NASA
Lights on the International Space Station
Groups explore illumination with NASA's Lighting Environment Test Facility (LETF) as a context. Using the TI-Nspire app, groups determine the lux equation that models their simulation. They then use the lux equation to solve problems...
Curated OER
Illuminating Climate Change: Connecting Lighting and Global Warming
Learners analyze energy usage and connect energy usage to fossil fuel consumption. In this global warming and pollution lesson, students what fuels are used to generate electricity and how much CO2 each fuel produces, then graph the...
Exploratorium
Whirling Watcher
Pupils put together their own stroboscopes so that they can observe how cyclically moving images appear to merge into a singular object. This, and several other activities published by the same source, illuminate the way the brain...
Curated OER
Sonnet Illumination
Students create presentations of digital sonnet illuminations along with sonnet research. In this Sonnet lesson, students view images, colors, and listen to sounds of their own choice to illuminate Shakespeare through a connection with...
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
The Game of SKUNK
Do I stand or do I sit? The class plays a dice game where they must decide to either continue to stand and play or sit down and keep their points. After the game, groups discuss individuals' strategies and see connections to the...
Exploratorium
Soda Can Mirrors
Here is an entertaining and illuminating lesson on morphed images. Middle schoolers make cylindrical mirrors by wrapping soda cans in reflective mylar. First, they try to determine what the images are that are embedded in the plan by...
Space Awareness
Climate Zones
The climate at the equator is hotter than the climate at the poles, but why? The lesson goes in depth, explaining how the angles of illumination relate to the heating rate at different latitudes and seasons. Scholars use a strong lamp,...
ISTE
Let's Count to 10
Learners form groups of zero to 10 objects. They connect number names to groups, compose and decompose numbers, and use numerals to record the size of a group. The comprehensive, eight-component mini unit addresses the needs of visual,...
Curated OER
The Coastal Ocean: Estuaries and Continental Shelves
Amazing high-quality satellite imagery, photos, informational graphs, and detailed diagrams comprise this presentation on the movement of estuaries and the continental shelf. Data used as an example is from The Chesapeake Bay and because...
Macmillan Education
A Wrinkle in Time Discussion and Activity Guide
As you work through Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, try out some or all of the 20 questions and activities included here. Useful for discussion questions, group assignments, or individual projects, this resource covers plot as...
Code.org
Encoding Numbers in the Real World
Ah, the numerous number of numbers. Individuals research different ways of encoding numbers. After conducting their initial research, they find classmates who have researched a different article and the pair share information. The...
Curated OER
Making Connections: I Know Why Caged Birds Sing
Young scholars discuss equality and fairness by reading a Maya Angelo poem. In this U.S. history lesson, students read the poem I Know Why Caged Birds Sing, and discuss how the era it was written in affected the words. Young scholars...
Curated OER
Combating Corrosion
Study corrosion on bronze statues with a hands-on lesson. As pupils place a penny in water with salt, they observe the changes in the penny throughout a period of a week. They then analyze the pre-conservation and the post-conservation...
Curated OER
"I Banish You": Using Visual and Auditory Imagery to Connect with Speech
High schoolers analyze a monologue by Coriolanus in Shakespeare's play of the same name. In this literature lesson plan, students discuss and define betrayal and the events surrounding Coriolanus' banishment from Rome.
Curated OER
Making Connections
Seventh graders relate patterns with higher math. In this 7th grade math instructional activity, 7th graders analyze different methods of portraying data. They relate the data to real life scenarios.
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Biopoem
As part of their reading of The Hobbit, readers create a biopoem for one of Tolkien's characters.
Curated OER
How Did the Other Half Live?
Students study the conditions under which immigrants lived. They determine what it means to make it in America. They observe the connection between immigration and unionization and how immigration changed the City of New York. They...
Curated OER
Teaching the Novel in Context
Students write a context paper. In this teaching the novel in context lesson, students view a primary sources to recreate the cultural and historical context of the novel. Students make the connection between the literary text and...
Curated OER
Shoot for the Moon
Second graders distinguish the different phases of the moon. In this astronomy activity, 2nd graders study the history of its discovery and myths about its origin. They simulate how the moon's surface is illuminated by the sun.
Curated OER
Lunar Lollipops
Demonstrate the lunar cycle to youngsters using flashlights and lollipops. The procedure is somewhat vague, so it will need to be modeled for them before turning them loose to try it. The questions that follow the activity are not...
College Board
Engaging the Intuition in Statistics to Motivate
Motivation is key to learning. The author points out that it is important to engage intuition for aspects of statistics that pupils find counter-intuitive. Three strategies—using multiple representations, using intuitive analogies, and...
ARKive
Opposable Thumbs
How do opposable thumbs help you complete certain tasks? An activity about evolutionary traits prompts learners to try writing their name, twist the lid off of a jar, and use tweezers to pick up a straw, first with their normal grip, and...
Virginia Department of Education
Organizing Topic: Probability
The probability is high learning will occur! A well-designed unit introduces learners to the concepts of independent, dependent, and mutually exclusive events. Using Venn diagrams, the lessons ask learners to analyze many different...
Curated OER
Let There Be Light
Fifth graders explore electricity. In this electricity lesson, 5th graders experiment with open and closed circuits. Students determine how to properly connect a battery and bulb to illuminate the bulb.