Curated OER
Learning Vocabulary by Using Reference Materials
Finding engaging ways to help your middle schoolers build their vocabulary is not easy to do. The lesson presented here offers a great way to motivate them to build vocabulary by making it into a game. Teams of pupils use a dictionary...
Curated OER
Writing a Topic Sentence
Here is an inventive, and easy-to-implement lesson on the writing of topic sentences. Learners review what a topic sentence is, practice identifying topic sentences in an informational article, then play a really cool game. All of the...
Smith Family Home
Transportation
Here's an interesting lesson that combines elements of language arts, sociology, and a study of the many ways that people use transportation to get from one place to another. The eight-page plan includes worksheets and a word search that...
jc-schools
The Expository Essay
Did you ever create an awesome graphic organizer only to find that your class was completely baffled by how to use it? This resource not only provides you with a great graphic organizer for a standard five-paragraph essay, but also...
Ocean Explorer
Living with the Heat
Young oceanographers study the Submarine Ring of Fire, which is a series of deep-water volcanic vents that come up from the ocean floor. Learners take a close look at the unique ecosystems that are associated with these areas, how these...
IBM
The Human Body
Every moment, the systems in your body are working together to keep you breathing, standing, and thinking. Elementary schoolers explore the human body and its systems with an impressive, 15-page lesson plan that should leave your...
PBS
Baseball: The Tenth Inning
Bring the historical relevance of baseball into the classroom, as pupils discover the lessons learned from the breaking of baseball's color barrier by Jackie Robinson. Learners view video and analyze Robinson’s character, as well as his...
Education Outside
Divine Dumplings
In a instructional activity that combines cooking, language arts, and social studies, learners create a delicious plate of dumplings for everyone to enjoy. After an initial discussion in the opening circle, pupils go to the cooking...
Desert Discovery
Leaping Lizards
Here is a fine biology lesson that introduces youngsters to reptiles. They study their feeding habits, their habitats, and the adaptations they must make to survive in their environments. The outstanding lesson includes two excellent...
Curated OER
Media Literacy in Presentations
Middle schoolers study the three types of mass media messages: visual media, written media, and audio media. After a class discussion which has them list examples of each, learners get into pairs and work on analyzing the "Four A's" in...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writing
Fourth and fifth graders try their hand at persuasive writing. They listen to well-written persuasive articles so they can get a sense of what good persuasive writing is. Then, they brainstorm topics they'd like to write about and are...
Curated OER
Using Context Clues
Middle schoolers receive a handout that lists the five types of context clues. The class divides up into groups of three or four, and each group chooses five unfamiliar words. They write a multiple-choice question for each of their five...
Curated OER
Making a Magical Story
Fourth and fifth graders use their knowledge of developing character, dialogue, and setting to produce an original story. An excerpt from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is used as inspiration to get everyone's creative juices...
Curated OER
Blood Highways
Fifth graders read an informative paragraph about how blood travels through our bodies. Then, they fill in the missing letters for words that label things in the circulatory system. An answer key is provided on page two. An interesting,...
Curated OER
The Transfer of Energy 2: Electrochemistry
Students study about electrochemistry by increasing their understanding of electron transfer and its role in chemical changes. They explain that energy appears in different forms. Heat energy is in the disorderly motion of molecules.
Curated OER
Jim Murphy, The Great Fire - Grade 6
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...
Curated OER
Selfless Service and The Giving Tree - Building Ethical Conscience
Upper elementary schoolers investigate philanthropy and selflessness by reading a children's book. In this ethics lesson, they read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, and research Mahatma Gandhi's troublesome, yet inspiring, life....
Curated OER
Dinner in a Woodland
After reading a short paragraph about what makes up a woodland habitat, fifth graders attempt to identify the primary consumers, secondary consumers, and third order consumers in two separate food chain scenarios. They also name a hawk's...
Curated OER
Junk Food Jungle
Students become familiar with the nutritional value of foods advertised on television and in magazines. They discuss different types of foods and where snack food fits into a healthy diet. They categorize the foods they eat as healthy or...
Curated OER
Reporting from the Front Lines
Students examine the battle of Gettysburg as they write news articles. In this Battle of Gettysburg instructional activity, students become familiar with the job of the news reporter as they report on the events of the Battle of...
Curated OER
Biography Chat
Students profile a mock television talk-show format to conduct mock interviews with famous people in history. Students read biographies of famous people in history. Students assemble questions for interviews.
Curated OER
Gold Rush California and its Diverse Population
Students compare contemporary cultural differences with historical differences based on population percentage. In this cross-curriculum Gold Rush/math lesson plan, students analyze aspects of California's Gold Rush population and...
Curated OER
Traveler: Webelos Activity Workbook
This three-page instructional activity is designed to be used by the Weblos of Boy Scouts of America. They are given 13 choices of academic activities that involve the use of maps, geography, math, and money. They must complete five of...
Curated OER
The Cowboy Life
Travel back in time to the 1800s and research the Old West! Elementary and middle schoolers work with a partner to complete at least four activities from a list provided by the teacher. They use these activities to present their...