the Tequesta lived (i.e., how they obtained food and shelter) and what happened to the Tequesta that led to their elimination. As a class, create a shared writing blog entry from the point of view of a Tequesta Indian. The blog entry should include details about how a Tequesta child spent a day. Within the blog entry the details about how Tequesta lived should be evident. After the whole-class shared writing activity, students will add an entry to the blog from the point of view of a tribe member; students can chose to write from the point of view of a child or adult. Students will also be expected to respond to other students' posts on the blog.
The Timucua: Point of View Blog
Grade: 4
Social Studies, Technology
Teacher will read aloud the passage "The Timucua" as students follow along. After reading they will discuss how the Timucua lived (i.e., how they obtained food and shelter) and what happened to the Timucua that led to their elimination. As a class, create a shared writing blog entry from the point of view of a Timucua Indian. The blog entry should include details about how a Timucua child spent a day. Within the blog entry the details about how Timucua lived should be evident. After the whole-class shared writing activity, students will add an entry to the blog from the point of view of a tribe member; students can chose to write from the point of view of a child or adult. Students will also be expected to respond to other students' posts on the blog.
Timeline of the Holocaust
Grade: 9
Social Studies
Students will work in mixed-ability groups of three or four to create a documentary on an assigned period of time during the Holocaust. Groups will research information from a provided website to highlight important details to use in their presentation. Groups will use the information to create a documentary. Each group will present their documentary (in video or live form) to the class while the class takes notes on the details and important information regarding each time period.
Tulsa Riots of 1921: History Uncovered
Grade: 11
Social Studies, Technology
Students will perform a webquest on the Tulsa Riots of 1921 and other historic tragedies as well as perform comparisons. Critical thinking will allow students to develop a deeper understanding of tragedies and consider approaches to societal problems through discussion and presentation.
U.S. Physical Geography: Mapping Activity and Poster Project
Grade: 7
Social Studies
Students will use maps and atlases to learn about and identify important physical locations and landmarks in the United States to better understand the region. After completing the mapping activity, students will apply the information learned to construct a travel tour poster to exemplify the physical and culture diversity in the United States.
Understanding the Bill of Rights
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will work in heterogeneous groups of four to create an appropriate symbol/emblem, as well as a slogan for the Bill of Rights. Groups will develop a symbol/emblem to collectively represent the first ten amendments. Groups will use chart paper (or poster board) to create a visual representation of this emblem/symbol with the slogan written alongside. Presenters from each group will explain their emblem and slogan to the class while the rest of the class takes notes.
Washington Crossing the Delaware: ID, Examine, Evaluate
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will analyze a painting of Washington crossing the Delaware as an introduction to the American Revolution.
Why Propaganda?
Grade: 8
Social Studies
Students will analyze historical posters/images and explain reasons why propaganda is used to influence opinion both today and in history. Students will work collaboratively analysing each example of propaganda to further discuss the use of propaganda, its intended message and bias identification in the examples
Women's Suffrage
Grade: 8
Social Studies
In order to develop a foundational understanding of women's suffrage, students will listen to "Sufferin' Till Suffrage" by School House Rock and identify important related pieces of information. Then, in order to develop an understanding that suffrage was not the same for all women, students will analyze "Ain't I a Woman" by Sojourner Truth and compare and contrast the suffrage rights of African-American women to those of white women.