National Endowment for the Humanities
Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
Curated OER
Choosing Words Carefully
Use literacy tools to select precise vocabulary. High schoolers respond to discussion questions that require them to consider the denotation and connotation of words. They then read non-fiction passages and identify words in the passages...
Curated OER
Comprehension of Word Problems
Students solve word problems using a graphic organizer. In this problem solving lesson, students are introduced to the included graphic organizer and are taught how to use it for solving word problems. Students write the required...
NASA
Einstein and His Times
Scholars research and present on the historical happenings of 1919. After sharing their findings, pupils debate about how Congress dealt with the moral issues of the time. The evaluation asks learners to write a persuasive...
Curated OER
Compare Two Versions: Folk Tales, Sequencing, and Summary
Compare two versions of "The Three Little Pigs" (traditional and Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, told from the wolf's point of view). As your 4th graders recount the familiar version of the story, emphasize the...
Curated OER
Character Impressions
Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this lesson plan could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing process,...
Achieve The Core
Linda R. Monk, Words We Live By: Your Annotated Guide to the Constitution - Grade 8
“We the people . . .” Thus begins the Preamble to the Constitution. Using a close reading approach, class members examine an excerpt from Linda Monk’s article that traces how the interpretation of these words has evolved. Some of your...
Curated OER
World History: Chronology
Students examine periods of time throughout world history. In this time chronology lesson plan, students read and create time lines. Students complete a variety of activities involving the ordering of events in time.
Curated OER
The Correct Use of the Articles "A" and "An"
Middle schoolers discover the grammatical rules regarding articles. In this grammar instructional activity, students study the rule regarding the use of "a" and "an" in writing. Middle schoolers are encouraged to discover the rule on...
Curated OER
Language Arts Writing Project
Young scholars practice writing open-ended questions about a specific topic. They use proper grammar and syntax in their questions that are typed into a word processing file. A rubric is included in this lesson plan to help with assessment.
Curated OER
Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar
Upper graders write word problems and research the uses of multiplication. They start off by taking a pre-test on multiplication and then read the book, Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar. They make up word problems to go with their...
Curated OER
Ecology Explorers: Historical Air Photo Interpretation
Students identify and analyze land use changes over time with historic aerial photographs, and classify different land use into categories.
Curated OER
Dragonwings: Evaluate Chapters 10-12
As your class finishes the novel Dragonwings, use these culminating projects. A vocabulary list is given for chapters eleven and twelve and either an epitaph or letter activity concludes the book. The final project consists of creating a...
Curated OER
Fairy Tale Math
Have class members rewrite a favorite fairy tale in order to incorporate numerical information. For inspiration, the teacher provides an example written by another second grader. These modified stories are then used to write word...
Curated OER
Volcanoes: Windows Into The Earth
Students investigate the concepts related to volcanoes and focus upon Mt. St. Helens. They define the difference between an active and dormant volcano. They conduct research using a variety of resources. The information is used in order...
Curated OER
The Time of Our Lives: Bridging the Generations
Students discuss their interpretation of the words "generation" and "generation gap" and try to come up with a word or phrase that best defines their own generation. They access an online article, "The New Generation Gap" by Neil Howe...
Curated OER
Having the Last Word
Young scholars discuss the influence of foreign languages in their everyday speech after reading an article from The New York Times on language legislation in Brazil. Students are divided into 4 groups in order to research languages...
Curated OER
Time for Technology Glyphs
Students create a time for technology glyph using Kidpix4. They complete a circle map on things they like to do on while on the computer and write about their favorite thing to do while on a computer.
Curated OER
What Comes Next?
Students use Kidspiration and on online activity to demonstrate comprehension of ordinal and temporal concepts of "first, next, last," and "before" and "after." They name temporal or ordinal positions using correct vocabulary.
Curated OER
Ancient China: Student Created Word Search Puzzles
Sixth graders classify and organize information about ancient China. In this Chinese history lesson, 6th graders create word search puzzles and record the processes they used to create them.
Curated OER
If I Could Have Lived in Another Time or Culture
Third graders develop multi-paragraph compositions. They include an introduction, first and second level support, and a conclusion. They use a variety of sentence structures (e.g., simple, compound/complex) and sentence types (i.e.,...
Curated OER
My Brother Sam is Dead: A study of the Revolutionary War
Fifth graders complete an analysis of the Revolutionary War through literature. After "My Brother Sam Is Dead," students create a time capsule containing items that would be relevant during the Revolutionary War. They identify key...
Curated OER
I Just Drank George Washington's Water!
Guide your learners through the water cycle with this lesson plan. Over the course of the lesson, they read two Magic School Bus books, discuss the water cycle, come up with water facts, complete a diagram of the water cycle, recognize...
Curated OER
How Owly And Wormy Became Friends: Using a Silent Comic To Inspire Creative Writing
Students view a wordless comic before using it as a story starter. They access a story that uses the same characters at a website in order to better understand the nature of the characters. They write a story inspired by the comic and...