Curated OER
Tell a Ton of Tall Tales
Elementary schoolers read many tall tales. They create their own tall tale about a specific event of their choosing. They must act the part of the author. This well-designed lesson takes three class sessions to complete, and is...
Curated OER
Lesson: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Attention to Detail
After a quick warm up activity, learners get ready to use their keen observation skills to examine an ornate Japanese pencil box. They discuss the artistry, skills, and story of the box, paying close attention to details. They then...
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Lesson Plan: Patience & Skill: The Craft of Carving
Highly ornate or complex art can only be mastered with patience and skill. Learners explore the skills required to carve complex geometric designs seen on the image of a palace facade. They examine the image, discuss carving techniques,...
Denver Art Museum
So Much to See, So Little Time
How do humans and animals impact the environment? What is land division? Youngsters tape off a 12x12 inch square in an outdoor natural space. They sketch everything they see, then compare their drawings as a class. They will then be...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Newsflash!
Fox Games is an Installation piece that allows observers to walk through a clay environment. Kids analyze the piece, considering storytelling and perspectives of light. They imagine how different the piece would look at various times of...
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Lesson Plan: Making History to Go
Learners use their higher-order thinking skills to understand how visual images have been used to tell stories. They analyze a Lakota tipi that tells a story through paint and artistry. They then make miniature tipis using butcher paper...
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Lesson Plan: Finding Treasures Within
Sherlock Holmes had fantastic skills of observation. Your super sleuths will examine the pattern, rhythm, texture, and color of a painting to uncover the symbolism beneath. A great lesson, that incorporates observation, art analysis,...
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Caves
Explore caves with your class! Your scholars will participate in scientific observation, research, inference and deduction, reading, vocabulary, and writing activities about caves with this lesson plan. This resource contains five...
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Teaching Appositives
Explore appositives, phrases that immediately follow the noun they modify, using sentence strips, examples, and collaborative learning. The class works together to identify appositives and use commas to properly punctuate them. Partners...
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Lewis and Clark
Students investigate Lewis and Clark. In this Lewis and Clark lesson plan, students search the Internet for information about Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. Students use maps to understand the explorations and decide which...
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Finding, Gathering, Saving Seeds
Students understand the importance of saving seeds. In this saving seeds lesson, students dry out seeds for later use planting. Students recognize that one plant may have many seeds.
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Lesson Plan: Communicating With Body Language
The Olmec were an ancient people native to Mexico who lived from 1000-500 BC. Young artists examine the Olmec piece Seated Figure to analyze the use of body language to communicate a tone or feeling. They then use clay or play-dough to...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: Becoming an Animal
The Kwakwaka'wakw are indigenous people from Vancouver Island and British Columbia. The class analyzes a Kwakwak'wakw ceremonial mask, how it was used, and its cultural significance. They then create animal masks representing their...
Curated OER
Recreate the Race
Learners research and find the route of the Alaskan dog sled race.In this Iditarod race instructional activity students find the checkpoints for the Iditarod on a map. Learners research information in pairs about each one of the...
Curated OER
Freezing Point Depression
Students create ice cream in a zipped bag and measure the temperature of a salt/ice mixture. They discover how salt lowers the temperature necessary to freeze ice to a solid (below 0'C).
Curated OER
A New Life, a New Home
Students connect with an immigration unit through research, journal writing, digital photography, and a movie production using iMovie. By acting out the immigrant's experience, students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of...
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Along the Birdhouse Trail
Students set up and maintain birdhouses on the school grounds in an effort to witness and capture (through video and photos) the major stages in the life cycle of cavity-nesting birds.
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Lesson Plan: A Bird's Tale
Who wouldn't love to get a letter from a blue bird? Elementary art enthusiasts analyze the social and historical context of Ason Yellowhair's Navajo piece, Bird and Cornstalk Rug. They examine the construction and images on the rug...
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Animals Galore
A well-designed lesson plan which covers the characteristics of the animals found in the six animal groups is here for your young biologists. In it, learners divide up into six groups; the amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, fish, and...
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Water - Our Future
How is it that water that falls as rain ends up coming out of the tap on our sinks? Learners trace water's journey and examine how along the way pollutants make their way into the water supply. They conduct experiments, use the Internet...
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The Statue of Liberty: The Meaning and Use of a National Symbol
Engage your class in a series of activities, each related to the use or analysis of symbols used to convey patriotic or national concepts. They identify different national symbols and explain their meanings, discussing the importance of...
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What A Pair! A Cross Grade Writing Activity
What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...
Curated OER
Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers
Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...
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Printing and Publishing
Explore African literature and artwork in a multicultural literacy and art lesson. Begin with a read aloud of Tiger and the Big Wind: A Tale from Africa, and afterward, have kids retell the main events in the story. They identify and...