Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Making of a Monster
Over the course of a week, the class will study how monsters are portrayed throughout literature. But why? Monsters in science fiction or horror often depict the darker side of human nature; they are described for their horrific physical...
Owl Teacher
Teach Ancient Rome!
Teaching the class about Ancient Rome can be fun for you and for them! Check out this incredible resource that has everything you need to bring ancient Roman civilization back to life. Begin by scrolling to the bottom of the page and...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Extend-sive Thinking
Can knowing about things of the past help predict the types of things seen in the future? Advanced learners consider the idea that things extend. In other words, concrete things like bridges and intangible things like ideas extend from...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Playing the Float
Got a rainy day and need a few fabulous activities to foster creative thinking skills? The class works to understand the three types of human power; direct, indirect, and stored. They do this by first creating a parade float like the...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Digging for Clues
Make critical and creative thinkers out of your class, with an archeology-based project they'll love. They start the activity by first researching what archeologists do, then they generate a list of the qualities archeologists need to be...
Creative Competitions, Inc.
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Fantastic Fairy Tale
Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...
California Academy of Science
Colorful Fish Adaptations
I love lessons that incorporate the arts, they're so engaging and address a more diverse set of learners. Your class will investigate the reasons fish from the coal reef have adapted such colorful fins. They design a fish that uses color...
Perkins School for the Blind
Timeline for Anne
It is key to the learning process to make everything a child with visual impairments does as tactile as possible. After reading Anne of Green Gables, the class discusses her life events in order to make a tactile time line. They choose...
Perkins School for the Blind
Tactile quilts that tell a story
Learners with multiple disabilities need to engage in projects that push them to know their full potential. They need to be able to express themselves in a variety of ways, and this very thoughtful lesson does just that. They make a...
Bekshire Museum
Cloudy Skies: The Art of Classification
Such a great resource and perfect for learners in Kindergarten through third grade. The class will discuss cloud types and formation, and then they'll get outside and draw as they observe the clouds they see. They'll need to take note of...
Denver Art Museum
Enticing Travel Brochure
Elementary schoolers examine Albert Bierstadt's Wind River Country, and examine the manner in which he created his paintings. The terrific plan has an outstanding version of the painting embedded in it for viewing. Learners look at how...
Teach Engineering
Solar Power
Elementary schoolers discover how engineers use solar energy to heat buildings. They take a close look at some of the materials used: sand, salt, water, and shredded paper and evaluate the efficiency of each material. An incredible...
Teach Engineering
You've Got to See it to Believe It!
Youngsters develop an understanding of how smog is produced, and how exhaust from automobiles is one of the major sources of smog. They explore the roles that engineers play in developing technologies that reduce smog, then work in teams...
Virginia Department of Education
Researching Information
Give your junior high researchers a clear concept of how to go about starting their research paper with the resources available in this exercise. Students develop an idea to research, and spend time in the library or computer lab...
Inter-American Magnet School
The Inca Projecta
Here is a wonderful idea, intended for learners in a collaborative multi-grade setting. While learners of different grades focus on different aspects of the same project, all their efforts culminate in a time tunnel, where they turn...
Denver Art Museum
Lesson: Act 1: Purple Bathrobes Attend and Opera
I really like this idea. Upper graders discover the connection between art and theatre by first analyzing the artists' choices and motivation in creating the installation piece, Four Purple Velvet Bathrobes. In groups, they write one-act...
Denver Art Museum
Lesson: Facebook for a Prince
In 1538 a portrait and a praise poem were created in honor of Edward, Prince of Wales. Your class will analyze the poem and painting, research the life of young Edward, then use the information to create a Facebook page. They will...
Curated OER
Identifying Lines of Symmetry and Creating Reflections over a Line
Fifth graders review the concept of a line of symmetry by using pieces of paper that have pictures such as, letters of the alphabet, polygons, and designs made from polygons in order to determine if they have symmetry. The fine, two-hour...
Curated OER
Secret Writing Devices
Elementary and middle schoolers explore the world of secret writing, otherwise known as cryptography. After an interesting introduction to the activity, learners utilize a decoder badge which uses the St. Cyr cipher - which is a cipher...
Teach Engineering
Racing With the Sun - Creating a Solar Car
Here's an exciting and innovative lesson that's sure to get your charges fired up! In it, they use engineering design principles to construct and test a fully solar powered car. One caveat: the kits that each group needs to make their...
NBC
Nutrition, Hydration, and Health
NFL football in science class? Yes, please! In an engaging and motivating three-day lesson, kids take a look at their own nutritional habits and needs compared to those of an NFL player, then experiment with the effects of hydration on...
NASA
Radiation Shielding on Spacecraft
Here is a terrific science lesson plan for your elementary schoolers. In it, learners analyze different materials to simulate space radiation shielding on spacecraft, then select the best material to use to build one. This is a classic...
NASA
Space Shuttle Glider
Your charges will enjoy putting together this model of the space shuttle and completing the three challenge activities described in the lesson. The worksheets embedded in the plan that pupils use to cut out their gliders are beautifully...