Curated OER
Saving Face
Young scholars research the allegations of unfair or illegal business practices of various corporations, then create media campaigns that seek to improve the companies' images.
Curated OER
Alarm as the Clock Ticks Toward 2000
Students explore how various people and businesses are reacting to the potential technological problems that may occur when the year 2000 arrives. They read and compare two related New York Times articles and share their own views of the...
Curated OER
Pitcher Perfect
Students consider how advertising messages are constructed and relayed. They invent fast-food businesses and create presentation posters outlining the first commercials to promote their new brands.
Curated OER
Bloody Business
Students research word frequencies in Macbeth and create a frozen picture inspired by a word. For this Macbeth lesson, students view Blood Will Have Blood and discuss the dual meaning of the word "blood." Students identify five major...
Curated OER
Teaching With the Power of Objects
Students define value of an object. In this value lesson plan, students identify reasons for collecting objects, compile a personal inventory of items they find valuable, and then define why those items are valuable to them. In step two...
Curated OER
"O Captain! My Captain!"
Who was Walt Whitman, and what link does he have to president Abraham Lincoln? After Lincoln's assassination, Whitman wrote "O Captain! My Captain!" This poem and "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" are the focus of exercises...
Curated OER
The Art of Advertising
Get your class thinking about advertising with this lesson plan. Over the course of 15 days, your class will discuss advertising techniques, study the concepts of pathos, logos, and ethos, and analyze the persuasive techniques of...
Curated OER
Synonyms and Antonyms
Mix up your writing lessons by having kids look at recent newspaper articles instead of their own work. They work in pairs and rewrite sports news articles using synonyms and antonyms for a set number of words. Then they share their work...
Curated OER
The Persuaders
Have your upper graders watch the documentary, "The Persuaders" as they explore how advertisers try to gain potential customers. The video is followed by a discussion and close examination of new marketing trends and strategies.
Curated OER
Are You Listening?
To underscore the importance of practicing good listening skills class members engage in a series of activities that model poor listening skills. In pairs and then as a whole group, class members enact different, more positive techniques...
Curated OER
The Game of Persuasion
Students study vocabulary words and explore persuasive speaking. In groups, they support a given argument and generate ideas for a a persuasive speech. They discuss powerful words and strategies for persuasion. Students write a...
Curated OER
Lesson Mystery: The Game is Afoot
Students enter and experience the world of Sherlock Holmes and hard-boiled detectives in this unit on mysteries. They review and analyze the ""Whodunit Requirements" and the "Mystery Contract" that accompany this instructional activity....
Curated OER
The Pumpkin Patch - A Venture in Agritourism
After reading an article about how agritourism is helping boost the financial stability of local farms, middle schoolers answer comprehension questions. This is a case-study of Canadian pumpkin producers. It could be useful as a...
Curated OER
I'm The Taxman!
Young scholars develop an understanding of how federal revenues are gained by taxes. This foundation enable students to decipher changes in federal tax policy. Groups of young scholars study different types of taxes and prepare...
NPR
Distracted by Everything - Being Wired at All Times
This multimedia activity challenges media-savvy learners to look at the critical issue concerning the inundation of technology and multitasking in the classroom, and its effects on the education of themselves and others. The tasks...
Curated OER
Twisted Tales
Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select another...
Curated OER
Greed is Good?
From Mr. Merdle to Mr. Madoff? A viewing of the PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” launches an examination of greedy characters in literature and a study of greed, unfairness, and economic hardship today. The richly...
Curated OER
Pizza Farm Activities
Students identify the food groups and agricultural sources of pizza ingredients. They construct a construction paper pizza, identify the crops grown for pizza ingredients, and make and eat English muffin pizzas.
Curated OER
Entrepreneurs
Students explore becoming entrepreneurs. In this career exploration lesson, students work in small groups to begin a new business that they will "build" from scratch as they learn what it takes to create a successful business by using...
Curated OER
Risky Business
Students distinguish the attitudes of other students their age regarding whether or not they are concerned with contracting HIV and why they might have these attitudes.
Curated OER
Serving Up Reality
Students consider the factors that go into running a restaurant and examine how the restaurant industry impacts the economy of the United States. They create skeleton proposals for new restaurants and consider the costs of this type of...
Curated OER
Could You Elaborate on That?
Fourth graders engage in a lesson which teaches the parts of an expository essay and how to organize and write an expository piece from a given topic. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan which...
Curated OER
Bang for Your Buck
Students explore reasons for making a particular purchase and examine one strategy Wal-Mart stores used to keep prices low. They research and compare two companies that make similar products using different business philosophies.
Curated OER
Holiday Writing Prompts
Students experience and practice their writing skills during the holiday season. They express themselves in a variety of ways including writing about a favorite part about the holiday break, what's the best gift you've ever gotten and...