Curated OER
The New Zoo
Students explore animal characteristics by researching the animals in a zoo. In this video documentary instructional activity, students view the local zoo and create a documentary about a single animal they found at the zoo. Students...
Curated OER
Outer Space Creature
Learners read poems by Shel Silverstein about planets and outer space. As a class, they compare and contrast his descriptions to actual facts which have been discovered through explorations. They write a description of an outer space...
Curated OER
Accountability System for Academics
Students explore, analyze and study the culture of Costa Rica and create a travel brochure, by hand or utilizing a computer, about Costa Rica. They complete their brochures and present them to their classmates and then turn them in for...
Curated OER
Humpty Dumpty: The Whole Story
Fifth graders analyze a nursery rhyme to explore the writing process. In this writing process lesson, 5th graders recite Humpty Dumpty and chart the plot of the story. Students select their own nursery rhyme and write a creative story...
Curated OER
A Venetian Carnival
Students read and analyze the story, The Cask of Amontillado, for basic comprehension and to find ironic meanings. They then do research to find why the season of carnival is celebrated around the world, and they view various Web sites...
National First Ladies' Library
Designing the Common School: The First Educational Reform
Middle schoolers perform preliminary research to explore education before public (common) education was in place. They design a public educational system of their own. Students construct a report outlining challenges and solutions for...
Curated OER
Analysis and Compare and Contrast
Students study images to analyze their content and complete a compare and contrast study of the pictures. In this image analysis activity, students complete two worksheets of images with captions. Students compare and contrast the images...
Curated OER
Discovering the Oregon Trail
Students explore U.S. history by researching the Oregon Trail. In this American exploration lesson, students read the story On the Shore of the River and define the exact path early settlers took to find the state of Oregon. Students...
Curated OER
Technology Rich Native American Unit
Student groups retell stories from Iroquois storytellers. They role-play Iroquois women, men and children and explain their roles. They read "Knots on a Counting Rope" and make up their own stories. They create timelines. They visit a...
Curated OER
Art as Storyteller
Students examine how paintings tell stories. They read biographies about artists, analyze paintings, research and write the art history of a painting, write a creative story based on the painting, and create a painting in the artist's...
Curated OER
Movie Music
Students discover film making by participating in a music performance. In this performance arts lesson plan, students perform music and physical acting to convey an already written script for their peers. Students collaborate with...
Curated OER
Comprehension
Fifth graders study comprehension. In this writing lesson, 5th graders remember what they read and write an introduction for a character from a novel just read including a good description of that character.
Curated OER
Personal Written Response Activity
Students complete a final written project. In this personal response lesson, students respond in a creative way to one of the issues presented in the unit. Students may choose to create a series of postcards from a natural disaster,...
Curated OER
Food Systems Feed the World
Fifth graders explore nutrition by viewing video clips discussing world hunger. In this malnutrition lesson, 5th graders discuss the reasons people cannot afford food in rural areas and read assigned text discussing our agriculture...
Curated OER
We Garden: My Life as a Fruit or Vegetable
Students explore agriculture by participating in a role-play activity. In this farm to fork lesson, students ask and answer questions as though they were a specific plant about to be eaten. Students write responses to critical thinking...
Curated OER
Inventions Research Reports
Fourth graders reserach inventions and create a report on a specific invention.
Curated OER
Finding Yourself Through Autobiography
Students read the writings of individuals whom they know and admire. They see that writing about themselves is worthwhile and important and helps them become better writers. They share their own life experiences, write about personal...
Curated OER
Read Aloud/ Narrative Analysis
Fourth graders read passages of Koya's Cousin Del before answering questions in a discussion setting. They listen to a variety of musical pieces before detailing how the music makes them feel in a short piece of writing. They share their...
Curated OER
Sadako: A Tribute to a Girl with Cancer
Students explore the story of Sadako, a young girl, who had leukemia as a result of a bomb being dropped on Hiroshima in 1955. They create a chain of paper cranes and design a fund-raising event. They write poems in the Japanese style of...
Curated OER
The 3 Little Pigs
Second graders create new endings to The Three Little Pigs. They read and discuss The True Story of the Three Little Pigs and compare it to the original version. After comparing the two versions, they write a friendly letter to the wolf...
Curated OER
Evaporation
First graders explore, analyze, document and study weather and the water cycle. They observe the weather and begin a weather journal. Each student interacts with the concepts of evaporation, condensation and precipitation, clouds,...
Curated OER
Gandhi's Non-violent Revolutions: Examining Tools to Make Non-violent
Students analyze Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent social change. In this nonviolence and social change lesson, students research a leader from the attached list who practiced nonviolent social change. Students write their own poem...
Curated OER
You're History
Students write personal histories. In this historical analysis lesson, students explore their own places in history as they read the diaries of others and write their own.
Curated OER
What's It All About?
Students summarize nonfiction text. After reviewing the process for reading in order to summarize, students independently read a nonfiction article. They write a summary paragraph and discuss the process for summarization with the...