Curated OER
Transition into the Common Core
Graphically organize and compare standards for the purpose of aligning curriculum to the Common Core.
Curated OER
Dive into the Common Core with Opinion Pieces
Build your confidence in implementing Common Core State Standards with this CC-based approach to an important writing standard.
Curated OER
A Persuasive Writing Project That Aligns to Common Core Standards
Create a writing project that focuses on the Common Core ELA Standard for writing an argumentative essay.
Curriculum Corner
Math Common Core Checklist for K-6
As the school year progresses, it can be challenging for teachers to keep track of the specific math standards they've covered and those that remain to be taught. This Common Core checklist solves this problem, providing educators with a...
Curated OER
Best Websites to Explore the Common Core
Are you familiar with the Common Core State Standards, but want to dig deeper? Check out some of these helpful websites.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2
The details in the new Common Core standard for producing informative/explanatory texts is different from what you have in your current curriculum, and now you are confused on what to do. Keep calm and carry on, because not only does...
Curated OER
Why Transition?
Help your class transition into better writers with this lesson, which guides them through the process of adding transitions to increase sentence fluency and organization. The activity is designed for a classroom with a SMART board, but...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2
Practice and fine-tune your learners' writing skills for Common Core standard W.11-12.2 with a plan that explains how to incorporate the McCarthy Hearings into their reading of The Crucible. It offers solid advice for students on how to...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.5
What would happen if I structured this review by beginning in the middle of it? Or by flashing back to the dinner I had last night that gave me bad heartburn, and then transitioned into how the lingering burn of acid seeped into my...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A “New English” in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”: A Common Core Exemplar
To examine the “New English” Chinua Achebe uses in Things Fall Apart, readers complete a series of worksheets that ask them to examine similes, proverbs, and African folktales contained in the novel. Individuals explain the meaning...
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...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I Have a Dream," is one of the most famous in United States history, but why was it so effective? Ask your class to determine the answer to this question. While the resource includes a description of...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.1
If you need an introduction to skill W.9-10.1 for writing, then you’re off to a good start here. Included is a funny script that introduces what the students need to know to conquer the skill. It also provides an introduction activity...
Curated OER
Phase Changes of Water
A micro-unit on the phase changes of water includes three laboratory activities. Junior scientists compare the densities of ice and water, and then they do the same for cold and warm water. They examine freezing and boiling temperatures....
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 3
Teachers turning into high schoolers? It's not Freaky Friday! It's a thoughtful workshop that teaches participants how to plan professional development for staff. Third in a 15-part series, the workshop provides a platform for the other...
Channel Islands Film
Step Into the Shoes
Small groups create skits that illustrate the different perspectives of those involved in the transitioning of Santa Rose island from private ownership to National Park.
Curated OER
Melting, Freezing, and More!: Phase Transitions
Third graders listen to a talk on phase transitions and view three demonstrations. In this phases of matter lesson, 3rd graders complete a worksheet as they listen about phase transitions. They move through three demonstrations of phase...
Curated OER
The Missing Link
What is the missing link? Provide your class with this incomplete essay (it's missing transition words), and have writers place words from the transition word bank into the essay. Also, since only three of the five paragraphs are...
Curated OER
Prop Box
What other uses can you brainstorm for a key? What about a pair of sunglasses? Bring a bag of props into your classroom and have learners create different uses for a selection of objects. Then, after everyone has shared, translate the...
EngageNY
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 9
Here's a workshop for teachers that rocks the academic world! Using earthquakes as a medium for instruction, educators learn about crosscutting engineering with science. Fun, hands-on, collaborative exercises encourage participants to...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Ruta Sepetys
Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge About Physical Environment: What Makes it Hard for Some People to Get Books?
How far would your pupils go to be able to have access to books? Revisit Heather Henson and David Small's That Book Woman and challenge class members to take on the role of Cal or the Book Woman. By putting themselves in someone else's...
Curated OER
Which is Closer to 1?
A seemingly simple question that reveals a lot about a student's understanding of fractions. In finding an answer, learners compare fractions with different denominators that are both greater and less than one. No number line is...
Curated OER
Introduction to The Diary of Anne Frank
Get a glimpse of Anne Frank's years in hiding with this activity, which introduces The Diary of Anne Frank. Readers complete a journal entry about how they would keep themselves occupied if they were forced into hiding (without personal...