Curated OER
Learning about gravity
Learn how to measure weight with newtons in a science experiment about gravity. After they read a short paragraph about force, fifth graders draw an arrow to indicate which way a spring is being pulled. Next, they survey their family...
Curated OER
My Shadow and Me
Practice making shadows with a kindergarten science experiment. After deciding which picture would represent the biggest shadow, kids use a flashlight to experiment with their own shadows. For extra fun, have kids mark their shadows...
Curated OER
Night Here, Day There
Explore astronomy with a lab sheet for fifth grade scientists. After reading a short explanation about the earth's rotation, they solve a word problem about the differences in times across the world. Next, they make a model of the solar...
Curated OER
What Does the Public Know About You? --Does it Matter?
Young people today have to be very careful with how they present themselves online. Show them the possible impact of their online activity and what employers might see when performing a basic search. The lesson provides a video clip...
Illustrative Mathematics
Ordering Fractions
Here is a comparing and ordering fractions learning activity that extends young mathematicians understanding of fractions with like and non-like denominators. By representing and explaining each fraction in a picture or diagram, students...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Puppet Scenes
Explore character, plot, and setting through dramatic puppet play. Second graders discuss basic story elements and then practice making a character with their sock puppets. After they've crafted a dynamic puppet, they pair up to create a...
Mr Gym
Clean House
Here is a game that can be played by any age level. Just make some small modifications appropriate for your grade level. The premise of the game is to have the fewest balls on your side when the whistle blows to end the game. So given...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
A Case Study Involving Influenza and the Influenza Vaccine
Using a hypothetical discussion between two coworkers broken up into four parts, budding biologists examine the flu shot and some of the typical arguments for and against it. The conversational nature of the reading makes it engaging and...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1
Focus on writing argument essays with your high schoolers. The lesson suggested here focuses on The Jungle, by Sinclair Lewis; however, the idea could be adapted for other texts. Check out the quick quiz provided at the end of the...
Mr Gym
Speedball
This is not your typical soccer activity. The basic rules of soccer are used with some flag football adaptations thrown in. When the ball is on the ground, play by the standard soccer rules, but when the ball goes into the air, a player...
Polar Trec
Mini-Ocean Bathymetric Mapping Research Cruise
Middle or high schoolers transform into oceanographers in a week-long simulation. To begin, each group follows directions to create a model of the ocean floor with specified features. Next, the groups prepare to set sail on a research...
Penguin Books
White Fang Teacher's Notes
If you're looking for a way to structure your unit on Jack London's White Fang, use a well-organized guide to bring the intrigue of the novel to your middle school classroom. Covering a biography of the author, main background and...
Cooking Matters
Cooking Matters: For Chefs and Kids
Get your scholars cooking with a collection of activities that pairs the class to a community chef, promotes healthy snacking and drinking, and explores fruits and vegetables. Lower elementary learners create vegetable super heroes,...
Achieve
Task: Storage Sheds
Bridge the gap between mathematics and Career Technical Education. Pupils research the cost associated with building storage sheds and analyze possible profit. They build scale models and determine if building and selling the sheds is a...
Achieve
Ground Beef
Ever wonder how a butcher creates the different types of ground beef? Young mathematicians explore the methods butchers use to create their desired ground beef quality. Given a combination of two types of meat with varying leanness,...
Turabian Teacher Collaborative
Parts of Argument III: The Claim Game
Throw down with a fun language arts game! Armed with a hand of writing-themed cards, learners craft arguments based on the strategies written on the cards, dropping cards as they discuss their claims further until there are no strategies...
Indian Institute of Technology
Could King Kong Exist?
The title says it all: Could King Kong exist? Investigate how increasing the dimensions of an object affects its surface area and volume to mathematically conclude whether a creature with the weight and height of King Kong could actually...
Inside Mathematics
Swimming Pool
Swimming is more fun with quantities. The short assessment task encompasses finding the volume of a trapezoidal prism using an understanding of quantities. Individuals make a connection to the rate of which the pool is filled with a...
Inside Mathematics
Aaron's Designs
Working with transformations allows the class to take a turn for the better. The short assessment has class members perform transformations on the coordinate plane. The translations, reflections, and rotations create pattern designs on...
Virginia Department of Education
Angles, Arcs, and Segments in Circles
Investigate relationships between angles, arcs, and segments in circles. Pupils use geometry software to discover the relationships between angles, arcs, and segments associated with circles. Class members use similar triangles to...
Administrative Office of the US Courts
Elonis v. U.S.
With the explosion of social media sites, with online threats and cyber bullying, issues of freedom of speech have taken on a whole new aspect. Elonis v. U.S. represents the first time the Supreme Court has considered whether or not...
Stanford University
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X: A Common Solution?
Much has been made of the differences between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. But was there any common ground between them? Class members reconsider what they think they know about these two civil rights leaders with biographical...
Colorado State University
Can You Drink Through a 30 Foot Straw?
Drinking straws are a pretty simple device ... or, are they? Explore the possibility of sipping a beverage 30 feet away with an engaging activity that's sure to keep pupils guessing. Just place a long piece of plastic tubing in a glass,...
Nuffield Foundation
Investigating How We See Colour
Can you eyes be fooled into seeing colors that aren't actually there? Budding scientists view a presentation that addresses this topic. They explore how their eyes interpret color through the retinas and messages sent to the brain. They...