Chicago Botanic Garden
Accessing Prior Knowledge: Global Climate Change Survey
Begin a unit on weather and climate change by assessing prior knowledge of the topic. Learners respond to a survey with questions that ask what they think causes climate change, the effects of climate change, and if it is important to...
Curated OER
Activity: An Experiment with Dice
Roll the dice with this activity and teach young mathematicians about probability. Record outcomes for rolling two number cubes in order to determine what is most likely to happen. Graph the data and investigate patterns in the results,...
EngageNY
Connecting Informational Text with Litearature: Building Background Knowledge About Mexican Immigration, California, and the Great Depression
Help your class transition as the setting in the novel Esperanza Rising, by Pam Muñoz Ryan, moves from Mexico to California. Beginning with prior knowledge, and moving into jigsaw research groups, class members add to and create posters...
Curated OER
The Little Red Hen
Young readers access prior knowledge of how wheat becomes bread. Using "The Little Red Hen" story, learners make predictions of the events. Extension activities include singing a song about the story and making a list of ways to help...
Curated OER
Plant Part Exploration: Stems
Explore water transport in plant stems using this fun experiment! Your scientists will start by reading Stems by Vijaya Bodach. Then, activate prior knowledge about plant stem functions and water transportation. Demonstrate this concept...
Curated OER
World Cup 2010: WebQuest and Activities
Students discover the history of the World Cup and the current host country, South Africa. In this athletics lesson, students utilize the Internet to research and complete a WebQuest about South Africa. Students discuss their prior...
Project Maths
The Unit Circle
It's not just any circle—it's the unit circle. The fourth lesson in the series is an introduction to the famous unit circle. While working through a series of activities, young scholars learn the components of the unit circle and how to...
Curated OER
American Flag History
Young historians explore US culture by investigating the US flag. They will use their textbooks, prior knowledge, and sources provided by the teacher to research the history of the American flag. They will design and create a trading...
Curated OER
Myth Lesson Plans
What is the difference between myths, legends, and folktales? From greek mythology and creation myths to heroes and heroines, here is a nice series of lessons for providing your kids with solid foundational knowledge about myths.
EngageNY
Linear Transformations Review
Time for matrices and complex numbers to come together. Individuals use matrices to add and multiply complex numbers by a scalar. The instructional activity makes a strong connection between the operations and graphical transformations.
Curated OER
Patterns in the Multiplication Table
Explore patterns in the multiplication table in order to deepen your third graders' understanding of this essential skill. Implement this activity as a whole-class lesson, allowing young scholars to work in pairs or small groups to...
Curated OER
Seeing Art in Historical Context: An Activity to Promote Visual Literacy
Students consider works of art in their historical context. For this art in historical context lesson, students are encouraged to think about and record their prior knowledge of the historical period and to make inferences about the...
American Chemical Society
Engineering a Floatation Device
Classes will definitely not be sinking after a buoyant lesson! A project-based assessment helps highlight the importance of prior knowledge as individuals design a floatation device for a cell phone. They use their knowledge of chemical...
EngageNY
Contrasting Perspectives: Should the Farmworkers in Esperanza Rising Go On Strike? (Chapter 12: "Los Esparragos/Asparagus")
Explore multiple perspectives through a jigsaw activity that will improve your pupils' understanding of the characters in Esperanza Rising as well as their understanding of strikes and human rights. Tapping into prior knowledge, and...
The New York Times
Kiev in Chaos: Teaching About the Crisis in Ukraine
Provide a historical context for the political unrest between Russia and Ukraine that began in late 2013. Learners review their prior knowledge and chronicle new understandings with a KWL chart, watch a video explaining the Ukrainian...
Curated OER
Life Cycle of the Plant - The Pumpkin
First graders access prior knowledge about pumpkins and read the story Pumpkin, Pumpkin. They will sequence the life cycle of the pumpkin through the use of picture cards and then sing a song about the life cycle of the pumpkin and plant...
Cornell University
Build a Fuel Cell
Discover the connection between redox reactions and fuel cells. Collaborative groups build a Hoffmann Apparatus that demonstrates the electrolysis of water and then convert their models into a fuel cell. They use their fuel cells to...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Introduction to Logarithms
Build on pupils' understanding of inverse functions by connecting logarithmic functions to exponential functions. This activity allows individuals to see graphically the inverse relationship between an exponential and logarithmic...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over time....
Curated OER
Aluminum Adventure
Chemistry aces use an electrochemical cell to anodize a strip of aluminum. They apply an organic dye to it. In a practical application, they design a piece of jewelry out of the anodized metal and describe the process. Thorough notes...
Statistics Education Web
It’s Elemental! Sampling from the Periodic Table
How random is random? Demonstrate the different random sampling methods using a hands-on activity. Pupils use various sampling techniques to choose a random sample of elements from the periodic table. They use the different samples to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Teosinte Hypothesis
Don't want to sound corny, but your class will be a-maize-d by an engaging activity! Explore the history of the modern corn plant through a video and Punnett squares. Junior genetics experts get hands-on experience with actual research...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Good Litter, Bad Litter
Which ones can be thrown on the ground? Discover the difference between natural litter and unhealthy trash, helping scholars by using several examples. Use the information here to give them a basic background, but also encourage prior...
PBS
The Planets of the Solar System
Launch a lesson that's sure to capture middle schoolers' interest! Exploration enthusiasts examine the planets of our solar system using an activity from PBS's Space series. The resource includes images and information for each planet,...