EngageNY
Author’s Read: Final Performance Task
Scholars submit their final performance task, a letter to a publisher about an athlete's legacy. As a culminating activity, they share their work with classmates in small groups. 
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The Captain And Lake Wilmar
Tenth graders examine the ecosystem of Lake Wilmar through three coordinated performance tasks. They first investigate the effects of pH on freshwater animals by comparing the zooplankton counts from three different areas. They then...
Code.org
Practice PT - The Internet and Society
Speaking of the Internet. The culminating lesson for the unit on the Internet challenges pupils to prepare short, two-minute speeches on an issue facing society. The pupils chose from three topics that connect the Internet and...
Kenan Fellows
Applying Linear Regression to Marathon Data
It's not a sprint, it's a marathon! Statistic concepts take time to develop and understand. A guided activity provides an opportunity for individuals to practice their linear regression techniques in spreadsheet software. The activity...
Curated OER
We Tell Stories
Young readers bring characters to life by working in small groups to script and perform stories that contain a community concept. Detailed questions and activities are outlined for the class. Consider having your groups create...
Core Task Project
Whatif by Shel Silverstein
What a skillful way to incorporate Shel Silverstein, a wonderful author, into the classroom. Composed of three tasks, children are led through a series of text-dependent questions that force them to unveil the meaning of Silverstein's...
National History Day
Leland Linman’s War: A Look at Soldiers’ Daily Lives in World War I
Hunkering down in the trenches of World War I, Leland Linman decided to write a journal about his experiences. By reading Linman's entries in the fourth installment of an eight-part lesson series, scholars get a firsthand look at life in...
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Chinese Shadow Puppets
Students explore Chinese culture by performing a shadow puppet play. They create the puppets, develop a script, and rehearse and perform a play which illustrates an understanding of Chinese stories and traditions.
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The Nutritional Content of Food
Students are given three unknown samples and must perform two chemical tests in order to determine if the samples contains protein and/or starch.  Students work with corrosive or toxic reagents.
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Orange Juice - From the Tree to the Glass
Second graders work in groups to create a play showing how an orange becomes orange juice at the store. In this economics and goods production lesson, 2nd graders complete a webquest that guides them though discovering the process of...
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Survival
Students determine the best material from which to make a jacket to keep the body warm in a cold, dry, windy climate.  This task assesses the student's abilities to perform an entire investigation.
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Car Wash
Students determine the most appropriate site for a car wash, based on each site's soil characteristics (chemical, physical) and topographic features. They perform an experiment to determine the changes to three different soil types when...
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Paper Chromatography
Small groups of students perform paper chromatography to separate food dyes into their component colors. Students perform the experiment and collect, organize, and represent their data to form an explanation of their outcomes. Students...
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That's the Way the Ball Bounces
Students investigate and compare the bouncing ability of the materials from which four different balls are made. They determine which material performs the best for use as a basketball. After collecting data in a small group they...
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Winter Tree Identification
Students utilize techniques of winter tree identification such as twig and bark characteristics.  Students also identify specific uses for trees in school surrounding.  They work cooperatively to produce a multimedia presentation on...
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Identifying Instruments and Families
Fourth graders complete with the class a KWL chart and discuss prior knowledge of orchestras. They visit websites to discover instruments and families of the orchestra and discuss appropriate audience behavior prior to going to a concert...
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Form and Theme in the Traditional Mexican Corrido
Students examine the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos. For this cross curricular history and music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of popular corridos and the corridos' importance in Mexican culture. Students will...
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Chinese Shadow Puppets
Students explore the art of Chinese shadow puppetry. They create puppets, develop and rehearse scripts and perform a show in front of the class.
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Life in a Hurricane Zone
Students research the effects of living in a hurricane zone. In this hurricane zone lesson, students research the impact of natural disasters on humans and the environment, and write a press release describing the devastation of...
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Researching and Writing About Another Country's Holiday: Documenting and Communicating Information
This lesson is a culminating lesson which follows students researching, collecting citations, evaluating and selecting text, graphic materials and visual aids. For this concluding lesson, 5th graders discuss the assessment task and how...
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Old Solutions - New Solutions
Students examine descriptions of a mining company's land-reclamation project. They  share information to analyze the environmental impact of the project. Independently, they  answer questions on environmental and economic issues...
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Brushstrokes From West to East
Students meld their ideas about art with the philosophy of the Chinese. They discuss each art project, discover the history and culture of each project in China. They create a tea ceremony and various Chinese art projects.
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Vincent Van Gogh
Students examine the life and works of Vincent Van Gogh.  They complete a class KWL chart, and watch a PowerPoint presentation about the life of Vincent Van Gogh.  Next, they use a digital photo of themselves to create a self-portrait...
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Life in a Hurricane Zone
Students investigate the social effects of hurricanes. In this social studies lesson, students assume the persona of residents of the Dominican Republic and write diary entries and letters regarding the devastation caused by Hurricane...