Norfork School District
Habits of Mind
Why do artists create? To solve a problem, of course. Young artists work individually and then in groups to create observational, imaginative, and narrative drawings in response to an assignment that requires them to employ all 16...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: From a Distance
Challenge your class with an amazing set of ideas that really put the project back into project-based learning. It all starts with a whole class research task. Each learner will look up and take notes on multiple facets of things that...
Curated OER
Map It Out
Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...
Curated OER
The Founders’ Library: Thinking as a Founding Father
Students analyze the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. In this U.S. government lesson, students examine books, movies, and music that influence them today and then investigate writings that influenced the framers of the...
Center for History Education
Colonial Tea Parties
Most people know of the Boston Tea Party, but it was only one of similar protests throughout the colonies. Using a case study from Maryland, learners explore primary sources, including images and newspaper accounts of similar tea...
Center for History Education
Civil War Weaponry and Medicine: A Disastrous Mismatch
Ironically, science was the reason why the Civil War was so deadly. Despite the use of medical practices now considered barbaric—such as conducting surgery with bare, dirty hands—developments in weaponry meant that more men died on and...
US Mint
Desert Dwellers
What can a quarter possibly teach young learners about desert ecosystems? More than you might think. After displaying and discussing the included picture of the Arizona state quarter, the class participates in a series of...
McGraw Hill
Gravity Variations Interactive
What would a baseball game look like on the moon? Probably a lot of home runs! A creative activity explores the motion of a projectile on the surface of different bodies in the solar system. Participants adjust the angle and...
Curated OER
Pass-It-Back Relays: Children are aces at creating their own races.
Children participate in several relay games in small groups. In this creating outdoor relay races instructional activity, students develop motor skills and engage in activities that encourage teamwork and creative thinking....
Curated OER
Cooperative Problem Solving Tasks
Fourth graders explore the following activities where kids are encourage to think creatively, share thoughts and opinions, create, discuss and solve problems, and than draw conclusions.
Curated OER
Captain's Quest
Fourth graders, in groups, participate in a game in which they are assessed on their ability to work together to gather communication skills, leadership, trust, respect and creativity.
Curated OER
Games for Culminating Activity
Students need to be creative in developing an activity that will help other students review the information studied in the past four weeks. They will work effectively in groups to develop a culminating activity and to play other groups'...
Curated OER
Molly's Pilgrim
Students read Molly's Pilgrim and discuss what the word pilgrim means and what they think they look like. In this pilgrim lesson plan, students design a clothespin doll to represent a pilgrim.
Curated OER
KinderArt Drawing for Kids
Young scholars illustrate a creative adventure idea. In this arts and crafts lesson, students design drawings based on where they would like to go for an adventure. Before creating their illustrations, young scholars...
Curated OER
Which Age?
Learners recall time and place of objects. The National Aviation Hall of Fame is set up in six ages: The Early Years, WWI, the Golden Years, WWII, the Jet Age, and the Space Age. Use this activity for a review of the NAHF after the tour....
iCivics
Step Eight: Positions, Please!
Everyone sees the results of public policy, but not everyone understands the strategy that goes into creating an effective one. Now that your class understands the brainstorming process from earlier in the series, they continue on to the...
NFPA
Sparky's Birthday Surprise
Fire safety is a hot topic for kids! With this resource, little ones will read, color, draw, and play as they are learning about prevention and, as an added bonus, practice naming shapes, counting, and adding numbers! Reading, math, and...
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Waste and Recycling: Recycling Paper
We take paper for granted, while thousands of trees are being made into the paper we toss in the trash. Start a dialogue about paper reduction and recycling in class, and share the negative effects paper production has on our...
SForsyth
Name and Describe a Street
Build creative writing skills through a project centered around a street name. Young writers start by creating a unique street name and brainstorming what life might be like on that street before writing a descriptive piece about this...
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Gayle Forman
Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...
Curated OER
Geometric Pictures of One Half
A learning task that involves creative ways of thinking permits children to use paper models as a way to visualize the fraction one-half. Learners can fold or cut their models in such a way that the unshaded regions, and shaded...
Novelinks
The House on Mango Street: List-Group-Label
Encourage close reading of the text and a focus on how Sandra Cisneros' develops her characters with an activity that asks teams to sort, group, and label character descriptions from The House on Mango Street.
Kiwi Crate
Paper Chain Countdown
Is your class looking forward to an upcoming event or holiday? Print links to a paper chain that inspire kids to use their waiting time to complete creative and fun activities.
Curated OER
The Search for a Meaningful Dialectic
Students explore a framework of political and social values to evaluate the validity of any public policy debate, bill, or law. They participate in cooperative learning in terms of the group investigation model.