Did you know that the salute dates back to the time when knights would lift their visors to show who they were? Did you know that the carousel was originally a training tool for those hoping to become knights or that people actually placed live birds in a pie(Sing a Song of Sixpence)?This unit includes notes, lots of activities and resources on the Middle Ages!

Learn about the history of New Year’s with this fun/informative web quest. There are nine questions, lots of interesting customs of how people celebrate New Year’s around the world, comprehension questions, extension activities and the key. Great activity for reading for information and research/computer skills. Included are also other holiday New Year’s celebrations including Diwali, Chinese New Year, Songkran and Rosh Hashanah. The resources also mentions how April Fool’s Day originated over when to celebrate New Year’s!

Constitution Day is September 17th each year(except for 2017) when the day falls on a Sunday and will be celebrated on September 18th. This play would be a great addition to your lessons about the U.S. Constitution. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografe series of plays, this Reader’s Theater Script is on the “Father of the Constitution”, James Madson(1751-1836), and his sharing with students the history of the writing of the Constitution. Madison who would become the 4th President of the United States(1809-1817)), played a very important role in the forming of our US Constitution. In addition to being a delegate, he introduced the first additions to the Constitution(amendments) which came to be known as the Bill of Rights. With 13 audience questioners, a Did You Know Section, comprehension questions, a Teacher Page with extension activities, key and additional links, students will learn about the writing of our important government document, the Constitution. Other plays in the Ms. Bie Ografee’s Talk Show Series: Dr. Seuss, Charles Dickens, Johnny Appleseed, Albert, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Bessie Coleman Sacagawea, George Washington Carver, Thomas Edison, Martin Luther King, Sequoia, Michelangelo, DaVinci, Tuskegee Airmen, Susan B. Anthony, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, an interview with a groundhog, an interview with a leprechaun, an interview with Simon, victim of the Black Death, An Interview with Agent 355, a female agent in the Culper Spy Ring(Revolutionary War), Interview with a 49er from the California Gold Rush , Albert Einstein, Rachel Carson, Katherine Johnson and more.

With this biographical reading passage, students will learn about the Socrates, the famous Philosopher of Ancient Greece. Nicknamed the “Great Questioner”, this reading introduces students to Socrates. There is also a Did You Know? section, comprehension questions and a teacher page with extensions and links. This resource is part of my new series, “Let’s Meet…” famous people in ancient history. More titles are being added later in the week. Currently, I also have reading passages for Hatshepsut, Ramses the Great and Hammurabi.

Did someone say pumpkin pie? Learn about the pumpkin with this 9 web question web quest. There are several comprehension questions and lots of extension activities. Great for a fall activity. Updated for 2023.

Use this reading(close exercise where students slot the term in the blanks) for students to learn about the National Road(also called the Cumberland Road or the National Pike Road). There are several comprehension questions and fun facts. Additionally, there are lots of extension activities especially writing in the content area. I have also included several links for teachers. And, I have developed a board game for students to play about what it was like being a pioneer traveling the National Road. The Close reading and review would be one period. If you do some of the extension activities including the Traveling Along the National Road game, the resource could take a couple of days.

American Revolution/ Revolutionary War: Studying the 13 Colonies/Colonial Times? This resource would work great for such a unit of study. Part of my Ms. Bie Ografee’s Reader’s Theater Scripts, I really had fun developing this play about the Culper Spy Ring and specifically, Agent 355, one of the female member of the organization! During the Revolutionary War, the Culper Spy Ring was organized to work to defeat the British. Agent 355 and other members of the spy organization were very important in the colonists being victorious in the War for Independence from England. Although Agent 355’s real name remains a mystery, she was one of the women spies who showed that patriotism has no gender! Secret codes, invisible ink, LAUNDRY used to communicate messages, what spies did during the Revolutionary war, lots of information is weaved into Agent 355 being a guest on Ms. Bie Ografee’s Talk Show with the studio audience asking her questions. Great for study on the Revolutionary War, during Women’s History Month or any time you are looking for a fun/informative play to use with your students! Lots of extension activities, links, a Did You Know Fact section, comprehension questions and the key are also included. George Washington asked for the spy ring to be organized and interestingly, it’s secret group was only discovered in the 1930s, about 140 years after the American Revolutionary War by historians reviewing some of George Washington’s private papers. During the American Revolution, Tories supported the British in the war. Loyalists, the King’s Friends and Royalists were other names for those that took sides with the British. Students will learn about what it was like to be a Tory during the American Revolutionary War. Joshua Crabtree(fictitious character) is a guest on Ms. Bie Ografee’s Talk Show. The format of the Reader’s Theater Script is that a studio audience asks questions of Ms. Bie Ografee’s guest to learn what it was like to support the British and not the Patriots during the American Revolution. There are 10 questioners, A Did You Know? section, comprehension questions and a Teacher Page with extension activities and the key. American Revolutionary War: A Visit with a Tory!

Are you a bibliophile(someone that loves books)?The Library of Congress, called our Nation’s Library has over 33 million books. There are also over 12.5 million photographs and 6 million pieces of sheet music! Learn more about the Nation’s Library with this fun and informative webquest.

Learn about the Mayflower and the Pilgrims with this informative web quest!There are ten informative text web quests,extension activities,fun facts.

Overview of different Native American tribes,famous Native Americans in history, and contributions of Native Americans in arts, government, language and more!The Trail of Tears, shelters, contributions(i.e: hockey, lacrosse, ideas in government, words in English), Sacagawea, Sequoyah, Jim Thorpe, Sitting Bull, Squanto, Native American Heritage Month, the importance of the buffalo, and more.Great for activity with unit on Native Americans or for November’s Native American Heritage Month.

Kids love mummies. Great for Halloween time(or for a unit of study on ancient Egypt) Learn all about mummies of the world. Included: Bog Mummies, Otzi, Chinchorro Mummies, Taklamakan Desert Mummies, Egyptian Mummies and more. 12 informative text questions/comprehension questions/extension activities, key, fun facts.

Country in Focus: Switzerland! Did you know that the first chocolate bar was made in Switzerland? Learn more about this mountainous country with this informative webquest on Switzerland! Lots of extension activities, too. Other resources in my Countries in Focus: Studying China. This web quest would be a positive addition to a unit of study! Want to introduce your students to the country of China during Chinese New Year? This web quest gives students an overview to the country including map skill questions, learning about the panda bears, the Great Wall of China, The Terra Cotta Solders and lots more. Extension activities and links as well as the key are also included. The 12 page resource has 10 informational web questions.China, Country in Focus, A Webquest Russia: This webquest of 10 questions will enable young people to learn lots of information on the country of Russia! Extension activities, resources, fun facts,key. Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. Russia, Country in Focus, A Webquest Australia: Want to introduce your students to different countries of the world? My Country in Focus series, highlights a country with a web quest, some fun facts and some extension activities. There is also a mapskill activity. Try Australia. I also have a Country in Focus on Switzerland,India and Iceland. It would be a great one day activity for before a vacation, for an enrichment activity or for a substitute. Iceland. Want to introduce your students to different countries of the world? My Country in Focus series, highlights a country with a web quest, some fun facts and some extension activities. The first in the series is Iceland. It would be a great one day activity for before a vacation or for an enrichment activity. Iceland, Country in Focus, A Webquest India:Country in Focus,is a web quest, with additional fun facts and extension activities. Did you know that it was ancient India which gave the world the idea of the zero? The game Chutes and Ladders comes from an Indian board game. More people speak English in India than in the United States? Skills include:reading for information and using research/computer skills. India, Country in Focus-A Webquest Greece: Use this informative web quest as an introduction to the country of Greece. Greece, A Country in Focus-A Webquest Brazil: Learn about the country of Brazil with this informational web quest. There is also a map skill activity and fun facts. Additionally, there is a teacher page with extension activities and additional links. Although the map skill/webquest can be completed in one session, if you opt to do the extension activity, additional days could be used.

Use this free resource during your discussions of the famous games which began in ancient Greece or during a unit of study on the Ancient Greeks. The 2024 Summer Games will be held in Paris, France. PLEASE CONSIDER FOLLOWING MY TES STORE. Thank you! Check out my other resources: Learn about the History of the Famous Games of Ancient Greece with this fun/informative webquest: History of the Ancient Games of Ancient Greece Learn about the country of China, host country for the 2022 Winter Games. Learn about the country of Greece, where the famous games originated with this webquest. There are also comprehension questions and extension activities:Learn about the country of Greece!

Use this informative Reader’s Theater Script to learn about the Black Death, a disease that killed almost 1/2 the population of Europe(1347-1351). The fun/informative play uses the format of Simon, a victim of the Black Death being a guest on Ms. Bie Ografee’s talk show. A studio audience asks questions about his experiences during the time(the medical beliefs,cause, the effects the Black Death had on Europe, etc.Great for study on the Middle Ages or science unit on bacteria/contagious diseases.

NOTE: April Fools’ Day and April Fool’s Day are both used but sources say April Fools’ Day is more correct to use. Great Activity to Introduce students to REAL vs. FAKE News Identification! Want to introduce your students to the history of April Fools’ Day? This resource provides a reading for students as well as lots of interesting famous April Fools’ Day pranks such as this one that happened in Switzerland in 1957.A news show aired a video on a spaghetti harvest in the country of Switzerland. People were pulling strands of spaghetti dangling down from trees. People actually called the news show asking how they could purchase a spaghetti tree! Additionally, there are extension activities as well as a Test your April Fools’ Day IQ(can you spot the True News Stories from the Fake ones?). There are also comprehension questions for the students to answer after reviewing the resource.One class period for Grades 4 and up. This Resource Goes well with April Fool’s Day: Check out my Resource on Digital Critical Thinking(Is that FAKE News?) Is That FAKE New?

There is a Black History Month, Native Americans Heritage Month, a Hispanic American Month and a Woman’s History Month. Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month is a time to highlight the contributions of these groups of people to the culture of the United States. It is celebrated in the month of May but could be used throughout a school year whenever you are wishing to highlight contributions of famous people to our world. Other resources of Interest: Native Americans Heritage Month:Webquest Black History Month:(Webquest) Hispanic Heritage Month: A Webquest Women’s History Month: