Smarter Balanced
A New Kind of News
Newspapers and broadcast news. Social media, blogs, and blogospheres. Class members generate a list of news sources they use to get information about events. The big idea here is to introduce the necessary vocabulary and to establish a...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Setting in "Hills Like White Elephants"
Continue your study of the short story with the next lesson in this fourteen-lesson series. After wrapping up a study of "Hills Like White Elephants" through a quiz and discussion of the setting, learners are introduced to the final...
Austin Independent School District
Social Studies Strategies: Concept of a Definition Map
Model for your class members how to use a definition map to make connections between new words and prior knowledge. Although the strategy is designed for social studies classes, the approach can be use at any grade level and in any...
Curated OER
Leach Out and Touch Someone
Young scholars discuss how groundwater becomes polluted. In groups, they design and create models of groundwater pollution sources. They demonstrate to the class how the water may become contaminated from local and nonlocal pollution...
Curated OER
Perception and Observation
Students use common and unusual objects to make observations of details, design, and functionality. They describe and draw each object while working in small groups. The differences between observation and perception is covered as part...
Curated OER
Moby Dick Puppetry
Such an ambitious instructional activity! Third graders with special needs listen to an audio recording of the novel, Moby Dick. They stop often to discuss each of the main characters and analyze their actions in the story. They then...
Teach Engineering
Take Off with Paper Airplanes
Let's go fly a kite ... oops, a paper airplane! The 13th segment in an aviation unit of 22 relates the parts of an airplane to paper airplanes. Pupils learn the functions of the control surfaces of a plane to really make their knowledge...
Tech Museum of Innovation
Tree House Escape
Use simple machines to escape from a tree house. Pupils learn about simple machines and how they are useful in everyday life in a STEM lesson plan. Groups then design a device to rescue a friend stuck in a tree house.
Curated OER
Geography of Mesopotamia
Students write a letter. For this irrigation lesson, students review how humans and the environment can interact with each other, learn new vocabulary words having to do with Mesopotamia, learn about irrigation and view maps of...
Curated OER
Discussion Questions for Shakespeare's Julius Caeser
Do not let Julius Caesar be Greek to your pupils. Rather, make the play a dish fit for hungry minds. Encourage your class members to lend their ears to a series of rich discussion questions so that they can become masters of the play, as...
Curated OER
Thesaurus Power
Give your class the advantage of Thesaurus Power! They will use a thesaurus to understand word meanings and relationships. They focus on how a thesaurus functions and how it gives the entry word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and part...
Have Fun Teaching
Compound Words at the End of the Rainbow
Boost grammar skills with a St. Patrick's Day themed activity that challenges scholars to match a compound word to its corresponding picture, then write the compound word in the form of an addition sentence.
Core Knowledge Foundation
Early American Civilizations Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
Bridge subjects ancient history and English language arts together with a unit all about the Maya, Aztec, and Inca civilizations. Eleven lessons begin with a read-aloud followed by a whole-class discussion in preparation for practice by...
Curated OER
Monoprint
Middle schoolers review Gerald Ferstman's work and discuss abstract art. They design and create monoprints on Mylar. They reflect on their work and write about the experience of creating the piece.
Curated OER
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Middle schoolers watch the video Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. They participate in daily lecture, and create vocabulary cards. Students participate in oral reading evaluation, and complete a writing assignment:Do things like those that...
Curated OER
Poetry Shared Reading
Students explore poetry. In this poetry lesson, students discover the qualities of good writing and the characteristics of poetry. Students practice reading poems in different ways. Studnets also discuss the mood of the poem and the...
Curated OER
Homes of the West
Fourth graders read about homes in Utah over time and design models of the homes. In this homes of the west lesson, 4th graders draw and label five homes that existed in the west. Students research each home and gather information...
Special Olympics
SO…What’s the Challenge?
Whose responsibility is it to protect equal rights? Class members engage in a series of activities that create awareness of the prejudice and intolerance persons with disabilities face. They then create a message addressed to their...
Curated OER
Coin Art 4-6
Students study the historical figures and symbols of U.S.
patriotism depicted on the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter coins and learn that artists designed the portraits and other images on the coins. They research Texas symbols and...
Curated OER
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Vocabulary Lesson
Students play a ball game to reinforce vocabulary words. In this vocabulary lesson plan, 1 student throws a ball to another student and states a vocabulary word. The receiving student has to define the word. If they do, they get to throw...
Curated OER
Zen and the Design of Homework Desks
Students investigate zen. In this design lesson, students use ideas from zen to create a study area. Students understand how different environments affect work habits. Students research how students in other countries study and write...
Curated OER
Project Words: A Plan for Better Vocabulary and Spelling
Students are introduced to new vocabulary each week. Individually, they take a pre-spelling test for each group of words and discuss the importance of increase one's vocabulary. They take a final spelling and vocabulary quiz for the...
Curated OER
Oxidation and Combustion: Chemical Reactions in Fire
Students study oxidation and define vocabulary pertinent to it. In this oxidation lesson students make predictions and create experiments
Curated OER
A Sculptor's Model
Students investigate visual arts by researching art on the Internet. In this expressionism lesson, students identify several famous artworks on-line based on self expression and discuss the techniques. Students examine steel sculptures...