Curated OER
Learning Vocabulary by Using Reference Materials
Finding engaging ways to help your middle schoolers build their vocabulary is not easy to do. The lesson presented here offers a great way to motivate them to build vocabulary by making it into a game. Teams of pupils use a dictionary...
Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Using Our Senses to Observe
Look around and explore. Little ones use their five senses with some day-to-day activities designed to guide observation and apply STEM strategies. Young scientists learn through comparing/contrasting and...
Council for Economic Education
Using an Excel Checkbook
High school is the time that many scholars get their first jobs. Help young entrepreneurs apply economic principles to crucial skills for their new jobs and for functioning in society in general. They use Excel to balance a checkbook by...
Pocket Anatomy
Pocket Heart
An all-encompassing, fully interactive, gorgeously animated model of the heart can be used to teach cardiac anatomy, physiology, and even a touch of epidemiology.
University of Florida
Phonological Awareness: A Sound Beginning
Choose from a variety of phonological activities to complement a reading lesson. The guide goes through the basic components of good phonics instruction focusing on sound types, levels of phonological awareness, assessment methods,...
DiscoverE
LIDAR: Mapping with Lasers
We would be lost without maps! How are they made? Introduce junior topographers to LIDAR technology with a fascinating activity. Set up a mock city, then have learners operate a laser measure to determine the shape of the landscape using...
Curated OER
Using Word Maps to Expand Vocabulary
Looking for a good lesson on dictionary and word definition skills? The lesson presented here is for you! In it, learners utilize a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to record a word's definition(s), etymology, multiple meanings,...
MEDL Mobile Enterprises
Marlee Signs
Start communicating in American Sign Language with this handy app. Made up of a series of video clips, the app makes it easy to begin really saying something with your hands.
Aquarium of the Pacific
Lego Molecules
Young scientists construct an understanding of molecular compounds in this hands-on science lesson. Using LEGO® to model the atoms of different elements, students build molecules based on the chemical formulas of common compounds.
Dick Blick Art Materials
Art Journal
Here's a prescription for creativity—keep a daily art journal. Words, images, shapes, objects, all can be used as prompts that exercise the creative imagination. Set aside a couple of moments each day for this engaging activity.
International Boys' Schools Coalition
Empathy
Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is a common phrase we hear from time to time, but do children really understand? Explore empathy with elementary schoolers using these activities. Focusing on feelings and emotions,...
Curated OER
What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations
What do Robert Downey Jr., Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Fritz Weaver, Roger Moore, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Daffy Duck have in common? Why, it’s elementary, my dear Watson! They all have portrayed Sherlock Holmes. Literary detectives...
Baylor College
What Is the Water Cycle?
Small groups place sand and ice in a covered box, place the box in the sunlight, then observe as evaporation, condensation, and precipitation occur. These models serve as miniature water cycles and demonstrations of the three phases of...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 7: Pronouns
Take a break from literature study to address some grammatical concerns. Using a text you've already read in your class, show how to analyze pronoun use. After watching the master, pairs analyze a short excerpt on their own, identifying...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
8th Grade Poetry: Catalog Poem
After conducting a close reading of Billy Collin's poem "Forgetfulness" and responding to questions on a worksheet, young poets craft catalog poems and share their work with a partner. The instructional activity ends with the partner...
Trinity University
Who Am I? Using Personal Narrative to Reflect on Identity
Who am I? Pupils work to answer this question through a unit that explores personal narratives and identity. Exit tickets for activities that examine different poems, short stories, and autobiographical writing serve as prewriting for...
Dick Blick Art Materials
Torn Metal Collage
The work of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt is used to inspire kids to create their own mixed media works. Although designed for the special education classroom, the activity is sure to inspire all kids.
Curated OER
A Model Solar System
If Earth is modeled by a grapefruit, what planet could be represented by a golf ball? This activity uses everyday and not-so-everyday objects to create a model of the Solar System.
Curated OER
Boat Safety and Water Sports - Lesson 18 - Wake Board Terms
Boat safety lesson 18 is all about the wake board. The class learns the terminology about wake boards and discusses the different types of ropes used. Much of the information regarding boating basics, personal floatation devices,...
Curated OER
A Financial Flower Garden
Here is another in the interesting series of lessons that use the special State Quarters as a learning tool. This one uses the Mississippi State Quarter. During this lesson, pupils learn about the variety of state flowers that represent...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Surprise!: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 2)
Surprise! is the theme of this series of ESL lessons. Cover an array of topics such as where we live, different times of day, shapes, the city and the country, what we do for fun, jobs, and games, all while practicing how...
jc-schools
The Expository Essay
Did you ever create an awesome graphic organizer only to find that your class was completely baffled by how to use it? This resource not only provides you with a great graphic organizer for a standard five-paragraph essay, but also...
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Chemical Models
Science teams make models of four different hydrocarbon compounds that we commonly use for fuel. Then they demonstrate chemical reactions that result when energy is produced. This can be used as an enrichment when your class is studying...
Curated OER
Planets in the Solar System
Explore the planets with your young Spanish speakers. First, read Los Planetas by Chris Jaeggi. Then create a class solar system using different size balls as planets. They'll love helping you put it together!