Lesson Plans

This lesson will include the use of a primary document and period photographs for a cross-curriculum lesson analyzing setting to identify some adverse effects of the Great Depression for farmers. The student will create a postcard which depicts an understanding of the impact of the Great Depression on farmers.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information: April Mitchell (Cohort 2: 2010-2011); Greenwood Elementary; Bessemer City Schools; Bessemer, AL

This lesson explores the reasons for the development of the tenant farming and sharecropping system in the post-Civil War era. Using primary sources (pictures and labor contracts), the lesson presents some of the situations that caused the system to develop. It covers the lifestyle of the farmers and investigates the reasons for the decrease in the system of tenant farming and sharecropping after the Depression and World War II.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information: Vicki Looser (Cohort 1: 2009-2010); Lanett High School; Lanett City Schools Lanett, AL

This lesson engages students in research on a prominent African American and his role in politics during Reconstruction in Alabama. Photographic primary sources are used in this lesson.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information: Rebecca Campbell (Cohort 2: 2010-2011); Uniontown Elementary School; Perry County School System; Uniontown, AL

This lesson will use primary sources to compare and contrast the perspectives of George C. Wallace at the beginning and in the latter part of his life as a political figure in Alabama. The students will develop a hypothesis about the effect that Wallace’s views and actions had on the image of Alabama and the changes in his character over time.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information: Misty Freeman (Cohort 2: 2010-2011); Rehobeth Elementary; Houston County Schools; Dothan, AL

This lesson will introduce students to an Alabama connection to World War I. The primary document that will be used is a letter to a father from a University of Alabama student, written on March 2, 1917, exactly one month before the United States declared war on Germany. The student discusses typical family topics before ending with his concerns about the possibility of war.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information:Dr. Lesa Roberts (Cohort 1: 2009-2010) Hampton Road Middle School; Huntsville City School System; Huntsville, AL

This module includes seven hands-on, inquiry-based activities that will model the effects of weathering and erosion on Earth’s surface. Students will investigate the effects of weathering, erosion, and deposition using various materials such as aquarium gravel, square pretzels, chalk, vinegar, modeling clay, sand, and a hairdryer. This module will provide instruction on the effects of water on land; the effects slope has on flooding; the effects of the wind on land; the effects of different wave actions on land; the effects of glaciers on land; and the effects of mechanical and chemical weathering. In addition, the students will create a model that will demonstrate how groundwater can cause a sinkhole.

Students will develop an understanding of the purpose of the Declaration of Independence by synthesizing the grievances listed by the founding fathers.

In this lesson, students will embark on a virtual field trip to the Statue of Liberty. This exciting tour will enable students to make observations related to the statue's iconic history. These observations will allow students to gain an appreciation of the size of the statue, what the statue represents, and how it is an important symbol to our country.

In this lesson, students will analyze poetry and art from the Harlem Renaissance. Students will discuss major themes of the Harlem Renaissance. Then, students will write their own poems reflecting these themes through the website StoryJumper.

In this lesson, students will watch a video on Miranda rights and the Bill of Rights.  Students will discuss rights they think should have been included in the Miranda.  Then students will rewrite the Miranda and create a presentation with VoiceThread.

In this lesson, students will work collaboratively to create a presentation showcasing the various geographic features around the world and use the appropriate academic vocabulary. Students will present their group slide to the class. Students will independently write a compare and contrast paragraph about two geographic features.

Students will use the United Nations Human Development Index database to research a country's standard of living. Students will use research to explain the factors resulting in that country's social and economic development. Specifically, students will research for the "ingredients" of economic growth - human capital, physical capital, labor productivity, technology, infrastructure, natural resources, political stability, etc. Then, students will prepare a one-page Google Doc report on the country.

After viewing various videos and images, the students will deepen their understanding of the desegregation movement and its continuing influence on today's society. The students will defend their opinions using an open-mic forum and will creatively demonstrate their understanding through writing poetry.

In this lesson, students will learn the purpose of a timeline and how to create one. Students will also be able to apply timeline skills to reading comprehension.

Students will choose a topic that they think should be a law.  As a class, they will re-enact the steps necessary to make a new law.

Students will create a commercial, song, poster or skit to inform others about what to do to prepare for a natural disaster.  Students will complete an online activity about disaster preparedness.

The Black Death affected every member of society in the Middle Ages. In this lesson, students will watch a video about The Black Death and read an excerpt from Sarah Himes' diary to be able to understand how The Black Death brought about political and economic changes in the late Middle Ages. Students will discover the true meaning behind the children's song "Ring Around the Rosy".  Finally, students will collaborate with a partner to compose their own song about the impact the Black Death had on either the family, the church, or the economy during the Middle Ages.  

This lesson will help students determine the causes and events leading to the American Revolutionary War.  Students will participate in a whole class "game" to understand taxes and the phrase "taxation without representation".  Then students will illustrate their views of the causes of the Revolutionary War using comic strips.

In this lesson, students investigate cardinal directions and the compass rose through video and a directions game. Then, students will draw and label a map of the classroom using cardinal directions.

In this lesson, students will describe causes of involvement of the United States in Wold War I by defining yellow journalism, and its effect on the United States becoming involved in a war with Spain over its territories in the Caribbean Sea and the Philippine Islands. By viewing primary source documents of newspaper articles from Alabama, the students will make judgments as to the effectiveness of the newspaper articles.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

AuthorInformation: Ronald Shephard (Cohort 2: 2010-2011)
Central High School Phenix City Schools Phenix City, AL

Students will use primary sources to gain a perspective of the living and working conditions in Birmingham in the late 1800s, especially as they relate to working in the iron industry. Students will explore the role of the iron industry with regard to the initial fast growth rate of Birmingham and how this growth was the result of location, transportation, and resources. 

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information: Kris White (Cohort 2: 2010-2011) Bear Exploration Center Elementary School Montgomery County School System Montgomery, AL

Students will use primary sources to compare and contrast the viewpoints of two notable persons (Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. Du Bois) of the early 1900s and identify the influence they had on the civil rights movement, especially the Jim Crow Laws.

This lesson was created as a part of the Alabama History Education Initiative, funded by a generous grant from the Malone Family Foundation in 2009.

Author Information: Tammy Brown (Cohort 1: 2009-2010)

Central Elementary School Madison County School System Huntsville, AL

Students will observe the changes of the sun over the course of a day and then over a 4 month period. Students will document these changes and then graph them. Finally, students will see the relationship between the patterns of the sun and the effect the pattern has on our daily lives. 

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

This lesson allows students to use the properties and characteristics of solids, liquids, and gases to determine how different variables affect states of matter.  Students predict what will happen and spend short amounts of time daily to observe and record data.  Students will graph their data into charts to see patterns and solve math problems. 

This lesson was created as a part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

In this inquiry-based lesson, students will describe the effects sunlight has on s'mores using a solar oven.  Teacher will construct a solar oven for students to observe.  Students will observe and describe what happens to the chocolate and marshmallow over time.   

The students will create a landform using modeling clay in a small group setting.  

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

How can we protect the Earths' surface from the sun's rays?  Students will learn the nature of the sun and observe its effects on the Earth's surface.  Students will engineer a covering to reduce exposure to the sun.

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

The purpose of the lesson is to identify suitable porous materials for the sidewalk. The students should test and evaluate the material that best reduces erosion caused during excessive rainfall.

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

"Storming The Earth" is a hands on, technology based, inquiry lesson that is designed to help students obtain information about weather events that happen over a short period of time. It will provide information via media about tornadoes and hurricanes. 

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

During this lesson, students will observe and record the various effects of different durations of light on plants. Students will additionally be able to understand the common misconception that constant light on plants will result in constant growth of the plant.

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

In this lesson, students will compare and contrast characteristics of living and nonliving things via pictures, class projects, videos, and whole-group discourse. Students will record their findings in Science journals.

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

This 7^th grade life science educational module is designed to provide a hands-on approach to learning how genetics determine the fate of a cell. This is an interactive "student-centered" module that utilizes technology, manipulatives, and hands-on activities to provide exceptional resources for teachers and a dynamic learning experience for students with various learning styles.

Specifically, the lesson focuses on understanding how Sickle Cell Anemia is an inherited genetic disorder, illustrates how the structure of the red blood cells affect blood flow, and explains how possible gene combinations can be passed from parents to offspring. This lesson serves as lesson 3 of a 3 lesson plan module.

This lesson was created under Tuskegee University Math and Science Partnership Grant (MSP), NSF Funded. 

Humans heavily rely on a wide variety of living and non-living things. This 7^th grade life science education module is designed to provide a unique approach to learning what is actually considered dead or alive, and how we interact differently with living and non-living things.  This lesson plan is designed with the “student in mind”, and our goal is to reach all the various learning styles.  It will meet the students where they are and assist them in understanding a new scientific concept. Alexandria Bufford-Tuskegee University, helped with the experiment write-up and testing. Gerald Griffin-Hope College, and De'Shayla Chappell, Adrinece Beard, Angela Player-Tuskegee University produced the "bacteria vs viruses" powerpoint. 

By growing organisms in a variety of environments, students will explore different materials that living things need to survive.  

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.

This is a 4th grade science lesson that requires students to investigate the capacity of different soils to retain water and to categorize the types of plants that will grow in different compositions of soil through the use of inquiry, technology, and reading skills. 

This lesson was created as part of the 2016 NASA STEM Standards of Practice Project, a collaboration between the Alabama State Department of Education and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.