Curated OER
Student Opinion: Do You Spend Too Much Time on Smart Phones Playing 'Stupid Games'?
This versatile resource from The New York Times website provides a short opinion piece on smart phones and the amount of time we spend playing games on them as well as several possible writing prompts pupils could consider in response to...
TRAIN Educational & Community Services
Multicultural Activities
From catching stars developed by African pygmy tribes to chop stix pick-up or the Hanukkah dreidel, use this list of diverse multicultural activities to help your learners draw connections to unique cultures of the...
Curated OER
The Big Circle
Young scholars explore geography by participating in a mapping activity. In this concentric ring lesson, students utilize a poster board, string and markers to identify their current location within the entire world. Young scholars write...
Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
Festivals of Light Hanukkah
Five sessions make up a lesson on the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah. After reading and teaching young historians the history of the Jewish holiday, learners explore the celebration through hands-on activities and collaborative...
Diversity and Dialogue
Communication and Trust-Building Exercises
Help learners build trust and develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills with a variety of interactive activities outlined in this resource.
Curated OER
Literature Study of the Civil War Era
Learn more about the Civil War. Young scholars will choose a novel based on the Civil War to learn more about the viewpoints of that time period. They will then discuss the roles of the members of a Literature Circle and then participate...
EngageNY
Synthesizing Research: How Colonists Were Interdependent
Following the formative assessment of this unit, young scholars present the information they gathered on their specific colonial trade to the rest of the class. Working in groups, learners create posters describing the particular job...
Curated OER
Portrait of a First Grader
First graders generate ideas of the things that a 1st Grade student thinks, does and feels based on a model on bulletin board paper. They (counselors) pick one students and trace that student's body onto a pieces of bulleting board paper...
Curated OER
Chinese New Year
Gong hei fat choy! Celebrate Chinese New Year with a variety of activities that introduce learners to the Chinese myth of the race that determined which animals earned their place the zodiac.
Curated OER
Holiday Paper Projects for Kids
No matter what time of year it is, there's a holiday craft to make! Kindergartners construct several holiday craft projects in a series of holiday art lesson. They complete several paper projects such as 4th of July flags,...
Curated OER
Women of the Revolutionary War
Who were the most influential women of the Revolutionary War? Reinforce your lesson about Revolutionary women with this word search. Young readers must locate the names of nine important women that served in some capacity during this...
Curated OER
Circle Sculpture
Learners discover the Theatre of the Oppressed. In this diversity lesson, students practice confronting injustice as they participate in "circle sculpture" to role play performance models that deal with social justice issues. Learners...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving Literacy Activity
Learners explore why Thanksgiving is celebrated. In this cross-curriculum lesson, students listen to the book Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes, and complete the sentence frame "I am thankful for ____." Learners practice phonemic...
Curated OER
Smiley Face Circle Stories
Students examine different artifacts from the 1970's. In this history lesson, students discover what each artifact is by seeing the artifact and reading a card defining what the artifact represents. On the second day, students create...
Curated OER
Let's Be Honest!
Pupils investigate the concepts of honesty and take a survey about honesty. They use the New York Times to conduct research to identify the characteristics commonly found in stories about cheating. Students write reflective papers about...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Great Circle Route
Students compare routes between Minnesota and China using a map and globe. Using the "great circle route" method, students find the shortest route between two points.
Curated OER
Turkey Time
Students move safely in a general direction while practicing their chasing, fleeing, and dodging skills. They practice using a Thanksgiving theme for the activity.
Space Awareness
The Sun Compass of the Vikings
Evidence shows the Vikings likely navigated by using a simple sundial to find their course. Videos, a short story, and discussion help bring this time period to life as they study European history with a hands-on experiment. Scholars...
Curated OER
Current Connections
Many of us read our history books and take each word as truth. Show learners that history can easily be altered depending on who writes it. Your class will watch a series of videos, read a first person testimony, and discuss the...
Curated OER
I've Got a Friend
Students participate in an introduction activity. In this ice breaker lesson, students sit in a circle and the teacher sings a rhyme, calling a specific students to the middle of the circle. The students called must make silly faces,...
Curated OER
Team Building
Students participate in various activities to become more successful as a team member. In this team building lesson plan, students discuss team jobs versus individual ones. Students must work together to complete activities...
Ed Change
Circles of My Multicultural Self
Learners identify what they consider to be the most important dimensions of their own identity, and examine stereotypes.
Curated OER
Bringing Animal Issues Into the Classroom
Here's an excellent packet of worksheets that delves into animal issues, and also covers the people who work in the community who help animals, such as veterinarians. There are thought-provoking questions associated with photographs of...
Curated OER
A Step Back in Time
Fifth graders study the Civil War, discuss the life and policy decisions of Abraham Lincoln and the concepts/issues that developed to create North vs. South. This activity is meant to be used before visiting Ford's Theatre.