Curated OER
History of the Star Spangled Banner
We have all heard the "Star Spangled Banner" at many points in our lives, but how often do we take the time to truly understand what the words of the national anthem mean to Americans? Don't miss this opportunity to examine the lyrics...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Citizens For and Against the War of 1812
Use this exceptional resource to examine the discourse and debate that occurred at the start of the War of 1812 with your class. Learners will first consider their own position on the war in a silent journal writing activity. Then after...
National Park Service
Should America Have Gone to War in 1812?
Using an incredibly engaging activity and detailed lesson plan, your learners will serve as advisors to President Madison on whether to participate in what would become the War of 1812! Utilize a variety of effective instructional...
Friends of Fort McHenry
Baltimore – Caught in the Middle
Choosing sides is no easy matter, and this was certainly true for the citizens of Baltimore in the beginning stages of the Civil War. Using video, group analysis of several primary sources, and discussion, this detailed and thorough...
Friends of Fort McHenry
A Just War or Just a War?
What, if anything, makes a war "just"? This is an interesting and important question to explore with your class, and you can utilize an excellent lesson plan to support your group inquiry. The American Revolution and the War of 1812 are...
EngageNY
Summarizing and Synthesizing: Planning for Writing an Apprentice Wanted Ad
In instructional activity 13 of this unit on colonial trade, young researchers learn about apprentices as they prepare to write help-wanted ads for the specific trade they have been researching. To begin, the class listens closely as the...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: Colonial Craftspeople
In the first lesson plan of this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders gain background knowledge of different jobs performed by early colonists. The class begins with a slide show presentation that includes a variety of great...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Information: Writing an Apprentice Wanted Ad
Fourth graders view examples of help-wanted ads as they plan and create their own writing in the fourteenth instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. The engagement of the class is captured when the teacher shares an actual...
EngageNY
End of Unit 2 Assessment: Working with Two Texts - Reading, Listening, Summarizing, and Synthesizing
As a summative assessment for this unit on colonial trade, fourth graders listen to and read informational texts in order to demonstrate their ability to take notes, write summaries, and draw connections. Young scholars first listen as...
Northwest Career & Technical Academy Foundation
Stand Up. . . Be InCtrl!
What is the difference between a bystander and an upstander? A collaborative project created through digital media helps the class understand that they can participate in an online community respectfully and responsibly. They consider...
Curated OER
Halves, Thirds, and Sixths
An excellent activity that effectively pulls together the concepts of area, fractions, and equivalent fractions! Using 3x2 rectangular arrays, 3rd graders are introduced to the concept of area in terms of square units. Building on this...
EngageNY
Researching and Note-Taking: Building Expertise about a Colonial Trade
Building on the previous activity in this unit on colonial trade, the ninth activity has young experts continuing their research and writing summaries of the information they find. To begin, children participate in guided practice where...
EngageNY
Reading and Taking Notes on Colonial Trades
In the tenth instructional activity of this unit, young scholars learn to categorize information as they continue researching their colonial trade. During guided practice, the teacher models how to read informational text slowly while...
EngageNY
Listening Closely and Taking Notes: Colonial Trade Podcast About the Wheelwright
Voices from the past. Young scholars listen to a podcast interview with a historical re-enactor as they continue their research in the eleventh instructional activity of this unit on colonial trade. Applying their close reading skills,...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Inferring About the Silversmith Trade in Colonial Times
The seventh lesson plan in this unit on colonial trade assesses fourth graders' ability to use details from an informational text to make inferences and create a piece of informative writing. The included assessment begins with learners...
EngageNY
Listening Closely and Taking Notes in Expert Groups: Colonial Trade Podcast
The twelfth instructional activity of this unit builds on the skills developed in the previous instructional activity, as fourth graders continue their quest to become experts on colonial trade by listening to interviews with historical...
EngageNY
Researching and Note-Taking: Becoming an Expert on a Colonial Trade
Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...
Curated OER
The Square Counting Shortcut
An excellent lesson that encourages students to discover how complex figures can be broken into simpler shapes when measuring area. Working with block letters, learners are given the freedom to develop their own strategies for...
Curated OER
A Whale of Importance to the Arctic People
The bowhead whale of the Arctic region is of great importance to the people that live there. Your class will brainstorm all they know about this wonderful whale and create an informational video, which they will share with the children...
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
STEM: Lou-Vee Air Car
A comprehensive instructional activity on acceleration awaits your physicists and engineers! Two YouTube videos pique their interest, then sample F=ma problems are worked and graphed. The highlight of the instructional activity is the...
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Finance: Depreciation (Double Declining)
Of particular interest to a group of business and finance pupils, this lesson explores depreciation of automobile values by comparing the double declining balance to the straight line method. Mostly this is done through a slide...
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Information Technology: Photoshop Scale
Scaling is a practical skill as well as a topic to be addressed throughout the Common Core math standards. You are given three different presentations and a detailed teacher's guide to use while teaching proportion, as well as practice...
Center Science Education
Paleoclimates and Pollen
Demonstrate for your earth scientists how plant pollen of the past has become part of sedimentary deposits, providing clues about ancient climates. Then give them simulated sediment layer samples to analyze for different types of paper...
Center Science Education
Model a Moving Glacier
Glaciologists in your class make models of glaciers to simulate how they move down a valley, and then they use it to test any aspect of glacier movement. Not only is this a vivid visual of how these monsters of ice flow, but it is also...