Curated OER
Creative Writing
Middle schoolers write in their journals at the beginning of class. They create a poster of what they just wrote about in their journals. Pictures are to be labeled and dictionaries are encouraged.
Curated OER
Sand and Water
Students follow this recipe for fun clay creations. In this early childhood art and science lesson, students develop creative-thinking skills, fine-motor skills, and sensory awareness while they make, mold, and decorate salt dough.
SurfScore
Kodable
Prepare young scholars for life in the twenty-first century with this introduction to computer coding formatted as a fun problem solving game, this resource is a great way to develop children's sequential thinking...
Curated OER
Dancing Lights
Students view artwork and navigate the Internet, and read books to learn about the Aurora Borealis. In this Northern Lights instructional activity, students complete a KWL and separate the facts from the myths about the...
EngageNY
Close Reading of That Book Woman: How Did People Access Books in Rural Areas of the United States?
For this ninth lesson plan in a larger beginning-of-the-year unit, close reading skills are used independently to find the gist of the story That Book Woman. Rereading for important details is the targeted skill to unlock a deeper...
EngageNY
Continued Close Reading of Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle: Text-Dependent Questions and Vivid Words and Phrases
In the third activity from this unit based on the book Bullfrog at Magnolia Circle, learners focus on using specific details from the text-to-answer questions about the habitat of bullfrogs. While reading the text, young...
Scholastic
A Tale to Tell!
A creative spin occurs when one pupil acts as author Ann M. Martin. Using a Q & A at the back of her book A Dog's Life, other classmates ask the "author" questions. They discuss the reasons why they know the book is from a...
Curated OER
Adapting a Musical
Students transform literature into musical productions. In this integrated arts instructional activity, students discuss how musicals are written and produced. Students then select literature they are familiar with to adapt into musical...
Curated OER
Teaching Mythology Lessons in a Creative Way
The key to understanding mythology can lie in finding lesson plans that hook students on this fascinating part of history.
Curated OER
Dear Diary
Work on narrative writing with this lesson, in which middle schoolers analyze the characters from a selected piece of literature and write narrative diary pieces as the character. They work to understand the point of view of the...
Louisiana Department of Education
Fahrenheit 451
In his 2013 introduction to Fahrenheit 451, Neil Gaiman states, “Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over.” In this extraordinary unit plan, readers "explore the power of written language to educate and...
Curated OER
Seasonal Science: Spring Life Science Activities
Spring into science with these great lesson ideas involving butterflies.
Curated OER
Creative Homework Assignments Can Motivate Students
Teachers can make homework more meaningful by giving students interesting and motivating assignments.
Curated OER
Making a Magical Story
Fourth and fifth graders use their knowledge of developing character, dialogue, and setting to produce an original story. An excerpt from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is used as inspiration to get everyone's...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Identifying Similar Triangles
Math whizzes work with angle sums and exterior angles to figure out the measure of other angles. This particular publication provides comprehensive support in the form of an anticipatory activity, questions designed to prompt discussion,...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Informational Text: Music and the Brain
Even if you've never picked up a musical instrument, chances are that music has directly impacted your mental and emotional development. Sixth graders engage in a reading activity in which they read two articles on the impact of music on...
MARS - Mathematics Assessment Resource Service
Applying Properties of Exponents
The properties of exponents are all linked together and it is your mathematicians' job to discover and apply those rules. The comprehensive lesson begins with a pre-assessment task to check for prior knowledge and then goes into a...
Curated OER
Ideas for Activities and Discussions About the U.S. Constitution
Incorporating lessons about the foundation of the U.S. Constitution can invigorate the minds of students.
Curated OER
Dear Diary
Students analyze a piece of writing by creating diary entries based on a character. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read an assigned book with their classmates and create a sketch of what they believe the main...
California Academy of Science
Rapid Brainstorming: How Can We Conserve Our Water Resources?
Water covers around 75 percent of the earth, yet humans struggle to find enough fresh water to live. The fourth of 10 lessons focusing on Fresh Solutions requires brainstorming. Young scientists consider various problems related to fresh...
Curated OER
Musical Mysteries
Students explore the components of sound and how it can be represented visually. A trip to a circus and a walk through a magical forest are used to encourage visualizations and creative thinking.
Curated OER
What is cooperative negotiation?
Tenth graders differentiate between positions, interests, and values. In this current events instructional activity, 10th graders analyze, in a response to literature, the failure of a fictional negotiation. Students...
Curated OER
Make a Natural Weaving
Young scholars use natural materials and yarn to create weavings. In this natural weaving lesson, students find large branches to act as the loom, use other natural objects to act as designs within the weave, and use fine motor skills to...
Anti-Defamation League
10 Ideas for Teaching Black History Month
Celebrate Black History Month with the help of 10 ideas that delve deep into the history, major events, contributions, famous African Americans, and sheds light on how scholars today can take a proactive stance on current civil rights...