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Australia

Learn more about the history, cultures, and geography of the “land down under” with this sampling of great educational resources found on LEARN NC.

Format: bibliography/help

Asian, African, or Australian inventors & inventions

The lesson integrates both Social Studies and Language Arts in a research and a creative writing component. The student will further understand inventors or inventions from Asia, Africa, and Australia, the focused continents in the 7th grade Social Studies curriculum, as well as have the opportunity to develop his/her writing, reading, and oral communication skills. The project also incorporates mathematics with an emphasis on percentages and graphing.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7 English Language Arts, Information Skills, Mathematics, and Social Studies)

By Jeff Rachlin and Melissa Reid.

YMI Cultural Center

This cultural center was created to preserve the visual and performing arts heritages of African-Americans and other minorities. The Center has an art gallery with over 100 works of art from renowned artists such as Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden, John Biggers. It also offers art classes to all age groups.

Format: article/field trip opportunity

Steamboats

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 7.1

Article about the early development of steamboats and their introduction on North Carolina's inland waterways. Includes an explanation of how steamboats work.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Southern women and the bicycle

In North Carolina in the New South, page 5.3

Editorial from the Charlotte Observer, 1895, on whether women in North Carolina were "ready" for bicycles. Includes historical commentary.

Format: newspaper

Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.

Asia

Learn about the history, cultures, and geography of the nations and peoples of Asia from this sampling of great educational resources that can be found on LEARN NC.

Format: bibliography/help

Eli Whitney and the cotton gin

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 2.5

In 1794, inventor Eli Whitney patented his cotton gin, a machine for removing seeds from cotton. The invention made cotton production -- and with it, slave labor -- far more profitable, and it helped to cement the South's status as an agricultural region and a slave society.

Format: article

Beginning biography research

Encyclopedia research skills will be taught using biographies of famous people. This is one lesson in a collaborative unit taught by both the classroom teacher and library media coordinator

Format: lesson plan (grade 2–3 English Language Arts and Information Skills)

By Joan Milliken.

Simplicity: A literature-based Paideia seminar

Students will apply their knowledge of how developments in the history of the United States, as well as the world, can impact the lives of people today. The lesson is based on the picture book entitled The Simple People, written by Tedd Arnold and illustrated by Andrew Shachat. (Summary: The simple people enjoy the simple life until one of the character's inventions is used to make life more complicated. As a result, everyone forgets the simple things in life.) After a Paideia seminar discussing the book, students will select a modern invention, research the history of its development and how it impacts society, and create a multi-media presentation.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

By Krista Hannah.

Technological artifacts and the evolution of the student desk

In CareerStart lessons: Grade eight, page 5.2

In this lesson, students discuss a variety of definitions for the word technology and the relationships between technology, science, and society.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Science)

By Tammy Johnson and Martha Tedrow.

Remembering the Revolution

An analysis of the painting The Apotheosis of Washington in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, and a discussion of how it reflected the values of Americans on the eve of the Civil War.

Format: article

Turning the century

Students will create a museum display illustrating life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

By Lisa Stamey.

Women's history

LEARN NC has selected several resources from our collections to help your students learn about women's history. Find lesson plans, websites, and articles to help your students learn about the achievements and experiences of women.

Format: bibliography/help

Beyond Black History Month

Go beyond approaches that marginalize African American history by "shifting the lens" to look at events from new perspectives.

By Kathryn Walbert.

The Constitution of the United States

In Revolutionary North Carolina, page 6.4

An original print copy of the Constitution, 1787. Page 2 of 2 of the original printed Constitution. We...

Format: constitution

Among the Tuscarora: The strange and mysterious death of John Lawson, gentleman, explorer, and writer

They've taken his clothes, picked the straight razor out of his pocket: one brave fingers it, touches the blade — bright blood springs from his thumb and he laughs. The pitch pine split by the women is ready, a clay pot full...

Format: article

By Marjorie Hudson.

Resources on the web

US history: Inventors & entrepreneurs

Students will learn the difference between inventors and entrepreneurs. From talking with adults they will learn some of the benefits inventors and entrepreneurs have provided for society in the last 40 years. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Social Studies)

Provided by: EconEdLink

Zoom Inventors and Inventions

Short informative entries on inventors and inventions listed alphabetically, by category, and by country (in some cases). The headings include African American and Women Inventors. The site also contains ideas for crafts, books for printing and coloring or... (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Enchanted Learning

Invention Dimension

An exciting collection of materials about anything and everything you want to know about inventors and inventing. Find inventors, an inventing handbook, games, trivia, and more. (Learn more)

Format: website/activity

Provided by: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Great American inventors: Using nonfiction to learn about technology inventions

Students read, gather, and present information about famous American inventors including Alexander Graham Bell, George Washington Carver, and Stephanie Kwolek in this lesson. After the teacher introduces three famous inventors, students work in groups to... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink