Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Sarah Green Probate Record
The proof is in the probate record. Much can be learned about history by investigating old, primary source documents. Class members hone their detective skills by examing the 1759 probate record of Sarah Green. Who was this lady? Was she...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension: Aboriginal Myth About Thunderstorms
Get your anthropologists thinking with this aboriginal myth about thunderstorms. They read the brief myth and answer three comprehension questions. The directions indicate two myths, however there is just one here. Consider extending...
Perkins School for the Blind
Learning Names of Articles of Clothing
What to wear today; such a vexing question. Spend some time introducing the names, fabrics, types, colors, and functions of various articles of clothing to your class. Each child will take turns asking each other what they are wearing....
Curated OER
My First Book
Introduce young writers to the process of writing a book. Start by reading a book of your choice and discussing the essential elements of any book such as the cover, story, and illustrations as well as who is responsible for each...
K20 LEARN
Diversity Quilt: A Lesson on Culture
After brainstorming the various aspects of cultural identity, class members interview each other, examine video clips, and read stories to discover how these aspects reveal one's cultural identity. Individuals then craft a quilt square...
Curated OER
It's All an Allusion: Identifying Allusions, in Literature and in Life
To allude, or not to allude, that is the question: whether ‘tis better to make a reference and engage your audience or risk confusing them or sounding dated. After reading an article about, and loaded with allusions, class members take a...
Federal Trade Commission
A Smarter Consumer
How can understanding advertisements make people better consumers? With the fourth and final instructional activity from the Admongo series on advertising, scholars reflect on some of the questions they may ask about an ad before making...
Curated OER
Finding Common Denominators to Subtract
Subtracting fractions with unlike denominators can be overwhelming, but in this task, 5th graders work systematically to break down the procedure through three questions. The first two questions ask for pictures to be drawn along...
Curated OER
English Learner Types - Quiz Lesson
An interesting quiz awaits your English Language Learners. In it, they answer ten questions pertaining to why they are learning English, and how they think they can best learn the language. Some thought-provoking discussion should ensue...
Curated OER
Introduce a Weather Unit
Engage your learners by playing Water Music Suite by Handel. Different types of weather sounds play on the recording, and it's an easy lead into talking about the weather! What is weather? What kinds of weather exist? What is it called...
Curated OER
The Box
Learners of any age can participate in this imagination and improve development activity. With the use of a small box, they work through a series of questions or situations posed by the teacher. Each group uses the box to create short...
Curated OER
Bill Pickett, Bulldoggin' Cowboy
Who was Bill Picket? Interested readers work through an informational passage to find out about a famous "bulldogger" from the old West. They answer several reading comprehension questions and use a seven step process to decode new...
Curated OER
The Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan: Student Worksheet
These guided reading questions accompany several websites on the development of the US Constitution. While some of the links have changed, they are still accessible. History or government classes benefit from reading primary source...
Curated OER
A Fine Feathered Flock
Students role play different situations. For this respect lesson, students read Mr. Lincoln's Way, identify the story elements and answer comprehension questions. Students discuss how they can always treat others with respect and role...
Curated OER
Reciprocal Reading
The strategies associated with Reciprocal Reading are outlined in this language arts presentation. Pupils discover what it means to be the questioner, the summarizer, the predictor, and the clarifier. All four strategies lead to...
Macmillan Education
Challenging Assumptions
After experiencing how quick and easy it is to make judgments as part of an opening activity, learners discuss the concept of a stereotype and the need to think critically and question our immediate assumptions.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Journeys: Challenge Activities (Theme 1)
This nine-page packet, the first in the series of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on journeys, contains enrichment activities for learners who have mastered the basic concepts of the lessons....
Curated OER
By Heart
To memorize, or not to memorize: that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler to suffer the fear and anguish of committing a poem to memory, to endure the heartache, to shuffle off this fear, and face the stares of classmates with the hue...
Manchester University
Veteran’s Day
Before honoring courageous veterans, get to know more about who they are and why November 11th is a special day. Scholars obtain such information through a read aloud of Eve Bunting's The Wall, grand conversation, and...
Curated OER
Measure for Measure: DRTA Strategy
“The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” Prediction, verification, judgment, and extensions of thought are all part of a
Directed ReadingThinking Activity (DRTA) developed for Measure for Measure. The rationale, assessments...
NPR
Exploring the American Dream
What is the American Dream? When did this term first gain popularity? Intermediate and advanced English language learners discuss the idea of the American Dream and conduct out-of-class interviews with those who immigrated to the US. On...
Perkins School for the Blind
Object Functions
What does that thing do? For learners with low or no vision, understanding an object's function is a necessary skill. Here learners handle a number of objects and are asked to determine which object is for a specific task. They can feel...
Brown University
Youth Activism and the Dakota Access Pipeline
Do young people have a role in social movements? Should they? The involvement of young people in the Dakota Access Pipeline is the focus of a resource that asks class members to examine letters written by native youths who oppose the...
Curated OER
Hamlet's Soliloquy
Everyone is familiar with the beginning of Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be..." While reading Hamlet, help your middle schoolers analyze the lines that follow, but how do you help them make personal connections to the text? Use...