Curated OER
Main Idea in Informational Text
Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...
Curated OER
The East Fork Project
Learners identify possible sources of health risks, types of exposures, routes of exposure, and populations that could be affected after discussing water pollution and environmental health hazards. After discussion, students conduct a...
Energy for Keeps
Going for a Spin: Making a Model Steam Turbine
Discover the effectiveness of wind, water, and steam as energy sources. The hands-on activity has young scientists create a turbine from common materials. After constructing the turbines, they use wind, water, and steam to turn them and...
Curated OER
The Anacostia River & You
Students are able to give examples of local and global sources of pollution. They explain why certain forms of pollution are detrimental to the environment. Students a create a poster promoting Earth Day's message of environmentally...
Teach Engineering
Let's Learn About Spatial Viz!
Can you see your class working on spatial visualization? The first installment of a five-part module introduces the concept of spatial visualization and provides a 12-question diagnostic assessment to test spatial visualization skills....
EngageNY
Deepening Your Research
Give credit where credit is deserved. Scholars discuss what makes a credible source as they take a look at "An Apparel Factory Defies Sweatshop Label, but Can It Thrive?" Learners read the article to look for answers to the research...
National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science
Breast Cancer Risk
How does one determine whether or not someone is at risk for breast cancer? Find out through a comprehensive case study involving two readings and a group activity in which learners assess four women's potential for acquiring the...
Curated OER
Family and Household Structure
Students examine what the word "family" means today. They identify cultural traditions that are still popular in the United States. They read primary source documents and discover how advice is passed on from generation to generation.
Curated OER
Family Life in the 1830s
Students compare and contrast family life today with family life in the 1830s. They conduct research on Old Sturbridge Village, read primary source documents, and develop a list of generalizations comparing/contrasting families of the...
Curated OER
World War II - Memory Book
Eighth graders read about and reflect upon a variety of events that occurred during World War II. They conduct research on the Holocaust and Anne Frank's life, the attack on Pearl Harbor, American life during this time and the...
Curated OER
The Parachute
Students discuss parachutes and write a procedure to determine the effect of different size parachutes and different masses on the time it takes the masses to fall. They record all their data from their experiment then write three...
Curated OER
Solar Car Series: during What Part of the Day Can the Most Sun Power Be Collected?
In preparation for solar car races, middle schoolers attempt to discover what time of day the most solar energy can be collected. Begin by demonstrating the use of a voltmeter for measuring solar cell output. Take them outdoors to take...
Curated OER
The Question of Annexation
Middle schoolers examine the sequence of events that led up to the annexation of Texas to the United States. They create a timeline of significant events, analyze primary source letters from this time period, and write a letter from the...
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Japan's "Southern Advance" and the March toward War, 1940-1941
High school historians interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources to decide if the southern advance was a reckless step toward war, or if it was reasonable. They research the Japanese southern advance tactics during the...
Curated OER
Dante's Peak Movie Review
Middle or high school volcanologists watch the 1997 film, Dante's Peak. They make observations as they watch and then write a movie review, focusing on what was accurately represented. They also point out what facts were stretched by...
Noyce Foundation
Fair Game?
The game should be fair at all costs. The mini-assessment revolves around the ability to use probabilities to determine whether a game is fair. Individuals determine compound events to calculate simple probabilities and make...
Curated OER
Insects and Bugs
Students recognize the difference between insects and bugs while making connections to personal experiences. In this insect and bug lesson, students complete a pre-assessment to demonstrate prior knowledge, then gather information...
Baylor College
Healthy Homes
Meant to follow a lesson about how concentrated air particles can be inside of a building, this resource gets individuals to assess the possible air pollutants in their own homes. They take home a worksheet and circle spots on it that...
Carolina K-12
F.D.R. and the New Deal
Discover how President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to alleviate the hardships of the Great Depression by analyzing the words of his inaugural address and exploring the various New Deal programs he would later implement.
Balanced Assessment
Solar Elements
Let your brilliance shine like the sun. Future mathematicians and scientists consider given data on the abundance of different elements in the sun. The assessment task requires consideration of how these different abundances relate to...
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: August 2017
Reading and comprehending a poem is a lot different than doing the same for a piece of fiction or an informational text. As part of a sample English language arts examination, readers put their skills to the test by reading passages in...
CCSS Math Activities
Cereal
Your breakfast cereal is a good source of math practice. Young mathematicians apply ratios and percents to analyze the amount of protein and carbohydrates in two brands of cereal. They complete a worksheet to answer several questions on...
Curated OER
Poetry Slam!
Create poems without writing! Young poets create poems using words cut from newspapers, read their poems aloud, and compile them in a book. This lesson allows the teacher to view each learner's creative process and assess their current...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Reconstruction
When slavery ended, what did the government do to help African American during Reconstruction? An interesting instructional activity uses primary sources such as newspaper articles to help scholars analyze Reconstruction policies and how...