Curated OER
Tapping into the Experiences of Senior Citizens
Through casual talk and structured interviews, 6th graders tap into the wealth of their senior pals' experiences. They write descriptive essays and narratives based on conversations with relatives or neighbors. They read selected...
Curated OER
Photosynthesis and Cell Respiration
Fifth graders participate in scientific inquires regarding the concepts of photosynthesis and cell respiration. For this photosynthesis and cell respiration lesson, 5th graders describe the process of photosynthesis with relation to...
Curated OER
Partners for the Common Good: One Day
Fourth graders explore the concept of philanthropy. In this service learning lesson, 4th graders compare for profit and nonprofit organizations. Students explore nonprofit organizations in their community and discuss their philanthropic...
Curated OER
Be a Weather Newscaster
Ninth graders, in groups, create and videotape a news broadcast. Each group researches, develops and writes a weather forecast, a commentary on an environmental concern, a school activity and a commercial.
Curated OER
Learning Empathy Through Art
Students create poems based on the Haiku form and research about WWII. Class discussion and classroom readings of student work finish this lesson. Emphasis is placed on Standards in the Arts.
Curated OER
Technology: Koo Koo for Clocks
Third graders design and make clocks compiling a materials list, creating adesign portfolio, and recording progress in a daily log. After making a full-size drawing of their clocks and with the assistance of high school technology...
Curated OER
Westward Movement
Students explore the concept of philanthropy in historical context. In this Westward Movement lesson, students read Our Journey West and explain examples of settlers working together for the common good.
Curated OER
The Long and Short of It- Shadows
Students trace shadows. In this light and shadows lesson, students conduct an experiment to determine what a shadow is and what is necessary to make a shadow. Students observe how shadows change as well as write and draw shadows in their...
Curated OER
Quick Breads (Banana Muffins)
Students review what they know about quick breads and bananas. In this art lesson, students discover two different recipes for Banana Muffins off of the computer. Students prepare a recipe for Bananas Muffins carefully and clean up their...
Curated OER
Adventure Story Starters
In this writing worksheet, students read 6 story starters which would make interesting beginnings for adventure writing. Students choose one or more prompts, write the stories and evaluate themselves using the rubric.
Curated OER
Clean Air
High schoolers read sales promotion reports and create a sales promotion summary using information from the report. They develop a graphic organizer to outline their information for a presentation. There is an assessment checklist...
Curated OER
Walk on the Wild Side
Have your class practice alliteration using this instructional activity. Learners listen to stories with alliterative elements and create their own sentences illustrating this technique. The instructional activity is incomplete, but...
Curated OER
In the Poet's Shoes: Performing Poetry and Building Meaning
Middle schoolers explore poetry by completing a webquest in which they hear poets reading their own work. Later, they examine the dramatic impact of reading poetry out loud. Finally, they practice reading poetry aloud and performing.
Curated OER
Dia de Los Muertos
Pupils construct concept maps after reading an article. In this Dia de Los Muertos lesson plan, students read about the celebration in Spanish and create concept maps explaining what they learned. Pupils share with their peers.
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Letter to a Character
Readers of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida place themselves in the story and craft a persuasive letter to a character in Victor Martinez's National Book Award-winning novel.
Dream of a Nation
Writing an Analytic Essay
After researching an issue introduced in Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas for a Better America, writers develop an original thesis statement and craft an analytic essay using evidence collected in their research.
Curated OER
The Rumpelstiltskin Story
Why didn't Rapunzel's hair stop growing? Why did it take the fairy godmother so long to intervene in Cinderella's affairs? Young writers consider unanswered questions like these and compose news articles investigating the true...
Penguin Books
The Curriculum Guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer
The death of a parent can turn a child's world upside down. A curriculum guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy explores defining moments in the main character's life, including the loss of her mother. Chapter-by-chapter discussion...
Museum of Tolerance
Family Role Model Activity
What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Cornell University
Beam Focusing Using Lenses
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Body Biography Book Report
Examine the characters in Willa Cather's My Antonia with a group project. Small groups illustrate their chosen character on a large piece of paper and choose quotes from the text that tell about the character. Where learners choose...
Scholastic
The First Thanksgiving Feast for Grades 6–8
It's time for the feast! Young historians complete their study of the First Thanksgiving by completing an online activity, watching a slideshow, and examining a First Thanksgiving timeline. After answering text-dependent questions to...
Cornell University
Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...