Educational Resources: People and Society

This collection of lessons and web resources is aimed at classroom teachers, their students and students' families. 

Lessons and activities

Utah Education Network

For educators (grades K–12)

This page includes lesson plans in a variety of subjects, including social studies and world languages.

I Like That!

For educators (grads 5–9)

This free, easy-to-use lesson covers how perception, emotion and cognition shape our choices.

Brought to you by the NSF-supported Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network, this site provides teaching materials and other resources in English and Spanish on topics relating to climate and energy, including food systems, human health and community resilience.

Whyville 

For students (grades 2–10) 

Whyville is an online virtual world where kids play games, solve puzzles and engage in various activities. They can also run businesses and collaborate while being part of a safe and monitored environment.

Videos

What is Linguistics?

John Rickford, professor of linguistics and the humanities at Stanford University, answers this question on this edition of NSF's "Ask a Scientist."

What is the Relationship Between Gesture, Language and Learning in Infants?

Makeba Wilbourn, associate professor of the practice of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, answers this question on this edition of NSF's "Ask a Scientist."

The Tragedy of the Commons (part 1 and part 2)

This two-part animated video covers what happens when many people seek to share the same, limited resource: a problem known as the "tragedy of the commons."

Explore more NSF videos

Images

A tooth fragment recovered from an archaeological site in Haiti

A tooth fragment from a domesticated horse is weighed and measured. This fragment was recovered from an archaeological site in Haiti known as Puerto Real. It could shed light on the exploration patterns of Spanish colonists and a link between their horses and the feral horses on the island of Assateague.

Credit: Jeff Gage/FLMNH

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A ceramic stamp used to impress designs on paper or clothing

This ceramic stamp would have been used by the ancient inhabitants of the Mayan port site Vista Alegre to impress designs on paper or articles of clothing.

Credit: Photo courtesy of the Proyecto Costa Escondida

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