Curated OER
Pets: Oh Behave
They say that a dog is a man's best friend. Why is that? Discuss with your class why people like pets and the responsibilities with owning one. They read an article about pet behavior and write a short essay comparing one of their...
Curated OER
The Eyes Have It!
Reading essays about deep-sea expeditions open this lesson on crustacean vision. Marine biology explorers study the compound eye and then complete a worksheet in response to all they have discovered. Although the lesson doesn't offer an...
Illustrative Mathematics
Setting Goals
Setting financial goals is a common occurrence in middle school that your learners can practice using this activity. They will be able to solve for how many hours Seth needs to work to save up for a skateboard, helmet, and trip. The...
BioEd Online
Arm Model
Arm your young scientists with knowledge about anatomy as they build their own model of the elbow joint. Help them get a firm grasp on how muscles and bones interact to allow movement as they try different positions for the muscles on...
Baylor College
Modeling an HIV Particle
Models are an important part of science; they help us see the world on a scale that works for us. In the first of five lessons on HIV, learners make a paper model of the HIV virus that is about 500,000 times larger than the actual virus....
Nemours KidsHealth
Human Body Series - The Five Senses
Get your class up and moving with these engaging hands-on-activities that target their five senses. Children explore four different work stations that require them to look, smell, hear, touch, and taste as they record their responses...
Curated OER
Character Traits
Explore character traits using this resource. After reading the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, learners fill in a graph identifying character traits. Then, they write and put on a skit. This resource provides a motivating way to...
Curated OER
Cyrano do Bergerac Anticipation Guide
Introduce Cyrano de Bergerac with an anticipation guide that asks class members to rate a series of qualities that they look for in a friend. Groups then share their responses and present the class with the quality that provided the most...
Curated OER
Nothing But Problems
Here is a fabulous lesson on problem solving in the mathematical world. In it, third and fourth graders get lots of great coaching on how to approach word problems, and how to best find a solution. They watch an episode of Reading...
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
"It is my lady, O, It is my Love!" Provide class members an opportunity to develop their skills reading difficult text with an exercise that focuses on the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene ii). Using the provided...
Curated OER
Character Traits: Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear
Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...
Curated OER
"You're Probably Tired, Dear Diary" - Children's Diaries during the Holocaust
As part of the study of WWII and the Holocaust, class members read a series of diary entries written by children during the onslaught of Nazi occupation. Each entry is accompanied by biographical information and discussion questions. The...
Curated OER
Traders of the Lost Art
Learners work in small groups to investigate a variety of art and architecture forms common during the Old Kingdom epoch in Ancient Egypt. Learners then evaluate how these art forms reflect a culture's beliefs and values. And, finally,...
Baylor College
About Air
Give your class a colorful and tasty representation of the components of the mixture that we call air. Pop a few batches of popcorn in four different colors, one to represent each gas: nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. The...
Curated OER
Spring Time Trees/Flowers
Plan ahead! Integrate science and language arts! Schedule your reading of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe to coincide with the arrival of spring. As pupils read Chapter 11 of the Lewis classic, they are assigned one of...
Curated OER
Sounding Off About Impeachment
Help your middle and high schoolers reflect on the responsibility of newspapers to act as a vehicle for 'everyday citizens' to voice their opinions. Then, using an article about the first day of the Senate impeachment trial of President...
Curated OER
Rainforest (Elementary, Social Studies)
Explore the rainforest with your class. Learners study the meaning of the word endangered, choose an animal to study, gather data, and discuss why the animal is in danger of extinction. This is a motivating way to have your class discuss...
Berenstain Bears
Choices and Decision Making
Here are some lessons are designed for 1st and 2nd graders that are all about making good choices and good decisions. This fine, 11-page document, has everything you need to successfully implement the lessons. The activities look to be...
Curated OER
Secrets of the Mummies
How did the ancient people of Egypt preserve their dead so well that their bodies are still recognizable today? Learn the painstakingly complex process they used for preservation. Young scholars read and summarize a narrative detailing...
Curated OER
Seeing is Believing - Or Is It?
Here is a great science instructional activity. It extends the concept of vision into the area of optical illusions, perspective, and tessellation. This well-designed plan has tons of great activities, utilizes interesting video, and...
Curated OER
Water - Our Future
How is it that water that falls as rain ends up coming out of the tap on our sinks? Learners trace water's journey and examine how along the way pollutants make their way into the water supply. They conduct experiments, use the Internet...
Curated OER
Fossil Fuels (Part II), The Geology of Oil
More of a mini-unit than a lesson, these activities lead inquisitors through a survey of oil deposits. In the first part, they read about and view diagrams of sedimentary rock layers that trap oil. Next, they test porosity and...
Curated OER
The Absorption of Solar Energy
Two sequential parts to this lesson introduce your class to the electromagnetic spectrum, the ability to absorb radiant energy, and the pigments in leaves that are responsible for collecting sunlight to be used in the photosynthetic...
Curated OER
Comedy Across the Curriculum
The New York Times Learning Network provides the resources that permit pupils to examine and then write and perform a fake news broadcast in the vein of “The Daily Show” or “Saturday Night Live” Weekend Update. The generated reports...