California Department of Education
Transitioning to High School
How do scholars prepare to take their next big step? The second in a series of six career and college readiness activities focuses on making a smooth transition from middle to high school. Groups research the resources available at their...
Curated OER
Sally's Super Day
Second graders engage in a lesson plan that is about having a super day with an example of a fictitious child. They read "Sally's Super Day" and reflect upon the events and how they affected the character and the outcome of the story....
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...
Curated OER
STAR Deputies, Unite!
Second graders work in small groups to brainstorm solutions to safety situations. They use the STAR safety model worksheets and role play as STAR deputies. Based on the scenario presented on the worksheet, they develop skits that show a...
Curated OER
Research Skills: Information Retrieval and Evaluation
Focus on research skills, specifically identifying key words and concepts on a specific topic and evaluating information for relevance and authority. This is part of a multi-step instructional activity on Ancient Rome; however, it is...
Heritage Foundation
Lawmaking and the Rule of the Law
How many constitutional clauses does it take to create a bill? High schoolers find out with several activities and selected clauses about the rule of law and the US Constitution. Various coinciding activities help to strengthen...
Science 4 Inquiry
Do You See What I See?
In only nine months, a small group of cells grows into a fully developed baby. Pupils learn about the development of an embryo to a fetus to a baby. They identify each step of weekly development. Young scientists look at ultrasounds to...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
How Novel Icefish Genes Can Improve Human Health
Designed to accompany the 13-minute video The Making of the Fittest: The Birth and Death of Genes, this handout serves as both a viewing guide during the video and an analysis of how the adaptations of the icefish might help treat...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Myth or Fact
Are opioids the most abused drug after marijuana? How hard is it for young people to obtain painkillers without a prescription? Middle and high schoolers explore the growing epidemic of opioid addiction with a lesson that prompts them to...
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
Finance: Depreciation (Double Declining)
Of particular interest to a group of business and finance pupils, this lesson explores depreciation of automobile values by comparing the double declining balance to the straight line method. Mostly this is done through a slide...
California Academy of Science
Coral and Chemistry
Using cabbage juice as a pH indicator, future scientists explore the effect of increasing carbon dioxide on the pH of the ocean and relate it to the health of coral reefs. Ideal for an earth or environmental sciences course, this lesson...
Kenan Fellows
Sustainability: Learning for a Lifetime – Soil
Do great gardeners really have green thumbs—or just really great soil? Environmental scholars discover what makes Earth's soil and soil quality so important through research and experimentation. Learners also develop an understanding of...
Curated OER
Modals
Verbs can be tricky, especially those modal verbs of probability. Take a look at a wonderful 16-page workbook that uses think-pair-share, critical thinking, skills practice, and discussion to assist learners in using the correct modal...
Curated OER
Living by the Code
Students explain why new drugs are needed to treat cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammation, and infections. They infer why some marine invertebrates are promising sources of new drugs, explaining the process in which cells...
Curated OER
Farm Mobile
Second graders are given a variety of materials to communicate the symbols of farm life. They create a mobile utilizing the given materials depicting farm life and following step-by-step instructions correctly. Students also read the...
Curated OER
Hurricanes and Tornadoes (Grade 4-8)
Students investigate the concepts of hurricanes and violent weather conditions. In this violent weather lesson, students access an Internet site and watch a video about how air masses behave, how a tornado forms, how hurricanes form, and...
Curated OER
Problem Solving Using Math
Students solve real life scenarios using algebra. In this word problem activity, students use different websites dealing with engineering as it relates to the real world and math. They use other resources such as magazines to solve word...
Curated OER
Friendly Volcanoes
Students discuss the benefits of volcanic activity on marine life. They explain the process of tectonic plates.
Curated OER
Glaciers
Seventh graders summarize how Earth processes today are similar to
those that occurred in the past. They read excerpts from John Muir's "Yosemite Glaciers" and explain how slow geologic processes have large cumulative effects over long...
Curated OER
The Census
Learners analyze why the census is important and the benefits of it. Determine rights and responsibilities in real life situations. They are divided into groups and take a mock census of a list of teachers and students each. Results of...
Curated OER
Johnny Appleseed Pops Up
Students recount details from the book Johnny Appleseed to create their own pop-up book about his life.
Curated OER
Absolute Ages of Rocks
In this age of rocks worksheet, students answer five matching questions about terms related to the decay of atoms. They use a strip of paper to simulate half life of atoms and determine the total amount of time it took to deplete the paper.
Curated OER
Deep Lights
Students investigate materials that emit light. In this deep ocean lesson, students compare and contrast materials that emit light under certain conditions and infer the light-producing process. They explain three ways this evidence is...
Curated OER
Using and Creating a Dichotomous Key
Students assess what a dichotomous key is and how it identifies objects in a group through a process of answering yes/no-type questions about certain objects. They examine an interactive graphic key on sea turtles and then create their...