Curated OER
Brainstorming Research Questions
Students examine and participate in an inquiry process. They brainstorm recall, comprehension, and synthesis questions for a research topic, and write the questions on sentence strips.
Curated OER
Pablita Velarde Interview
Have your kiddos work together to discuss different types of interviews. As learners brainstorm different kinds of interviews, record them in a web! This is a great introduction to conducting interviews.
Curated OER
Guest Speaker Preparation: A Cooperative Lesson
Are you planning to have a guest speaker talk to your class? Prepare in advance and help your class transform into an engaged and thoughtful audience. Before the visit, young writers work cooperatively to brainstorm what they want to...
Curated OER
I'm Thumbody!
Fourth graders write positive statements about themselves. They brainstorm ideas of what a positive thinker looks like and sounds like. Students compare and contrast positive and negative thinking. They complete a worksheet. Students...
Curated OER
What About Fighting?
What are the positive and negative consequences of violence? Elementary and middle schoolers discuss how some see violence as the answer to resolving conflicts. They identify the positive and negative aspects to using violence, and ask...
Curated OER
Who Is the Best Person for the Job?
Fourth graders work in groups of four, they are the managers of a new company, needing to hire employees. They brainstorm what they believe is important information to know about a future employee and share their list with the class....
Curated OER
What's So Bad or Good About Conflict?
Learners of all ages discuss how conflict can be negative and positive. First, they create a class bulletin board about conflict, and provide their thoughts and connotations surrounding the word. In a class discussion, they ask questions...
Curated OER
Painter of the Caves
What a great lesson! Learners read a story called Painters of the Caves by Patricia Lauber which discusses Stone Age wall paintings in Avignon, France. There is a series of discussion questions, comprehension questions, and a graphic...
Curated OER
Presidents
Fifth graders choose a particular president to research. They define the task of the project, brainstorm questions, list and evaluate possible sources to answer their questions.
Teachers.net
How to Write a Movie Review from a Pet's Perspective
When would two paws up denote a blockbuster film in your classroom? Only when young writers create movie reviews from a pet's perspective in this imaginative expository writing practice. This engaging topic begins with a class discussion...
Safe Drinking Water Foundation
Water Pollution
An introductory lesson to a unit on water pollution, young environmentalists are asked to brainstorm examples of pollutants in water. This lesson will help develop a sense of what water pollution is and where the pollutants come from.
Curated OER
Editorial Cartoons
Do your classes love reading and drawing cartoons? Middle schoolers read an editorial cartoon from a newspaper. They discuss the cartoonist's topic, audience, and purpose. Next, they brainstorm questions they have about the cartoon and...
Curated OER
Two Beets Or Not Two Beets—What Is Your Question?
Students use the scientific method to test an idea regarding the structures of a plant as it supports the biological evidence for life. In this growing roots lesson plan, students use organizing sheets to record their findings. Students...
University of Minnesota
Chemotaxis Using C. elegans
Have you ever wondered what roundworms are like? Or what they don't like? Explore the sensory preferences of C. elegans through this controlled chemotaxis experiment. Biology class members brainstorm what substances might attract—or...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Wrinkle in Time: The Board Game
Tackle some big questions about A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle with a board game project. As learners brainstorm for and complete their board games, they consider what helps and hinders Meg on her journey and why she succeeds in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Scholastic
Lesson 2: Values and Barriers
Scholars investigate and discuss the importance of values and how they can be used to break barriers. Small groups work collaboratively to examine the text and draw inferences to answer questions. A writing assignment challenges pupils...
Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation
Interview a Family or Community Member: Taking Oral Histories
Young scholars gain insight into how historians record events by engaging in an oral history project. In preparation, class members brainstorm open-ended interview questions and take part in and debrief a mock interview simulation....
BioEd Online
Skeletal Structures
What better way to study the structures of organisms than by creating a new being? After considering different types of skeletal supports (exoskeleton and endoskeleton), budding biogeneticists work together to create their own animals -...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Are Bullying and Harassment? Part 2
After reviewing notes from the previous lessons, small groups obtain a scenario card that describes a situation in which bullying is happening. Peers discuss the event and brainstorm two solutions using the STAR method then present their...
Curated OER
Election Vocabulary Brainstorm
Learners participate in numerous activities pertaining to elections. They study election vocabulary and generate questions about campaigns and elections. They paraphrase articles and generate a class vocabulary list.
Curated OER
Brainstorming and Creating a Graphic Organizer Using Kidspiration
Although focused on the winter ecology at Crater Lake, this lesson could be tweaked to use as a exploration of any region. After a visit to Crater Lake, learners discuss topics relating to winter in this area, such as the behavior of...
Curated OER
Bringing Household Items to Life
Use folk tales as inspiration for learning about and using personification in creative writing. Learners brainstorm together in order to practice personification before writing their own poems or paragraphs about a household object.
Scholastic
Smart Quotes Mini-Lesson
Prepare for an interview project with a set of worksheets about asking questions and quoting people. After completing a grammar exercise about quotation marks, kids write out the questions they want to ask their interviewee, and record...