Institute for Teaching through Technology and Innovative Practices
The Right Number of Elephants
How can you tell if a number of items is reasonable? Combine math and language arts with a fun lesson based on Jeff Shepard's The Right Number of Elephants. After reading the book, kids discuss amounts of other items and create...
Curated OER
Why Can’t I Have Sugar? All About Diabetes
Begin the lesson by having your class write what they know about diabetes. They learn through a skit how the body metabolizes glucose. A visual representation of the two types of diabetes is displayed, and then learners participate in...
Museum of Tolerance
Making Lemonade: Responding to Oppression in Empowering Ways
An activity focused on tolerance encourages class members to consider how they might respond when they or someone else is the target of oppression and discrimination. After researching how some key figures responded to the...
Thoughtful Education Press
Personal Narratives: Learning from Lessons Life Teaches Us
"First Appearance," Mark Twain's tale about overcoming stage fright, serves as a model of a personal narrative and gets young writers thinking about milestones in their own lives. After examining student models and considering the...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 4
Foster's Rule? Allopatric speciation? After watching West of the West's documentary Island Rotation, class members use Venn diagrams to compare endemic species on the Channel Islands with mainland related species. They then create a...
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Interpreting Statistics: A Case of Muddying the Waters
Is river pollution affecting the number of visitors to Riverside Center, and is the factory built upstream the cause of the pollution? Let your class be the judge, literally, as they weigh the statistical evidence offered by the factory...
Channel Islands Film
Island Rotation: Lesson Plan 2
Why are Torrey pines only found in La Jolla, California and on Santa Rosa Island? Class members examine images of Torrey pines from these two locations, noting the similarities and differences, and then develop a demonstration model that...
Channel Islands Film
Island Cattle Ranching
Is cattle ranching on Santa Rosa island viable or non-viable? Rather than focusing on the issues of the transition of Santa Rosa island from a privately owned island cattle ranch to a national park, class members are asked to consider if...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon a Time (Saxipak’a): Lesson Plan 4
How did the environment and natural resources found on the Channel islands influence the culture of the Chumash? Archaeology meets technology in an activity designed for middle schoolers. After viewing West of The West's documentary Once...
Curated OER
Silent Movies: A Year 7 Scheme of Work
Even an outline can give you enough information to execute an awsome project. The tasks for each of the seven weeks of this project are defined, as well as the objective and specific content facilitated through the project. Learners will...
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Where in the United States Are We?
Fifth graders collaborate with another fifth grade classroom while learning about various locations in the United States. This is a telecollaborative video conferencing project that is designed for students studying United States history...
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The Human Body
Seventh graders explore the basic body systems and design a commercial advertising one of them. They also create a body systems handbook.
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Full Circle Advertising: A Look at Teen Alcohol Use and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
High schoolers analyze ads and learn about the effects of alcohol. Note that the PowerPoint mentioned in the procedure is not included, so you will need to prepare your own presentation. After the lecture, segue into fetal alcohol...
Curated OER
The Clark Family Story: Tracing the Cause of Hemophilia
Ms. Strohfeldt did not omit anything when she designed this comprehensive lesson plan on DNA mutation and sex-linked traits. Begin with a pretest as an anticipatory set. Read a case history of the Clark family and the occurrence of...
Curated OER
Physical Changes and States of Matter - Two
Here's a wonderful lesson on how substances change states. Groups of learners are given trays with a chocolate bar, a piece of paper, an ice cube, and a balloon. During the activity, the groups closely observe the changes that each...
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What are the Rules?
Get young learners involved in the development of classroom rules! Students and the teacher discuss the purpose of having rules, including how rules provide order, security and safety. Then learners design pictures to accompany the...
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How Communication Technologies Affect People
Third graders complete a worksheet, first with known information, and then with researched information. They create a PowerPoint, video, or radio broadcast to convey the results of their research. They learn to use a graphic organizer to...
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Many Paths
Students explore the composition and practical application of parallel circuitry, compared to series circuitry. They design and build parallel circuits and investigate their characteristics, and apply Ohm's law. They recognize that...
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Autism And The Brain
Help your class understand Autism. They conduct research into how the brain is effected by the disorder of autism. Then they write a letter to the Center For Disease Control about their findings and forward some of the new research to them.
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Speed Score
A fast and fun way to practice shooting basketball. Small cooperative groups help each other tally up the most baskets made in a certain period of time. There are a couple ideas included to increase or decrease the difficulty of the...
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Setting the Tone with Figurative Language
Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...
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Learning to Interview
An authentic and engaging way to practice literacy skills, this lesson calls for young language arts pupils to conduct interviews with classmates and family members. First, pupils watch as the teacher models the interview process with a...
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The World of Work
Learners identify between appropriate and inappropriate behaviors at work. In this work behaviors lesson, students use a dictionary to define the related terms and visit various links to complete activities that define work place...
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Children of War
Take a closer look at the impact of war in this language arts and social studies activity. Middle schoolers use primary sources to conduct research as they relate to the effects of war on children. They compare and contrast the effects...