Smarter Balanced
Classifying Vertebrates
What features do scientists use to classify animals into groups? Class groups examine a series of paired images of vertebrates (a bass and a trout, a toad and a newt, a crocodile and a tortoise, an owl and a robin, a tiger and a bear)...
Smarter Balanced
Effects of Water
To prepare for a performance task assessment, class members review the stages of the water cycle and then individuals assume the roles of drops of water for a Reader's Theater exercise. The script, a graphic depicting the water...
Smarter Balanced
Importance of Nutrition
Prepare your class members for the performance task assessment on nutrition with an activity that asks class members to rank images of foods from least nutritious to most. Participants also offer reasons for why they ranked the...
Smarter Balanced
Food Waste and Food Access
Forty percent of food in the US goes uneaten while 14.5 percent of US households lack a secure supply of food. As part of the preparation for a performance task assessment, groups consider statistics such as these about food waste and...
Smarter Balanced
How the Brain Works
Cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem, pituitary gland, and spinal cord. Prepare your class for a performance task assessment on the brain and how it works with a scripted plan that defines these terms and identifies the functions the...
Inside Mathematics
Quadratic (2006)
Most problems can be solved using more than one method. A worksheet includes just nine questions but many more ways to solve each. Scholars must graph, solve, and justify quadratic problems.
Inside Mathematics
Party
Thirty at the party won't cost any more than twenty-five. The assessment task provides a scenario for the cost of a party where the initial fee covers a given number of guests. The class determines the cost for specific numbers of guests...
Inside Mathematics
Vencent's Graphs
I like algebra, but graphing is where I draw the line! Worksheet includes three multiple-part questions on interpreting and drawing line graphs. It focuses on the abstract where neither axis has numbers written in, though both are...
Inside Mathematics
Suzi's Company
The mean might not always be the best representation of the average. The assessment task has individuals determine the measures of center for the salaries of a company. They determine which of the three would be the best representation...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Labor Unions in an Industrializing U.S.
Have class members eager to enter the workforce? They'll be glad to learn that things aren't how they used to be. Have your young historians examine then discuss four primary source images related to the negative effects of...
Mind Snacks
Learn German - MindSnacks
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Even if you can't speak German now, you'll be fairly accomplished after practicing with the games and words that make up the greater part of this app!
Curated OER
Earth Day Poster
Students promote Earth Day. In this Earth Day lesson, students create an Earth Day catch phrase and use graphic art design principles to make an Earth Day poster.
Curated OER
Multiplying Exponents vs. Powers of Powers
Use the power of a power property to solve exponential functions. The instructional activity refers to differentiating between multiplying or adding exponents to find the value, and how to find the product of a power of a power.
Smarter Balanced
Technology in the Classroom
To prepare for a formative assessment on the benefits of technology in the classroom, groups generate a list of the types of technology that could be used in a classroom and then discuss how each of these items could be used. Group...
Smarter Balanced
Renewable Energy
Renewable and non-renewable energy sources are the focus of a series of activities that prepare learners for a performance task assessment on energy. Groups identify the various sources of energy and classify these sources as either...
Smarter Balanced
The Internet
The Internet and how it has changed our lives is the focus of a series of activities that prepares learners for the performance task assessment on the influence of the Internet. Groups also brainstorm devices such as phone and cars that...
Smarter Balanced
Growth and Expansion of America
Despite the difficulty of travel, the US expanded significantly between the 1800s and the early 1900s. To prepare for a performance task assessment on the rapid expansion of the US in the 1800s, class members engage in a...
Curated OER
A Changing of the Guard: Traditionalists, Feminists, and the New Face of Women in Congress
Students explore the role of women as Congressional leaders. In this women's rights lesson, students identify and investigate the impact of women representatives and senators in the U.S. Legislative Branch. Comprehension questions, data,...
Curated OER
Scientific Method
Students conduct an experiment and complete a chart demonstrating some of the basic properties and components of water via the scientific method. They encompass strategies such as questioning, making predictions, comparing/contrasting...
Curated OER
A Chorus For Us
Students examine "serious" choral music written for student choirs and the composers who write it. They reflect upon the notion of "serious" music, and examine the trend of concert composers writing pieces for student chorus
Curated OER
Human Rights Arts Project and Research Paper
Students examine human rights abuses in thirty countries, specifically explore abuses in Dominican Republic's Trujillo regime, research one country with significant human rights abuses, use Preamble to U.S. Constitution as measure of...
Curated OER
All About Bats
Second graders research everything they know about bats. They find out anything about bats that was not discovered by the class and to come back and share the new information. They color their own picture of a bat and will write at least...
Curated OER
Seeing Art in Historical Context: An Activity to Promote Visual Literacy
Students consider works of art in their historical context. In this art in historical context lesson, students are encouraged to think about and record their prior knowledge of the historical period and to make inferences about the...
Curated OER
Identify the Element of Line
Students explore the element of "line." In this beginning art lesson, students listen to the book Harold and the Purple Crayon, then describe the types of lines Harold drew. Students identify straight lines, jagged lines, curvy...