Curated OER
The Classification of the Kingdoms of Life
Students can learn about the evolution of science by discussing the classification of living things.
Curated OER
Exploring the Solar System
Your students can learn more about our solar system with these lesson plan ideas.
Curated OER
Mystery Writing Lesson Plans
Introduce your class to the genre of mystery. Included is a vocabulary list, a rubric, and a sample mystery story called "Lethal Lesson." There are very limited directions on what to do with these resources, so you will need to plan some...
Mr. Roughton
The Maya Files
Class members adopt the role of Law and Order history investigators and examine primary source documents to determine the legitimacy of Marco Polo's claim that he traveled to and traded in China. A cleverly crafted activity that deserves...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
Mr. Roughton
Late Middle Ages Dossiers
Young detectives are given the "clues" to investigate whether King John should be remembered as a poor ruler of England, particularly in comparison in King Richard. They analyze historical informational texts and work in groups to...
Curated OER
Supporting the Classics!
Students identify the basic forms of classical architectural columns. Using the internet, they note the physical differences between Corinthian, Doric and Ionic columns. They design their own temple to their favorite Greek god or goddess...
Curated OER
Bay Area Urban Growth
Learners analyze the arguments for and against urban growth boundaries. They identify a number of perspectives on the issue and find evidence to support each position. For homework, they write about their own position on urban growth...
Curated OER
Othello
Pupils find evidence to support reasons why Othello's insecurity makes him weak. For this Othello analysis lesson, students find evidence to support Othello as a strong person at the beginning of the play. Pupils use the given websites...
Curated OER
Generalizations: How Accurate Are They?
High schoolers recognize and modify generalizations. They challenge generalizations made about people, insist on knowing the evidence that supports these, and be willing to modify their own generalizations when confronted by evidence...
Curated OER
Should New Orleans be Rebuilt?
Students, after researching two websites dealing with New Orleans, complete a chart as they read the arguments for and against rebuilding New Orleans. They locate the evidence offered for support, analyze the geography domains and...
Orange County Department of Education
The Hero: Writing and Responding
Pupils identify heroic character traits that they admire and that inspire trust and result in service to others. They identify the heroic traits of a character of their choosing and defend their reasoning using evidence from the text and...
Curated OER
United States Entry into World War I: Some Hypotheses About U.S. Entry
Students take a stand on a hypothesis for U.S. entry into World War I, supported by specific evidence.
Curated OER
Hominoid Skull Comparison
Students are provided with evidence used to support evolutionary theory. They are introduced to classification by using primates as an example. Students read article related to Hominoid Skull Comparison and write a summary about the...
Curated OER
Extinction Theories: Dinosaurs
Young scholars examine how scientist use evidence to create theories. In this problem solving lesson, students use evidence cards to determine their own theory about the extinction of dinosaurs. They will debate their theories based on...
Curated OER
The History of Evolutionary Theory
Students are introduced to the concept of evolution by natural selection from a historical standpoint. They examine the evidence and arguments that support the theory of natural selection.
Curated OER
School Day
Learners participate in a lesson that involves writing a persuasive essay. They use the prompt of "extending the school day". The paper should contain correct elements of sentence structure with clear purpose that is supported with...
Curated OER
Research Report
High schoolers review research skills and discuss types of information, e.g. fact/opinion, examples/evidence then research and gather information to answer a given set of research questions. They write a multi paragraph report using the...
Curated OER
Populating Deerfield: A Workday for Researching the Colonial families
Eleventh graders explore who were the colonial families that populated Deerfield and what evidence can be gathered that reveals a part of their life stories to the researcher.
Orange County Department of Education
Integrity and "Thank You, M'am"
Ninth graders explore the definition of integrity through a class discussion. They provide positive/negative examples from the story and their own experiences. Students determine character traits by analyzing the dialogue in a short...
Curated OER
Making Decisions by Group: The Jury System
Students discover how to work cooperatively within a group and communicate their ideas clearly in order to reach an agreement. They summarize their experience in writing and hand down a verdict of guilt or innocence based on the...
Curated OER
The Basics of Earth Science
Students discuss and define the term "scientific theory." They work in small groups to draft an overview of one theory including details about the theory's evidence and significance.
Curated OER
Inquiring About the Titanic
Students observe pictures of the Titanic sailing and at the bottom of the ocean. They hypothesize the cause of the Titanic tragedy and engage in deeper questioning while one student writes responses on the board. They then work in groups...
Curated OER
Investigation 6 - Dinosaur Extinction
Fourth graders research and analyze theories on why dinosaurs became extinct. They need to find clues as to what the cause may have been. They record the evidence that they find to support their theory on the Dinosaur Extinction Theory...