Curated OER
Water and Ice
Students explore water and ice. In this 3 states of matter lesson, students work with a partner to observe, illustrate, and describe the characteristics of an ice cube in a cup. The ice cube is observed again in 15 minutes and changes...
Curated OER
Party Time
Students design a budget to plan for a class party. In this problem solving lesson, students devise a budget with a limit of fifty dollars for a class party. Students discuss and estimate the amount of money needed for food and decorations.
Curated OER
Story Dolls
Students create autobiographies. In this autobiographical writing lesson, students use a story doll template and write about themselves. Students decorate their autobiographies.
Curated OER
All About Safety
Students create a safety podcast. In this safety instructional activity, students in a robotics lab are introduced to the safety rules for each station. They create a podcast about one station explaining the rules with video, graphics,...
Curated OER
Chrysanthemum - Read Aloud
First graders participate in active read aloud of Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. In this read aloud lesson set, 1st graders practice the "turn and talk" technique as they listen to Chrysanthemum. They listen to the story chapter by...
Curated OER
Sky 2: Shadows
Students explore space science by participating in a shadow experiment. For this sky observation lesson, students identify how the sun creates different sized shadows by moving across the horizon. Students utilize yard sticks, markers,...
Curated OER
Planning a Government
Demonstrate the complexities of running a government with this group activity. Young politicians are arranged into small groups and become leaders of a hypothetical country (outline of country provided). Groups must outline 6 (listed)...
Curated OER
Improving Deductive Reasoning Skills
Students develop a strategy list for problem solving by working with different types of problems. They recognize problems that may be solved using deductive reasoning and solve deductive reasoning problems.
Curated OER
Annotating Poetry
Use text marking and highlighting to explore the structure of a poem. After listening to Allan Ahlberg read "Please Mrs. Butler," learners locate stanzas and patterns on their copy of the poem using the text marking technique. Class...
Curated OER
Periodical Cicada Survival
Students explore defense mechanisms involved in predatory/prey relationships.They engage in a discussion about predatory/prey interactions. They reflect on the life cycle and behavior of the cicada.
Curated OER
Early American Woodworking
Students compare and contrast tools used in colonial America to modern ones. They create a bootjack, coat rack, or candleholder based on actually using the tools. The students also compose a description of a colonial woodworker based...
Curated OER
Preserving Buds and Blooms
Students learn how to preserve flower buds and blooms. In this gardening lesson, students explore the methods of air drying, using drying agents, and pressing plants to preserve them.
Center for Civic Education
Responsibility and the U.S. Constitution
When are responsibilities freely chosen, and when have they actually been imposed on us? Here you'll find a unique way to frame your class discussion on civic duty and responsibilities inherent in the United States Constitution.
Curated OER
How was the Constitution Used to Organize the New Government?
How did the United States Congress determine how the new president and vice president would be named when the nation was first established? Who would provide money for the government, and how would the executive branch be organized?
Foreign Policy Research Institute
A Geography Lesson
Fewer and fewer people have a strong grasp of world geography, but this activity helps students understand geopolitics by creating their own original historical map. The activity requires selecting a country from the list provided,...
Curated OER
Bullying and Homophobia
Having difficulty in class broaching controversial issues? This activity offers several linked online tools to get students engaged in discussion about bullying and homophobia. Coastkid.org offers an interactive scenario activity, which...