Curated OER
Olympic Challenge
Have your class research a country related to the Olympics. They participate in physical education activities included in the Presidential Physical Fitness Test and write about their country. This is a very interactive plan.
Curated OER
Story Telling through Photography
Use this writing and photography lesson plan in your descriptive writing unit. Elementary and middle schoolers write and create a story line incorporating photos from Inspiration or their own personal photos. They experiment with...
Curated OER
Lunch Food? Mmmm! Mmmm! Good!
Examine how nutrition plays an important role in our lives by conducting online research and developing lunch menus that satisfy nutritional requirements set up by the United States Department of Agriculture. Students download recipes,...
Curated OER
All's Well for Stem Cells
By exploring the latest research on cell and tissue renewal your young scientists can understand the various internal body parts and systems examined in these studies.
K20 LEARN
Unlocking Answers: Keys to Great Research
Successful searches for information require more than just a device with Google access. Young researchers learn how to use keywords and hashtags, as well as how to evaluate sources and how to paraphrase without plagiarizing in a fun...
Overcoming Obstacles
Gathering Information and Making the Commitment
Scholars create and commit to a contract for their Service Learning project. The contract details who is responsible for which tasks on the action plan they developed in a previous lesson.
Overcoming Obstacles
Using Appropriate Resources
A lesson dives deep into reference materials. The class begins with a discussion of which resources are best used for specific purposes and how to identify ways to get the needed information. Learners share information about the internet...
ReadWriteThink
Persuasive Essay: Environmental Issues
Young environmentalists learn how to craft a persuasive essay about an environmental issue they consider important. After studying the components of a persuasive essay and examining a student model, writers brainstorm possible topics and...
ReadWriteThink
Let It Grow: An Inquiry-Based Organic Gardening Research Project
How does your garden grow? An inquiry-based, organic gardening unit asks young scientists to research a vegetable or flower, create an environment for it, and then plant and tend to the seedling. Gardeners develop their own research...
Newseum
The First Amendment in Action Today
Young activists research a community issue and apply the rights defined in the First Amendment to develop a proposal that would solve the issue—using Pinterest's board "The Freedom to Make A Change Posters" as examples, groups design a...
Bonneville
Informative Writing: Where Does Energy Come From?
Get energized about all the different sources of energy. A research project has scholars investigate a renewable or non-renewable energy type of their choice. They write a report on their findings and decide on a way to publish their work.
Newseum
Civil Rights: Reporting Out
After brainstorming a list of contemporary local, regional, and national civil rights issues, pairs of scholars select one of these issues and design an information campaign to spread awareness of the issue.
Newseum
Civil Rights: Chronicling the Movement
Scholars investigate events in the civil rights era in their community and develop a multimedia presentation of their findings. They compare local events with national events discussed on a NewseumED timeline.
Bonneville
The Problem of Plastic Trash Islands
Trash collection can be a hassle, especially out in the ocean. The second of four parts in the Adrift in a Sea of Plastic unit has pupils research plastic trash islands in marine ecosystems. They investigate why they occur and potential...
EngageNY
Forming a Research-Based Claim: Stakeholder Chart on Better Agricultural Water Management
How can industries manage water more sustainably? Building on the previous activity, scholars explore the topic by creating a stakeholder chart for agricultural water management. Next, they participate in the World Café discussion...
EngageNY
Forming a Research-Based Claim: Stakeholder Chart on Better Industrial Water Management
It's time to stake a claim! Working with partners, scholars create stakeholder charts for better industrial management of water. As they complete the chart, pupils consider an option for managing water more sustainably, identify...
EngageNY
Forming a Research-Based Claim: Cascading Consequences Charts
Life is all about choices and consequences. Using a Cascading Consequences chart, scholars create a visual map of the effects of a particular choice or action related to water management. With their researcher's notebooks and copies of...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 2 Assessment: Research Task: Comparing and Contrasting Texts
It's the half-way mark! Pupils demonstrate understanding of unit standards by completing a mid-unit assessment. After reading an informational article about water management strategies, scholars complete a graphic organizer to identify...
EngageNY
Gathering Information about Water Management: Assessing and Reading Internet Sources, Day 3
Water is life! Using the informative resource, scholars first read two informational articles about water management in agriculture. Then, they use a Venn diagram to contrast the different types of evidence authors use to support a...
EngageNY
Gathering Information about Water Management: Assessing and Reading Internet Sources, Day 2
Accuracy, credibility, timeliness ... it's time to act on source reliability! Pupils continue conducting Internet research, selecting two questions about water management from their researcher's notebooks that they want to explore...
EngageNY
Using Effective Search Terms: Researching Water Management
Discover how to use search terms effectively! Scholars continue their exploration of Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst, engaging in a read aloud and then answering text-based questions. Next, pupils learn about using search terms and...
EngageNY
Contrasting Authors’ Use of Evidence: Bottled Water
Apples to oranges, Dasani to Aquafina. Using a Venn diagram, scholars contrast two authors' use of evidence on the topic of bottled water. Additionally, they continue reading Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst and answering text-dependent...
EngageNY
Finding Relevant Information and Asking Research Questions: The Big Thirst
Let's get to the gist. As scholars continue their study of Charles Fishman's The Big Thirst, they practice writing the gist of the text. Additionally, pupils add notes about the industrial uses of water to their researcher's notebooks.
EngageNY
Gathering Information about Water Management: Assessing and Reading Internet Sources, Day 1
It takes time to discover what makes a source accurate and credible. Using everything they've learned about source credibility, scholars begin researching supporting questions about how industry and agriculture manage water. They select...