This template supports STEM teachers and librarians in working collaboratively to create lessons that build science practice and STEM inquiry skills in alignment with state and national science standards, and that address the Common Core literacy shifts around close reading and building textual evidence.

A Sourcebook

Short Description:
This is a collection of primary sources on Roman games and spectacles in their various forms, created for a second-year undergraduate class on spectacles in Greece and Rome at the University of British Columbia. This book is intended for use in upper-level academic studies. Content Warning: The content of this book contains animal cruelty and animal death, blood, classism, death, sexual assault, violence, and other mature subject matter and potentially distressing material.

Long Description:
This is an anthology of primary sources on Roman games and spectacles in some of their various forms, created for a second-year undergraduate class on spectacles in Greece and Rome (CLST 260; this book covers the Roman section of that course) at the University of British Columbia.

The sources are grouped thematically, although there is overlap between the sections. The sources come from a wide range of periods, genres, and individuals and not all are equally reliable, in that many report on things they haven’t seen or are (like some of the Christian authors) deeply hostile to because they were often connected with the worship of various pagan deities. But taken together, along with the images and other information provided, they will give some picture of the importance and complexity of spectacle for the Romans and many of the peoples they conquered or interacted with. Footnotes are used to provide information and context for those that know little about either Rome or the ancient Mediterranean.

Word Count: 87566

ISBN: 978-0-88865-459-5

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

This lesson revolves around Sherman Alexie’s poignant yet humorous and accessible essay, “I Hated Tonto (Still Do).” It explores the negative impact that stereotypes have on the self-worth of individuals and the damage that these stereotypes inflict on pride in one’s heritage. The reading is supported by a short video montage of clips from Western films. The clips offer students the opportunity to evaluate primary sources for bias and bigotry, as well as providing context for the protagonists’ experiences in the essay.

As a hook to a lesson on the Stock Market Crash of 1929, 5th grade students will analyze five items: two political cartoons, one photograph, one sound excerpt, and one newspaper. Students will use the Primary Source Analysis tool to record observations, reflections and questions of these five items.

The lesson will begin by students accessing their prior knowledge of fossils and the fossil record by creating a "chain letter" with their classmates. Next, students will participate in an introductory WebQuest which will explain how the anatomical structure of the whale has changed over time. With a collaborative group, students will create a timeline of the Eocene epoch that will depict the chronological order of whale fossil appearance in rock layers. Using the jigsaw strategy, students will read an informational text pertaining to the change in the anatomical structures of the whale over time and complete a data table. Lastly, students will complete an exit slip, which will serve as the summative assessment for the lesson's objectives. This lesson results from a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and ASTA.

StoryWorks develops inclusive and transformative educational theater experiences that provide students with the opportunity to examine our country’s civil rights history. Through content consistent with school curriculum standards, the program engages students in experiential learning and inspires them to ask deeper questions about the historical underpinnings behind contemporary issues. The process creates pathways to civic engagement, creates lasting memories and instills a tangible sense of social belonging. This StoryWorks educational project is built around Beautiful Agitators, a theatrical play about Vera Mae Pigee, a hair stylist and business owner in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights era. Using her beauty parlor as a hub for Delta-based organizing and resistance, Pigee operated her salon by day and then transformed it into a clandestine center for civil rights organization and education in the evenings. Known for her big hats and larger than life personality, Mrs. Pigee led the direct action that registered nearly 6,000 African Americans to vote in the region. Although Pigee was largely left out of the history books, along with many women of the movement, our play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum revives her legacy, highlighting her methods and tactics. Inspired by the innovative K-12 civil rights education standards developed by the Mississippi Civil Rights Commission. Our commitment is to expand upon the standards by further developing content related to social justice, power relations, environmental justice, diversity, equity, mutual respect, and civic engagement. Beautiful Agitators combines inquiry with higher-order thinking skills of analysis, evaluation and synthesis. Set in a beauty parlor owned and operated by a Black woman in the Mississippi Delta, our curriculum is based on our investigation into primary sources and their relationship to critical moments in the national movement. This foundation of historical context allows for students and educators to find contemporary parallels which further engage learners to reflect upon the legacy of the civil rights movement and the struggles that we, as citizens, continue to grapple with today.View the complete play Beautiful Agitators on the StoryWorks Theater site.Implementation1. Beautiful Agitators Performance Classroom watches a prerecorded, staged reading of the play Beautiful Agitators, which was created and performed by artists from the Mississippi Delta, home of Vera Mae Pigee.2. Lesson Plan Activities Following the eight-lesson plan structure, students will read aloud or act out scenes from the play. This participatory interaction with the text and the historical events promotes a high level of engagement from the students and encourages experiential learning. These activities directly correspond to scenes in the play and to specific content area standards. Teacher leads guided discussions and helps to explain the historical context and theme of each scene. Students/actors have the opportunity to share their experiences having portrayed these historical figures. 

Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the role of the youth activism in the civil rights movement.

Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the importance of coalition building to achieve civil rights.

Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and reflect on the struggle and sacrifice that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

StoryWorks Theater’s Teaching the Constitution Through Theater develops inclusive and transformative educational theater experiences that provides students with the opportunity to examine our history and to foster a deeper understanding of the U.S. Constitution. Through content consistent with school curriculum standards, the program engages students in experiential learning and inspires them to ask complex questions about the historical underpinnings behind contemporary issues. The process creates pathways to civic engagement, creates lasting memories and instills a tangible sense of social belonging. Now’s The Time opens at the dawn of Reconstruction, the Civil War has just ended but the nation is plunged again into crisis with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Andrew Johnson ascends to the Presidency determined to restore white supremacy in the South. Congressional radicals led by Thaddeus Stevens are fighting for a different vision. They intend to create a new society of full racial equality, where Black Americans will have real economic and political power, including ownership of land confiscated from the rebels, education, suffrage and election to public office. This titanic political battle between President and Congress culminates in the first impeachment and trial of a U.S. president, and to more than 150 years of continuing violence and discrimination against Black Americans.View the complete play Now’s The Time on the StoryWorks Theater site. Implementation1. Now’s The Time Performance Classroom watches a prerecorded, staged reading of the play Now’s The Time, written by Jean P. Bordewich and Produced by StoryWorks Theater.2. Lesson Plan Activities Following the six lesson plan structure, students will read aloud or act out scenes from the play. This participatory interaction with the text and the historical events promotes a high level of engagement from the students and encourages experiential learning. These activities directly correspond to scenes in the play and to specific content area standards. Throughout the curriculum, teachers will lead guided discussions and help to explain the historical context and theme of each scene. Students/actors will have the ability to share their experiences having portrayed these historical figures. Students/historians will have the unique opportunity to work with primary source materials to further their understanding of the complexities of the era and to gain insight into the critical legislative debates of the time.

Long Description:
A living book designed to be revised, Strategic Information Literacy will remain relevant to casual and critical information consumers and creators so long as it applies to how they interact with information. The authors invite revision and redistribution of the book’s content to meet the information literacy needs of its readers.

Word Count: 51841

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

This activity asks students to read two primary sources about the Middle Passage, one written by Olaudah Equiano and one by John Barbot, and consider the bias in their narratives. Discussion questions are meant to encourage a close reading and interrogation of the two historical sources. The resource helps students think critically about primary sources and the production of history. 

A semester-long audio recording project, defined by the needs of a community organization, engages students in not only learning new content but sharing their new knowledge beyond classroom walls (and beyond the professor). This assignment, focusing on "engaged digital scholarship," challenges students to increase their information literacy and use of audio to effectively communicate scientific information for a general audience. This project has been embedded in several different introductory-level Earth science courses for non-science majors, with the resulting podcasts being shared with varied community groups. The example presented here focuses on students in a "Water: Science and Society" course generating podcasts that respond to specific content questions posed by Pennsylvania K-12 teachers, with the resulting podcasts posted on the website for the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association (PAESTA).

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To build and improve upon their science and information literacies, students create a collection of short non-fiction stories that connect to at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For this assignment, the stories were then posted online for middle and high school teachers to use in their classrooms.

(Note: this resource was added to OER Commons as part of a batch upload of over 2,200 records. If you notice an issue with the quality of the metadata, please let us know by using the 'report' button and we will flag it for consideration.)

A range of online guides and modules that offer students essential information about the Library’s services, the digital learning environment and digital literacy skills, finding and evaluating sources of information, and academic writing and the assignment process.

Study Smart can be used to develop information research and literacy skills and achieve assignment success at university. Choose one module or complete all four.

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine examine a variety of primary source documents related to the women's suffrage movement and then create original documents encouraging citizens to vote in...

Students use Library of Congress primary sources to examine the strategies and challenges of the women's suffrage movement in the United States.