New York City Department of Education
Grade 9-10 Literacy in Science: Using DNA to Solve a Crime
Scholars become detectives and use science to solve a crime! A complete unit introduces DNA and includes hands-on activities that have learners model DNA and extract it from different food types. A culminating activity challenges...
Smarter Balanced
Zoos
How do the experiences of animals living in zoos differ from animals living in the wild? To prepare for a performance assessment on this question, class members are introduced to key concepts and vocabulary, and then groups use a Venn...
Minnesota Department of Natural Resoures
Tree Life
The life of a tree is the focus of a packet consisting of several activities all covering a different subject. Second graders measure shadows, make pinecone critters, write poems, count rings, complete a word search, play tree tag, and...
Minnesota Department of Natural Resoures
Parts of a Tree
Discover the parts of a tree and so much more with a packet of activities covering a range of subjects. First graders label practice pages, test their measuring and addition skills, explore books, dance, build 3-D trees, play games, give...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: Innovation in America
Are American young people prepared to become tomorrow's leaders in technological innovation, or does an obsession with being cool sidetrack essential skills? That is the question freshmen and sophomores must address in a performance...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Opinion: Buddies that Bark or Purr-fect Pets?
Which animal is best for you—a dog or cat? Why? Engage third graders in an opinion writing assessment that prompts them to read facts about both pets, and then write and decide which pet is best for them.
Smarter Balanced
How the Brain Works
Cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem, pituitary gland, and spinal cord. Prepare your class for a performance task assessment on the brain and how it works with a scripted plan that defines these terms and identifies the functions the...
Smarter Balanced
Communicable Diseases
Pathogens, what they are, how they spread, and how to prevent them from spreading are the focus of this resource that can be used to prepare learners for a performance task assessment or to begin the study of communicable diseases.
Smarter Balanced
Thunderstorms
Ensure that all class members understand the basic concepts and vocabulary they need to complete a performance task on thunderstorms with an activity that asks them to use a Venn diagram to compare thunderstorms with rainy days.
Curated OER
Habitat Basics
First graders get out and explore two different habitats to examine how each one meets the needs of the plants and animals that dwell there. They discuss what they've learned about animal habitats as they explore the outdoor environment....
Fluence Learning
Writing Informational Text: Lemonade Stand
Use a performance task to assess third graders' ability to read informational text. After they plan a lemonade stand business, young entrepreneurs implement that plan through informational writing. The task assumes learners can...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Nature in the Writings of John Muir and Emily Dickinson
As an assessment of their skill in crafting a compare and contrast essay, class members read and compare the portrayals of nature in excerpts from naturalist John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and from poet Emily Dickinson's...
California Education Partners
Follow the Water by Arthur Dorros
Assess scholars' reading and writing capabilities with an exam that challenges learners to respond to an informative text. Through note-taking and peer discussion, pupils analyze a passage from the story, Follow the Water from Brook to...
Smarter Balanced
Environmental Interdependence (Environmental Awareness)
Whether introducing a study of environment awareness or preparing your classes for a performance task related to environmental interdependence, you will find this resource useful. Key terms and concepts are introduced so that all...
Smarter Balanced
Renewable Energy
Renewable and non-renewable energy sources are the focus of a series of activities that prepare learners for a performance task assessment on energy. Groups identify the various sources of energy and classify these sources as either...
Smarter Balanced
View Through a Telescope
Preparing for an assessment? Here's an activity that will ensure that all class members have the background knowledge they need to demonstrate their skills on a performance task related to the solar system and the tools astronomers use...
Smarter Balanced
Classifying Vertebrates
What features do scientists use to classify animals into groups? Class groups examine a series of paired images of vertebrates (a bass and a trout, a toad and a newt, a crocodile and a tortoise, an owl and a robin, a tiger and a bear)...
Curated OER
Science Observations
First graders investigate change by analyzing a photograph. In this scientific observation lesson, 1st graders view a photograph of a baby and attempt to memorize the details. Student view the photo a few minutes later, trying to...
Curated OER
Amos and Boris: Text Study
Twenty insightful questions follow a read aloud of the story, Amos and Boris by William Steig. Scholars then show what they know through completion of a cause and effect chart, reading fluency assessment, and a written...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text The Berlin Wall
On June 26, 1963 President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech close to the Berlin Wall at the Rudolph Wilde Platz. On June 12, 1987 President Ronald Reagan Delivered his famous "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Exploring Themes About Conformity
Feeling the pressure to confirm is something any adolescent can relate to. Explore an essential theme with a response to literature assessment that prompts learners to identify main ideas with evidence and supporting details.
Fluence Learning
Writing an Argument: The NIEHS
Should the work of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences be funded by the government? Middle schoolers weigh in on the status of federal funding for programs that protect the environment with three text passages...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature Shakespeare and Plutarch
The Oscar for the Best Adapted Screenplay acknowledges a writer's excellence in adapting material found in another source. What do your class members know about adapted resources? Find out with an assessment that asks readers to...
Fluence Learning
Writing an Opinion Requiring Voting
Challenge writers to compose an essay detailing their stance on, and the history of, voting. Three assignments, each broken down into three parts, requires fifth graders to take notes, read and complete charts, write paragraphs, compare...