Curated OER
Changing It Up
How should a cashier stock a cash register with coins? Learners use mathematical modeling and expected value to determine how many rolls of coins of each type they should place in a cash register.
Lehigh University
Glory (1989) - Should it be Shown in Class?
This is a fantastic activity that prompts learners to think like educators and consider the value of a historically based film beyond just the accuracy of information. Your young historians will work in groups to do a close reading and...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Tag: Whose Values
Get young people thinking about their lives and current topics of social justice, advocacy, gender, race, and identity. After examining several works by Barbara Kruger, participants select a tag with one of the questions printed on it,...
Council for Economic Education
Fall of Rome
What led to the fall of Rome? Scholars have debated the question since the end of the great empire. Young historians consider the same question through an economic lens using an engaging lesson that involves a hands-on evaluation of the...
Illustrative Mathematics
Riding by the Library
Draw a graph that shows the qualitative features of a function that has been described verbally. Make sure learners understand where time is zero and the distance is zero. It may take them some time to understand this concept, so working...
NASA
Freshwater Availability Classroom Activity
This science assignment produced by NASA teaches inquiring minds the distribution of Earth's water. Learners will appreciate and understand the importance of fresh water and how weather and climate affects everything.
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: Multi-Genre Writing Assignment
How do people solve problems in healthy ways? Writers explore a topic of interest in their multi-genre writing assignment exploring Zach's Lie. The final resource in a series of seven includes multiple scaffolds and organizers for...
Illustrative Mathematics
The High School Gym
Learners apply critical thinking skills as they analyze data about the temperature inside a gymnasium during a school assembly. The focus is on representing temperature as a function of time and interpreting input and output values...
Illustrative Mathematics
Throwing Baseballs
This is a wonderful exercise for learners to apply their critical thinking skills along with their knowledge of quadratic functions and parabolas. Young mathematicians investigate a real-world scenario about the height a baseball reaches...
Curated OER
Ecosystems
A critical look into the structure and function of ecosystems is here for young learners as a series of lessons and worksheet activities. Topics covered include land-based and marine ecosystems, connections to the water cycle, food webs,...
Council for Economic Education
What's the Big Deal about Spices?
Today's gourmands don't consider spices to be the equivalent of silver and gold. During the middle ages, however, these commodities were precious. People back then used spices in religious ceremonies, to cure rotten food, and as a show...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.3
Don't let your pupils take everything at face value! They should analyze and evaluate what speakers say. Practice this skill with the two related activities described here. After brainstorming critical questions, learners can listen to...
Curated OER
Delayed Gratification
Word problems are great for engaging critical thinking skills, and word problems involving money increase a child's financial literacy. Boost your critical and financial thinkers with a multi-step word problem involving money and problem...
Smithsonian Institution
Young People Shake Up Elections (History Proves It) Educator Guide
Vote, it's your civic duty! The resource provides several videos about voting in the United States. Scholars watch a series of topics ranging from youth participation to civic action. The educator's guide provides teachers with...
Wordpress
Paper Doll Project
Explore self and social construction with a hands-on art project. After studying and discussing bullying and other social experiences, individuals create three paper dolls that represent specific social constructions. Included here is a...
Career Solutions Publishing
It’s For Real Workplace Ethics
Discuss the ethical and practical consequences of dishonesty at work by analyzing a hypothetical situation in which a young employee at a pizza shop is being asked by her friends for free meals.
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Problematic Situations
Bring the drama of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea to class with a fun role-playing activity. Given a list of survival items, readers decide which items would be the most necessary for an adventure like Santiago's, and rank...
Illustrative Mathematics
How Many Solutions?
Determining the number of solutions is an important stepping stone to higher math. In this case, the resource asks algebra pupils to find a second linear equation for a certain solution of a system. When one is asked for a linear...
Curated OER
The Kite Runner: Problematic Situation
To conclude their study of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, class members assume the voice of Amir and write a letter to Hassan, Amir's childhood companion.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.1
Focus on writing argument essays with your high schoolers. The lesson suggested here focuses on The Jungle, by Sinclair Lewis; however, the idea could be adapted for other texts. Check out the quick quiz provided at the end of the...
Curated OER
Negro Leagues Baseball Card Project
Students discuss impact of Negro Leagues on society, research Negro Leagues baseball players, paraphrase and summarize information, and present pertinent information in baseball card format.