Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...
Curated OER
Winter Tree Identification
Students utilize techniques of winter tree identification such as twig and bark characteristics. Students also identify specific uses for trees in school surrounding. They work cooperatively to produce a multimedia presentation on...
Curated OER
Winter Wonderland Painting
The examples of art at the top of this page speak for themselves. Here is a fun and lovely project that gets kids outside to observe how snow falls on trees and how various trees are structured. They use crayons, tempera paint, and...
Curated OER
Sunset Pictures
Sunsets and shadows are lovely subjects for creative projects. Kids take a good look at images of sunsets, then use paint and construction paper to create a silhouetted sunset image. Tip: This project is a great way to illustrate a poem...
ARKive
Adaptations for Movement
What animals are best suited for moving around a rainforest, or a desert? Design your own animal species based on a particular habitat, focusing on the characteristics it will need for optimal movement. Great as a group lesson or...
Curated OER
Family Genealogy
Students create a family tree. In this genealogy lesson plan, students research their family history and create a pictorial representation of their family tree. Students use the computer to design the layout and scan pictures.
Curated OER
Fun with Phylogenetic Trees
Tenth graders differentiate angiosperms and gymnosperms. In this biology lesson, 10th graders construct a musical phylogenetic tree from information they gathered on resource websites. They present their project in class.
Curated OER
Thanksgiving Handprint Tree
Students work cooperatively to create a classroom thanksgiving tree in this November art lesson for the elementary classsroom. Included with the lesson is a short resource list of books that contain more Thanksgiving craft ideas.
Curated OER
Talking Trees: Earth Day
Students complete a tree poster activity to learn about Earth Day, stewardship, and the environment. In this environmental stewardship lesson, students read The Story of the Tree and discuss stewardship with trees. Students act out tree...
Curated OER
King Arthur's Family Tree
Students examine the genealogy of King Arthur. They create a poster of his family tree and shares with the class. They also place other key figures of the time period on the poster to put his life in perspective.
Curated OER
What's Outside the Window
What do your students see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as they are...
Science NetLinks
Green Roof Design
Green roofs aren't just eco-friendly — they are literally green with trees. Groups learn about the concept of green roofs in order to be able to design one. The groups design a 5,000-square-foot green roof for a fictional apartment row...
Curated OER
Mancos River Walk Newsletters
Sixth graders create newsletters of the Mancos River Walk. They gather information from the Mancos River Walk and create a newsletter detailing sections of trees, shrubs, river studies, and wildlife studies. They write stories and...
Curated OER
Woven Felt Wall Hanging
Artists of many ages use steel, plastic, tree branches and other natural materials to weave a wall hanging. The materials needed for this fine plan are easy to procure, and the process is clearly-described. The results are beautiful, and...
Curated OER
Caribbean Garden
Students investigate plant life by creating an art project. In this arts and crafts lesson, students identify several different native Caribbean plants such as guava, ginger, mahogany and hibiscus. Students create plants...
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Rainforests: What Are They?
Second graders investigate rain forests by reading a habitat checklist. In this environment lesson, 2nd graders read the book The Great Kapok Tree, and discuss what characteristics make up a rain forest. Students explore a...
Curated OER
Seashell Painting
Let nature inspire your budding artists. They paint seascapes on actual seashells. First, they observe the seaside, then they paint what they see (image or in person) on the inside of a white shell.
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Phase to Phase with the Moon
Fourth graders study the Moon phases. The instructional activity includes hands-on activities as well as web-based activities. They use models of the Moon and a lamp to study each of the phases of the Moon, and test their knowlege of the...
Curated OER
Tissue Vases
You can transform recycled containers into beautiful vases with this step-by-step lesson plan. Using tissue paper and watercolor paints will result in a gorgeous project, great for a Mother's Day gift in May!
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Montana Animal stacks
Students view Ode to Chief Seattle and create an animal sculpture. In this art instructional activity, students choose a variety of materials for creating an animal sculpture using flora and fauna and other environmental...
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Landscape Painting
Third graders paint a landscape that demonstrates the illusion of space. In this visual arts lesson, 3rd graders paint a creek with reflections as the focus and include images showing foreground, middle ground, and background...
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Thanksgiving Quilt
Second graders create individual "thankful" felt squares for use in a large classroom Thanksgiving quilt that can be put together using glue or hot glue. This great holiday lesson is based upon the book "Thanksgiving" by Miriam Nerlove.
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Creek Teach
Students develop lessons which they teach to younger students in a type of outdoor education camp.
Curated OER
Digital Photography for Movie Making
Fifth graders explore digital photography. In this technology skills lesson, 5th graders take digital photographs and use them to create movies with movie maker software.