Curated OER
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: 'You Kiss by the Book'
High schoolers explore Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this analysis instructional activity, students recognize the use of poetic conventions as a principle of dramatic structure after analyzing the sonnetShakespeare created for the...
Curated OER
Inside The Pyramids
High schoolers research the use of pyramids in different cultures. In this ancient civilizations lesson, students watch "Inside the Pyramids." High schoolers conduct further research on the topic and create...
Curated OER
Fancy a Walk?
Students examine the causes and effects of vertigo. In this personal health lesson, students watch 2 Red Cross video segments that feature a walkway in Spain. Students discuss vertigo and respond to discussion questions about the video...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Charles Baudelaire: Poète Maudit (The Cursed Poet)
After learning the main ideas of the Decadent movement, students work in small groups to read and translate poems by the French poet Charles Baudelaire using basic etymology skills. They then read the accurate English translations to see...
Curated OER
William Penn's Peaceable Kingdom
Students explain the methods Penn used to attract settlers to his colony. They compare and contrast Penn's account with Daniel Pastorius' account. Students evaluate the effectiveness of Penn's ability to attract settlers to the colony....
Curated OER
World War II: Internment in Hawaii
Students examine world history by writing an essay in class. For this World War II lesson, students identify the attack on Pearl Harbor, the response from the U.S and the effect it had on Japanese-Americans. Students define Japanese...
Civil War Trust
Transcribing Civil War History
Primary sources are valuable for understanding the context of historical events, but the diction and dialect in these documents can be difficult to understand. Middle and high schoolers participation in a transcription process in which...
National Gallery of Canada
The Body Tells Its Story
Incorporate sculpture into your art curriculum. To start, pupils discuss the artistic process and topics of marginalization. With the discussion in mind, individuals select images to inspire sculptures of people that they will present to...
Curated OER
Are You Listening?
To underscore the importance of practicing good listening skills class members engage in a series of activities that model poor listening skills. In pairs and then as a whole group, class members enact different, more positive techniques...
National Gallery of Canada
Being a Photojournalist
Tell a story with images. Learners view several photojournalistic photos before agreeing on a message to convey with their own photo stories. In small groups, they take and select photos to include in their final project.
Florida International University
Simulating Microgravity with Buoyancy
How do astronauts know how to live and work in a weightless environment? It doesn't come naturally! Junior physicists conduct experiments to examine the link between buoyancy and microgravity. Each activity illustrates a different aspect...
Prestwick House
Writing Arguments in Response to Nonfiction
Emotional appeal or argument? That is the question. An informative lesson helps your class recognize the difference between a logical argument and an emotional appeal and learn how to craft an argumentative response. Writers develop a...
ELA Common Core Lesson Plans
American Romanticism
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The New Order for "Greater East Asia"
Sometimes the New Order becomes synonymous with its implications for European countries, but what about its consequences for East Asia? The final instructional activity in a four-part series teaches scholars about World War II. High...
Center for History and New Media
The Daily Experience of the Laurel Grove School, 1925
What was daily life like for those attending segregated schools in 1925? Modern learners fill out a KWHL chart as they explore historical background and primary source documents about the Laurel Grove School in Fairfax County, Virginia....
Curated OER
Rock Cycle Activity
A few of the components of this activity are not possible to carry out because the rock cycle diagram and challenge handouts are not included. Hopefully, you already have your own rock cycle diagram or worksheet to use as a concept...
Curated OER
Checking Out Community Preparedness
Students research storm preparedness in their community. They interview city officials to determine the current emergency plans, warning systems, etc. Students write an analysis of the situation.
Curated OER
Transition Words in Expository Writing
Create to learn! Your class can create posters of transitional words and phrases to help them compose an explanatory text. They work in groups and focus on one type of transition (time, place, importance, etc.). They also create a poster...
Bright Hub Education
How to Write an Essay Introduction
Clichéd and repetitive introductions got you down? Try this instructional activity on for size! Start off by instructing your class members on techniques for writing introductions and what types of introductions they should avoid....
Curated OER
An Experiment With the Cuisenaire Rods
Here you'll read about a teacher who conducted several experiments to determine the effectiveness of Cuisenaire Rods. Each activity is described along with the teacher's findings. Are cuisenaire rods effective? Try using them and find out.
Curated OER
Cool Liquids
Chemistry neophytes use a temperature probe to assess the change as five different liquids evaporate. The implantation section suggests that they take readings every five seconds for a total of four minutes. They graph the data, look up...
Curated OER
Telling the Blue Angels Story
Students use the internet to research a recent Blue Angels plane crash. As a class, they list the various ways journalists list the facts of an incident and which one is most effective given different scenerios. They write a story on...
Curated OER
Writing Letters to Legislators
Students discuss the importance of writing to their representatives. Using the internet, they identify who their representative is and ways they can communicate with them. They review the guidelines in which they need to follow in order...
Curated OER
Identifying Issues facing Africa
Students identify 5 issues facing Africa as a class The work in teams to create a joint project, conduct independent research into Africa, and present these ideas in a persuasive argument. The work in their groups in class to plan their...