Curated OER
Acid Rain
Create a simulation of acid rain in your classroom with lemon juice and bean plants to help kids study the effects of pollution on plants. In addition, learners will listen to a story and write responses based on guiding questions.
American Press Institute
In the Newsroom: The Fairness Formula
Reporting the news is easy, right? Think again! Show young scholars the difficult choices journalists make every day through a lesson that includes reading, writing, and discussion elements. Individuals compare the language and sources...
University of Chicago
Comparing Modern and Ancient Ideas of Ethnicity and Identity
Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...
Macmillan Education
Sine and Cosine Graphs
Learners compare and contrast sine and cosine graphs in order to describe their characteristics in a collaborative activity. As they explain their reasoning, learners strengthen their writing and vocabulary skills associated with...
Speak Truth to Power
Marina Pisklakova: Domestic Violence
After reading Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and discussing background material about domestic violence, class members create a map showing where in their community survivors of domestic violence can get help and...
EngageNY
Looking Closely at Stanza 3—Identifying Rules to Live By Communicated in “If”
Just as Bud, from the novel Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, had rules to live by, so does the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, but how do the two relate? Pupils delve deep into the poem's third stanza, participate in a grand...
EngageNY
Selecting Evidence to Logically Support Claims
It's time to make a rule sandwich! After exploring the writing assignment's rubric and analyzing a model essay, learners are guided through the prewriting phase using the sandwich technique. Pupils create their sandwich addressing the...
EngageNY
Piecewise and Step Functions in Context
Looking for an application for step functions? This activity uses real data to examine piecewise step functions. Groups create a list of data from varying scenarios and create a model to use to make recommendations to increase...
EngageNY
Grade 12 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 1
Here's a fresh approach to the dreaded personal narrative required by most college applications. The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the anchor text for a unit that, through modeling and guided practice exercises, encourages the...
Curated OER
Anticipation Guide for Death of a Salesman
"It is better to ignore something unpleasant than to face reality." Readers of Death of a Salesman complete an anticipation guide before tackling Arthur's Miller's tale of Willy Loman and his sons. After completing the play, class...
Curated OER
Three Healthful Meals: A Practical Food-Guide-Pyramid Activity
Students activate their knowledge of the food guide pyramid and the basic food groups in order to plan nutritious meals. They collect a handful of food images from magazines and glue them to the appropriate plates.
Curated OER
Bud, Not Buddy: Anticipation Guide
Hoover flags? Hoover blankets? Hoovervilles? Drawing upon prior knowledge of the Great Depression class members respond to the prompts on an anticipation guide for Bud, Not Buddy, Christopher Paul Curtis’s tale of Bud Caldwell’s quest to...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Anticipation Guide
Making predictions is an important skill that experienced readers tap into when tackling a difficult text. Prepare your pupils to read My Antonia by Willa Cather with an initial prediction activity and this anticipation guide, which...
Curated OER
Nothing But the Truth: Anticipation Guide
“What does it mean to be patriotic?” “Should grades factor in to a student’s eligibility for extracurricular activities?” Class members complete an anticipation guide that asks them to respond to a series of statements that highlight...
Curated OER
Directed Reading Thinking Activity: Cold Sassy Tree
Lots of questions arise when reading Cold Sassy Tree. As your class encounters the twentieth chapter, encourage a rich discussion with some of the questions provided here. Then, either independently, or for homework, ask your readers to...
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
Can you judge a book by its cover? Decide who and what Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is about with a prediction activity. Before reading the first three chapters of the book, kids answer questions based on their interpretation...
Curated OER
Reading Fiction
Explore how a writer's choice of words can convey meaning to the reader. Learners read selections and write questions about the content. Each question is answered by two groups of students and the differences in interpretations are...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King, Jr. Team Activity
Students sequence the events of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, after first being read a biography. The facts are on strips of paper, which are later glued end to end.
Curated OER
Teaching Grammar Without the Hammer: Five Fun Activities
There are five lessons on teaching grammar here for you to peruse. Two of them work well for kindergartners; one on teaching synonyms and one on teaching parts of speech by reading Tall Tales. These lessons are especially engaging and...
Curated OER
Sexual Abuse: Sequoia's Story Discussion Guide
The subject matter of this lesson is intended for a mature academic audience. Please review to determine if it is suitable for your class. Students create a working definition of sexual abuse, read a scenario, and then break up into...
Carolina K-12
Reemergence of the “Vanishing Americans” ‐ Native Americans and World War II
Discover the many contributions and sacrifices of Native Americans during World War II. After gaining background information through a detailed PowerPoint presentation and guided notes, your young historians will participate in...
Curated OER
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Young scholars complete various activities related to the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." They participate in a shared reading activity, read and write a sentence for each day of the week, draw a picture of the caterpillar eating one...
Curated OER
Forming Plural Nouns
Everyone knows that a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea - but what happens when you have people, places, things, or ideas? Use this SMART board activity to guide your class through plural nouns. Several activities, including making...
Museum of the American Revolution
Dissecting the Declaration
Delve into the past to understand the issues that led to the Declaration of Independence. Academics read excerpts from the Declaration of Independence and take a virtual tour of the American Revolution Museum. The resource explains how...