Health Smart Virginia
Mental and Emotional Health
Middle schoolers learn about stressors, effective stress management techniques, and the role of resilience and tolerance in handling stress. Individuals then create a personal mind map that includes their own mental/emotional management...
Curated OER
Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Disorders Extending Beyond the "Norm"
Learners develop an understanding of autism by engaging in an inquiry-based discussion. Pupils are exposed to the vast array of defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorders. They create posters about the developmental...
Teach Engineering
Dirty Decomposers
Do not let the class just sit and rot. Pupils learn how decomposition and nutrient recycling is important to an ecosystem. Groups design an experiment to determine how environmental conditions affect decomposition. They develop a poster...
Captain Planet Foundation
Which Plant Is Which?
Learn about dichotomous keys, plant identification, and how to care for the planet with a instructional activity that includes several hands-on and innovative activities. Kids go on a plant scavenger hunt and classify the plants that...
Curated OER
Galaxy Adventure
Working in groups, learners create a mnemonic device, give an oral presentation, and create a pictorial representation of the correct sequence of the planets and asteroid belt from the sun. An assessment rubric is included in the lesson.
Curated OER
Remembrance of Things Past
Engage critical and social thinking by exploring the value of language and word choice. The class considers the article "The Silence of the Historic Present" and analyzes several presidential speeches. They engage in class...
Curated OER
The Bear Facts
Students explore various kinds of bears and gather information about them. In this research and habitats lesson plan, students chart their bear information on large posters with illustrations of their bears. Students map the...
Curated OER
Word Up!
Study the importance of word choice in informational text. Middle and high schoolers locate unfamiliar words and phrases in newspaper articles of their choosing, and use online word sites to explore the definitions and histories of each....
Curated OER
Excel, Word, and Basketball
Wow, this instructional activity packs a punch. Pupils interview basketball players, write about a game, and use Excel to organize statistics related to the players and the points scored. Afterward, they create posters, presentations,...
Curated OER
Using Context Clues
Middle schoolers receive a handout that lists the five types of context clues. The class divides up into groups of three or four, and each group chooses five unfamiliar words. They write a multiple-choice question for each of their five...
California Academy of Science
Ocean Acidification Mock Conference
In a comprehensive role playing activity, teens play the parts of different stakeholders in the realm of acidic oceans. They research, debate, and create a presentation from the perspective of either ocean organisms, the fishing...
Curated OER
Playing Hot and Cold
Students read about homeothermy. Through research and poster projects, they gain insight into the diversity among mammals and the ways specific mammals survive in their native climates.
Curated OER
Homophone Cartoons
A terrific lesson on homophones awaits your youngsters. First, pupils access a website that contains lists of homophones. Then, it's time to get creative! Everyone gets a piece of poster board and they create a homophone cartoon -...
Curated OER
They That Wash
Scholars examine the "They That Wash" poster and listen to the rhymes. They match word cards to the words in the nursery rhyme, practice sounds, and create new words. Afterward, they add copies of the rhyme to their "My Very Own Nursery...
Curated OER
Hopi Tribal Council
Focusing on the differences between traditional Hopi government and the Hopi Tribal Council, this resource is a good addition to your unit on Native American culture. Learners conduct Internet research, analyze primary source photos, and...
Science 4 Inquiry
Journey Through the Spheres of the Earth
Each of the Earth's spheres interacts with the other spheres in predictable ways. Young scientists explore these interactions through a hands-on activity, graphing, and watching a video. They summarize their knowledge in a video or...
Curated OER
Ambassadors of Art
Have your class create their own art exhibit. Learners study the exchange of artwork between the Louvre in Paris and two American art museums, and create an introductory exhibit featuring European and American art from the Renaissance...
Curated OER
Meet the Tiger
Here is an excellent lesson tigers that has a research component. Integrated into the lesson is the premise that God created animals and the human responsibility to care for them. At learning centers students visit various Websites and...
Discovery Education
Sonar & Echolocation
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Common Sense Media
Digital Citizenship Pledge
Learners collaborate to create a set of group norms and expectations by which they will abide in order to promote a safe, respectful online community.
Curated OER
All Aboard!
Students, in groups, create a display showing a "train trip" to a destination of their choice from a teacher-made list. They also answer a series of questions related to their trip. Groups present their displays.
Curated OER
What's Really True? Discovering the Fact and Fiction of Autism
Youngsters investigate autism and autism spectrum disorders. They access a variety of websites which present information on ASD's, and assess how accurate the information they've read actually is. They work in groups and utilize...
Curated OER
Cause Célèbre
In this exercise, learners identify characters from an "Archie" comic and discuss the relevance of "Archie" to today's youth. They create public service advertisements featuring celebrities to address common concerns among teenagers in...
Curated OER
A Leader's Lifetime and Legacy
In this lesson, students consider their prior knowledge about Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and consider the immediate events surrounding his death. They then create timelines and write papers examining his political career.