Curated OER
Food chains at sea
Fifth graders interpret a table of data about food chains in the ocean. They create a food chain to represent the information on the table. Periwinkles eat seaweed, and crabs eat periwinkles - so who eats crabs? Extend the activity with...
Curated OER
Learning about gravity
Learn how to measure weight with newtons in a science experiment about gravity. After they read a short paragraph about force, fifth graders draw an arrow to indicate which way a spring is being pulled. Next, they survey their family...
Curated OER
Night Here, Day There
Explore astronomy with a lab sheet for fifth grade scientists. After reading a short explanation about the earth's rotation, they solve a word problem about the differences in times across the world. Next, they make a model of the solar...
Curated OER
Place Value for Decimals
Are your fourth graders having problems with decimals? Help them identify the place value of various numbers. Here, they describe what happens to the value of different numbers, as well as select numbers with given values in the tenths...
DK Publishing
Real-Life Problems: Miles, Pounds, and More
Give young arithmeticians an applicable way to use their addition and subtraction skills with these five word problems. Each one presents a scenario requiring they add or subtract numbers with units (money, distance, weight,...
Curated OER
Food for thought
Cake has to be good for something, right? Different foods are used by our bodies in different ways. Learners will first read about what fats, proteins, fruits, and vegetables do for the human body. They will then put each of food shown...
Curated OER
Exploring Adlai E. Stevenson II
Fifth graders research work to research six areas in the life of Adlai E. Stevenson II: His Early life, Governor of Illinois, Campaigns for president, Ambassador to the UN, famous quotes, later years. They create a supply of notecards...
Curated OER
My Money
Students identify and interpret the relationships between various components of currency, discusses the uses of money, and provides advanced lessons on making change. They also identify the various ways that money is used and how to use...
Curated OER
I'm Done! What Now?
You can use these lesson plans to give your high ability math students something challenging to do when they finish early!
Curated OER
THE TRAVELS OF BABAR: An Adventure in Scales
Students locate and identify the seven continents. They use longitude and latitude in establishing a location. Students enhance the knowledge of geographical location with cultures. Individuals or small groups research multiple aspects...
Curated OER
Ancient Egypt Alphabet Book
Students research Ancient Egypt using a specific letter of the alphabet as a guide. In this Ancient Egypt lesson plan, students independently research their assigned topic using ProQuest or other research software. Once students have...
Curated OER
Trash! How Cities Work: Dealing with Garbage in the US and India
Students identify how different cultures deal with the challenge of trash. Read an excerpt from a chapter book based on real life written from the Southern Indian perspective. Describe the life of a street child in Southern India....
Curated OER
A Yuccy Situation
Students examine the concept of nuclear waste storage. In this interdisciplinary lesson, students research Yucca Mountain in order to compare and contrast opposing views regarding the nuclear waste site there. Students compose a letter...
Curated OER
What's That Relic?
Fifth graders listen to a read aloud of David Mc Cauley's book Motel of the Mysteries. They discuss an unknown artifact and decide what it might be used for. They research other artifacts and play "What's that Relic?"
Curated OER
Let the Phone Get Them Talking! Using the Yellow Pages as a Teaching Resource
Students categorize information in the Yellow Pages. In this Let the Phone Book Get Them Talking! instructional activity, students find pictures in the Yellow Pages and thus gain a better understanding of how the book is organized....
Curated OER
The Extinction and Rediscovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
An incredibly thorough, and well-designed lesson teaches youngsters about the presumed extinction and rediscovery of the ivory-billed woodpecker in Arkansas. Learners discuss the environmental factors that led to the birds disappearance....
Curated OER
Teaching Justice: Schooling and the Four Waves of U.S. Immigration
U.S. immigration is the focus of a unit on social justice. Over the course of a school year, young historians read a variety of texts to learn about four waves of immigration that have occurred over time in the U.S. An emphasis on...
Curated OER
Read All About It! California History of the 30s and 40s
Explore the Great Depression! Discover the challenges people experienced during the time period. Learners investigate photographs from the Dust Bowl and WWII era and create a story line about the photographs, writing a newspaper article...
Curated OER
Arizona Plant Booklet: An Introduction to Arizona Plants & Cacti
Students explore variety of plants & cacti in their Arizona community by collecting samples and taking photographs. Can be adapted to other areas.
Curated OER
Biography
Transform a written biography into a video biography! Introduce your learners to the biography format by reading them a few examples (some suggestions are included). Then discuss the factors that make a good biography. What information...
Curated OER
THE GULF STREAM
Students explore how to describe the Gulf Stream, how Benjamin Franklin charted it, and correctly plot it on a map.
Curated OER
A Primary Source Picture Book
Travel through Europe with ten-year-old Teddy Roosevelt in this writing activity, which uses the picture book My Tour of Europe: by Teddy Roosevelt, by Ellen Jackson. After reading the book, readers compare it to passages from The...
Curated OER
Simple Machines
Have your class conduct research to learn all they can about simple machines. They use the web, take notes from a video, write a script, then make a film describing various simple machines found in real life. These videos are then...
Curated OER
Masks
Students examine traditional masks from Southwest Indian groups and create their own mask based on Internet research. They share their mask with the members of their class.