Curated OER
Wildlife Study Comparison
Environmental science classes read articles about two different scientific studies. One is about the effects of contraceptive chemicals on fertility, and the other is about how a pesticide may be reducing bone density in exposed...
Odell Education
Reading Closely For Textual Details: Grade 8
Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...
National Wildlife Federation
Conceptualizing Module III
Many researchers focus on one impact of climate change in isolation, but researchers gain a global perspective when they come together. A timely lesson teaches scholars about the projected impacts of global temperature increases. Then...
National Wildlife Federation
I’ve Got the POWER! Solar Energy Potential at Your School
Should every school have solar panels? The 19th lesson in a series of 21 has scholars research the feasibility of using solar panels at their school. They begin by gathering data on the solar energy in the area before estimating the...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Dictionary Cube
Young scholars investigate new vocabulary words with a fun, collaborative activity. Given a deck of word cards, pairs of students flip over one at a time and independently look up the term in a dictionary. They then take turns rolling a...
Texas Center for Learning Disabilities
Second and Third Grade Explicit Phonics Intervention
Support all young learners on their journey to literacy with this five-lesson reading intervention unit. Following a clearly outlined format, each lesson first engages children in practicing their phonemic awareness and phonics skills...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Fluency, Letter-Sound Correspondence, Make a Match
An activity tests the fluency skills of young readers. Scholars match initial sound cards to letter cards. Pairs take turns and work to locate the most matches before the timer goes off. The activity ends with a peer evaluation.
University of the Desert
Do Journalists Shape or Report the News?
Analyze the presence of negative stereotypes and biased reporting in news media, and how this affects one's understanding of other cultures. Learners read newspaper excerpts and quotes from famous personalities to discuss the power of...
We are Teachers
What Goes Up Must Come Down
From understanding stock market performance and return on investment to identifying the costs and benefits of credit and avoiding debt problems, this is an absolute must-have resource for financial planning and literacy.
Curated OER
The Ethics of Outsourcing to China
After viewing clips from a documentary on factory work in China and US outsourcing, learners have a fishbowl discussion. They work in groups to build both personal points of view and strong arguments on the effects of outsourcing in...
California Department of Education
Learn to Reach Out
How can social media help my career? Explore the world of networking through a lesson about professional organizations. The fourth of six career and college readiness lessons has seniors research organizations in their professions of...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
You want your class to meet all of the Common Core standards, and here is one way to tackle the first speaking and listening standard. Given a theme to focus on from "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy, small groups come up...
Curated OER
Let's Plan a Trip!
Take a virtual trip to see other countries and cultures! After learning about different cultures and populations, English learners think about a place they'd like to visit. Small groups or individuals plan a trip to a country of their...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Phonemic Awareness: Phoneme Segmenting and Blending, Break and Make
Young learners build phonemic awareness and strong phoneme blending skills. Pairs guess the image on the card based on the word segment sounds given by blending what they hear.
Facebook
Who Do You Want to Be?
Can posting art or music online lead to the career of your dreams? Inquisitive individuals consider their social media presence with a lesson from a series focusing on identity exploration and digital citizenship. Pairs put their heads...
New York City Department of Education
Grade 2 Literacy in Social Studies: Where Is Home?
What makes a community? How communities differ? Young scholars research different types of communities, small rural towns, and large crowded cities. They respond to writing prompts, and write essays in groups to understand the wide...
Discovery Education
Clutter Cutter
Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...
Curated OER
Magazine Production
Analyze magazines as a class, looking carefully for the target audience, advertisements, and topics presented. Small groups then work as a publication team and receive a magazine that they have to "sell." Each individual has a different...
Curated OER
Marriage and Financial Goals, Budgeting Strategies
There is no more useful life skill to learn than budgeting and setting financial goals. It's math that is used by every person, everyday. Learners examine the responsibilities and costs involved in family economics. Through a series of...
Curated OER
Personal Travel Guide to a Chinese City
Scholars become travel guides in this group research project to investigate a Chinese city or region for a presentation. Heavily based on Internet research, the activity requires participants to jigsaw the final project, so each team...
Curated OER
Idea-Noun Definition: Source Searching
A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...
Practical Money Skills
Cars and Loans
Most teenagers want to buy a car, but do they know how much it really costs? Calculate the cost of purchasing a car, securing auto insurance, and maintaining the new investment with a thorough and engaging personal finance lesson.
California Department of Education
College: Plan Well and Pay Less
They say you gotta pay to play, and postsecondary education is no exception! High schoolers learn how to research and analyze the cost of postsecondary education as well as the different ways to pay for schooling. Learners then work...
Newseum
Search Boosters: How Content Creators Can Game the System
Scholars examine the techniques content creators use to boost their search rankings. After watching a short "Search Boosters" video, groups select a story from the "News or Noise? Media Map" and analyze the devices used in the story. The...