Curated OER
Answering and Scoring Open-Ended Questions
Help learners respond in the best way possible to open-ended questions. Go through the ACE method with a text and question of your choice. Scholars work in groups to post their responses on the board. An attached rubric is used for...
Curated OER
Forming Open-Ended Questions
Help readers learn to create their own open-ended questions for any text you are working with. Using Bloom's Taxonomy, learners begin on the lower levels and work their way up to form questions that focus on synthesis instead of simple...
Curated OER
Open Ended Questions Introduction
Learners answer open ended questions by filling out a packet. In this open ended questions lesson plan, students include details and a personal connection to provide insight to the reader of their answers.
Channel Islands Film
Arlington Springs Man: Lesson Plan 1
Learning to craft quality questions is a skill that can be taught. Class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine both closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then view West of the West's...
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Language Arts Writing Project
Students 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
Graphic Organizer: Research Note Taking Made Easy
What do you wonder about bats? Use an open-ended question like this to engage your class and interest them in an upcoming research project. There's a list of example questions to offer or suggest regarding bats, but see what they can...
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Justice for All
A reading of Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter opens a discussion of justice and fairness. Using a Venn diagram and an Idea Wheel graphic organizer, class members consider the similarities and differences in these two terms. They then...
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"The Lottery"
Designed to open a unit on the suspense/horror genre, this plan hooks readers with an activity that mirrors the action of Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" (without the grisly ending). Use either the twenty-minute 1969 film or...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Ukraine
Was Joseph Stalin desperate or exaggerating the USSR's need for assistance on the Eastern Front in 1942? History students examine two differing opinions on Stalin's position and the reality of the Eastern Front just three years before...
US National Archives
WWII: The Pacific 1939-45 – Japan and the Atom Bomb
Though the scientists who developed the atom bomb did not believe it should be used to end World War II, American President Harry S. Truman and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill were of like mind in their decision to drop the bomb...
Curated OER
The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments
Students explain the basic positions of the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. They chart the differences and similarities between state and federal governments. They write a persuasive essay in response to an open-ended question.
Curated OER
Seeing the Image in Imagery: A Lesson Plan Using Film
In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...
Curated OER
Creative Writing Lesson Plan
Students practice recognizing the elements needed to produce a piece of creative writing and become aware of those elements in their own original pieces of writings. In groups, they creatively write a new story utilizing all the major...
US National Archives
Eastern Europe 1939-45 — Berlin
The inevitability of World War II has arrived: Berlin has fallen. Young historians watch contemporaneous footage of the event, analyze primary source documents, and write a news report that details the roles of the Soviet, British,...
Center for History and New Media
Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860
What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies lesson. Learners of all ages explore primary...
Curated OER
Digging Up Dino Data
Third graders use the Internet to research a specific dinosaur. They work in pairs and individually to browse dinosaur websites, take notes on pertinent information, write, edit and illustrate reports. They post their work.
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Writing a Fictional Narrative
Fourth graders write a fictional narrative using the computer. They can use files to help them focus on including a beginning, middle and end, characters, setting and plot or planning a story by answering questions.
Curated OER
The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Governments
Students examine the pros and cons of state sovereignty vs. federalism, as argued by the Founding Fathers. They identify the basic positions of each side, complete a worksheet, and write a persuasive essay arguing for Jefferson or Hamilton.
Curated OER
Mission System of Texas
Students create a storybook about Texas missions including the history of why they were built. They research and create pictures depicting how and why the missions were built. They write and illustrate the primary groups of people found...
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Inquiring Minds
Students review examples of questions that represent different levels of thinking. They then focus on the contributions of leaders from different eras and generate interview questions that a contemporary leader might ask of a...
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Researching Vertebrates
Fifth graders research and present a paper about vertebrates. In this research and writing lesson, 5th graders research information about vertebrates which they include in a paper and presentation. They determine how to present relevant...
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Cooperative Learning Groups Cooperate
Students apply Bloom's Taxonomy to reading selections. They prepare questions for each level of Bloom's Taxonomy and exchange them with other groups to answer. They answer another group's questions and report to one another.
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Change Over Time
Students write a personal narrative that is designed to help them reflect on the nature and meaning of change in their lives.
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Conejito
Third graders read the story "Conejito" and write a descriptive story about the rainforest in Panama. They answer story comprehension questions, complete worksheet questions about a map of Panama, and rewrite a paragraph changing the...