Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Renewable Energy Plants in Your Gas Tank: From Photosynthesis to Ethanol

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students examine the role photosynthesis plays in plant survival.  In this renewable energy lesson students document their observations and analyze and interpret their results. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Composing Project

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students design, compose, and present short musical compositions for keyboard in this lesson plan meant for the high school choir class. This lesson can be adapted to any time frame, but the author suggests a considerable amount of time...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

YANG AND THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students perform a web scavenger hunt to find information about the author of the book, YANG THE YOUNGEST AND HIS TERRIBLE EAR. They develop an understanding of how writers use personal experience to add voice to their writing.
Lesson Plan
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Celebration and Satire

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Young scholars analyze 19th-century paintings that depict celebrations in various ways. In this visual arts lesson, students view samples of paintings during the Industrial Revolution and discuss the effects of that time period on...
Lesson Plan
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How Does Ancestry Affect Folklore?

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scholars break into groups of 4 or 5 and choose an option to demonstrate a different cultural perspective in a fairy tale or other folklore that they are familiar. Possible choices are: PowerPoint presentation, video, digital...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Faces of the Bench

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use primary source documents to gather information on justices in the Michigan Supreme Court. They write about the thoughts and experiences of the author. They identify and describe each justice briefly.
Lesson Plan
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The Old Electoral College Try

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students examine defining issues in the race for the White House and evaluate important issues in several of the swing states. They create and administer a poll in their community and make predictions by analyzing the data.
Lesson Plan
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Public Policy Analysis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read an article about a pressing public policy issue. Using the text, they identify the themes, facts and ideas presented and develop an argument supporting or disagreeing with the position of the author. In groups, they...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Muckraking Literature

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers complete a unit of lessons on Muckraking literature. They listen to and discuss a teacher-led discussion, read and analyze examples of Muckraking literature, conduct Internet research, and write a report on the attitudes...
Lesson Plan
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War and the Animal

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students analyze the spatial organization of people, places, and environments in a spatial context. They gain personal insight into the horrors of war and the importance of ethnicity. Students define all key terms, analyze a world map...
Lesson Plan
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Chefs of the Week

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students, as members of a team, are asked to prepare one meal to feed one person in a day. They analyze their meal and their daily menu for the nutritional content and explain this during an oral presentation.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Political Cartoons: Thinking Broadly, Communicating Succinctly

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners think broadly about the tsunami disaster and its aftermath through studying cartoons. Students critically think about the literary devices the authors/artists use, such as satire, metaphor and personification.
Lesson Plan
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Geography Made Fun with Technology

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Students incorporate knowledge box into their classroom activities. In this technology integration activity, students fill out a graphic organizer using Glossopedia to analyze a new subject.
Lesson Plan
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Seven Chinese Brothers

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify the characteristics of a tall tale. They read "The Seven Chinese Brothers" and analyze it for these characteristics. Students complete a comprehension worksheet and discuss why "The Seven Chinese Brothers" can be...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Post-Colonial Writers Unit

For Teachers 9th
How do cultural and historical background impact thought? To explore this essential question, class members view of portion of the film, The Passage to India, read an excerpt from The Magician’s Nephew, and Nissim Ezekiel’s...
Lesson Plan
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Films About World War II

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders focus on how filmmakers have changed their view of the Second World War. They create portfolios or their own documentary to investigate the various screen interpretations of the wartime era and explain different points of...
Lesson Plan
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Abolitionists and Their Impact on Sectionalism

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the impact of Abolitionist leaders on sectionalism. In small groups, they conduct research on a famous abolitionist, and develop and write a newspaper cover page based on their assigned abolitionist.
Lesson Plan
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Prairie Poetry

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders take note of the ways in which word choice, rhythm, language and narrative voice, as well as point of view in a poem can be used to evoke a time and place. They use their insights to create a poem of their own.
Lesson Plan
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Choosing Words Carefully

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use literacy tools to select precise vocabulary. High schoolers respond to discussion questions that require them to consider the denotation and connotation of words. They then read non-fiction passages and identify words in the passages...
Lesson Plan
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Past Imperfect: Examining Secondary Sources of the American Revolution

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders respond in essay form to the following writing prompt. Mel Gibson, star of The Patriot, is quoted as stating, "If one were to adhere to historical accuracy all the way, you'd probably have the most boring two hours on...
Unit Plan
New York City Department of Education

What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue: How Did Jazz Influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...
Lesson Plan
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THE OCCUPATION OF KOREA BY JAPANESE IMPERIALIST FORCES

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students read and respond to a history of Korea. For this occupation lesson, students work in groups to research the effects of Japanese occupation and create an illustrated timeline. Students listen to a lecture and write an acrostic....
Lesson Plan
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German Energy Conversations

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners identify and interpret the current German energy mix and trends, as well as to make comparisons and contrasts to that of their own country. They write a two paragraph description of including its likely position in the future...
Unit Plan
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Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.