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Functions and Top-Down Design
Let me break it down for you! Introduce your class to a way of breaking up a complicated task into its component pieces. Individuals draw a complex figure using JavaScript and then break it down to help determine the...
Curated OER
Mighty Earth Movers
Note that although the publisher lists almost all of the Common Core standards for both math and language arts, you will most likely want to take the general topic and choose which area to focus on. Regarding math, pupils measure worms...
Curated OER
Salmon Stories
Work on author's purpose with this instructional activity, which focuses on sequence of events and audience as well. Middle and high schoolers describe the 50 State Quarters Program for background information. After discussing the...
Curated OER
Becoming a Member of an 1830s Family
Students compare and constrast life in an 1830s family verses a modern family. They role play the position of a family member in 1830 while wearing traditional clothing for the time period. They write journal entries to show their daily...
Curated OER
Yakety-Yak
Do talk back! The transcript of one side of a telephone conversation launches a study of dialogue. Class members imagine the response of the speaker on the other side of the conversation and record these responses on the provided...
Curated OER
Feelin' Buggy
Young scholars discuss five senses, compare and contrast human and insect senses, use adjectives to describe things they touch, smell, and see, and write stories in first person describing what it would be like to be size of insect.
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...
PBS
Inventions
Use this lesson plan to discuss inventions that have changed your class's world and have impacted society. Middle schoolers investigate important inventions of their time and design an invention in a simulated business atmosphere. Modify...
TryEngineering
Program Your Own Game
Young computer scientists get to see what it's like to be a software engineer as they use free online software to design a computer game. They play and evaluate games groups created to round out the activity.
California Academy of Science
Poetic Reflections
Poetry is a wonderful way to explore language, express topical understanding, and incite creative thinking. After a trip to the local natural history museum (or zoo), learners write an acrostic or a cinquain poem describing one of their...
Curated OER
Creative Insects
Third graders examine insects that are common around the school. They write a creative story about being an insect for a day and include scientific data that they learned.
Curated OER
A Day in the Life of a Leprechaun
Students investigate creative writing by reading Leprechaun stories. In this Irish culture lesson, students listen as their teacher describes what a leprechaun is and where the idea for the creature came from. Students write a fictional...
Curated OER
Scrapbook
Students, using photos as their inspiration, develop six personal narratives, then edit and revise them.
Curated OER
Presenting Your Case
Pupils research a famous person of their choice in this lesson. They research the person's life, feelings, and character through a series of written activities. They compile their research into a creative project called a character's...
Curated OER
Imagination
Students participate in a computer game which helps them develop their hand-eye coordination and imagination. They can use this activity before doing writing activities or show and tell.
Curated OER
The Important Things About Nouns
Students create pages to be published into a eBook. Students read a story and identify nouns and attributes that describe the noun. Using a creative writing process, students write paragraphs and combine them for their eBook. Students...