Curated OER
Sea No Evil
Learners research the characteristics of marine life at different ocean depths. They use their findings as the basis for a classroom 'Life Under the Sea' museum exhibit.
Curated OER
Ill At Ease
Students research infectious diseases, focusing on what scientists and journalists currently do and do not know about each one. They act as scientists or journalists as they find out more about a particular infectious disease.
Curated OER
Isn't It Ionic?
Students research the properties and health risks of organic chemical solvents. They create a Safety with Solvents newsletter to share with others in their school and community.
Curated OER
Working Like a Dog
Students consider ways animals help human beings with certain chores, then research more specific tasks dogs are trained to do. They create a help wanted ad enumerating the traits a dog should have before applying for a particular position.
Curated OER
Homophone Cartoons
A terrific lesson on homophones awaits your youngsters. First, pupils access a website that contains lists of homophones. Then, it's time to get creative! Everyone gets a piece of poster board and they create a homophone cartoon -...
Curated OER
A Positive Spin
Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally, they...
Curated OER
Use The Polar Express to Develop Rich and Detailed Writing
Bring The Polar Express into your middle school classroom to spark the creativity of your emerging writers.
ReadWriteThink
Critical Media Literacy: Commercial Advertising
Commercial advertising—we can't get away from it, but do we realize just how often we are being advertised to? With this lesson, scholars analyze mass media to identify how its techniques influence our daily lives. Learners browse...
Curated OER
Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
Curated OER
Invisible Invaders
Young scholars research various epidemics that have devastated the world population focusing on the historical events taking place during the times of the epidemics and the epidemics' effects on these societies.
Curated OER
Help Wanted: President of the United States
Students consider qualities and United States president should have. In this government lesson, students research the responsibilities of the president and use that information to create an advertisement that describes the job and...
Curated OER
Following Their Footsteps
Students research and create a book report on a famous person. In this character education lesson, students examine the positive traits exemplified by a famous person and present an oral presentation for their classmates.
Curated OER
Using Context
Teams practice decoding and using context strategies to determine the meanings of unfamiliar words. After verifying the meanings of words through the use of dictionaries, the Internet, thesauruses, and other sources, learners write the...
Virginia Department of Education
Revising Writing
Junior high writers investigate other student’s sample writing and critique on how it could be improved. Skill emphasis is place on elaboration, voice, and sentence variety. The student writing is provided, but the checklist for revision...
Curated OER
Egyptian Burial
Students research burial tombs of ancient Egypt. Acting as pharaohs of Egypt, students create burial plans to decide what items they would include in their own tombs and why. They find another student to analyze their plan.
Curated OER
Teen Angst
Students gain a broader understanding of new scientific research about the life cycle of the Tyrannosaur, and translate their knowledge into the creation of an illustrated studenT book produced and created by the entire class.
Curated OER
Pictures and Slogans Persuade an Audience
Students discover relationships between advertisement and persuasive techniques. For this literacy and consumer education lesson, students select magazine or newspaper advertisements that use symbols, pictures, and slogans to persuade...
Curated OER
South Carolina Voices: Lessons From the Holocaust
Students explore World History by researching the Holocaust. In this Nazi Germany lesson, students identify the ghettos and death camps that many Jewish civilians were sent to in order to be controlled and later killed. Students...
Curated OER
High Profiles
Students research and write newspaper articles about current world leaders, using a New York Times International article as a model. They research a current world leader's personal background and political history.
Curated OER
Out On A Limb In The Pacific Rim?
Students act as cultural attachés to investigate and present briefings on the post-1945 histories and United States diplomatic relationships with East Asian countries. They articulate their foreign policy findings.
Curated OER
Life, Camera, Action
Students investigate the history, politics and culture of Somalia. They analyze media coverage and portrayal of the country. They focus on the role of media in reporting on Somalia and the current debate over the film Black Hawk Down.
Curated OER
Asking About Armenia
Young scholars explore the modern history, culture, economy, conflicts, social conditions, and geographical boundaries of Armenia and present their findings to fellow classmates at a teach-in.
Curated OER
The Whole Story
Students collect and convey information about a current event. By focusing on who, what, when, where, why, and how questions, students study to thoroughly analyze and report on important world events.
Curated OER
We Are One World
Students access prior knowledge to choose a country and research the living conditions in that country. In this living conditions lesson, students recognize the differences and similarities of conditions of another country to ours....