Curated OER
EARLY CIVILIZATIONS
Students compare and contrast the monuments of four ancient cultures and draw conclusions about the origins, construction, and purposes of these structures.
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MEDIEVAL SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Seventh graders examine the area of medieval Sub-Saharan Africa through eyes of travelers in the company of one of history's greatest travelers, Ibn Battuta. The project has been structured to include all the State standards for this unit.
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Marvelous Manatees
Two groups consider whether or not the Florida manatee will become extinct during their lifetimes. They research manatee populations and statistics together and then a class debate is held. Afterwards they consider how reliable...
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Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson plan! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson plan incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research,...
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Gold Mountain
Learners read primary and secondary sources to find jobs as a Chinese immigrant. In groups they create a chart listing jobs for Chinese and write a letter about employment and living conditions to a Chinese friend.
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Strong Convictions
How can the rhetorical structure of an editorial help to develop its argument? Use this New York Times editorial to emphasize the importance of structure in a piece of informational text. Adolescent writers then use the editorial as a...
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The School Holiday Calendar
Various Muslim holidays and their meanings are researched and your students will predict whether or not they should be recognized on the New York City school calendar. An extension could be to write a letter to the Mayor about...
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Credible Sources on the Internet: What to Trust, What to Dismiss and When to Cite a Source
Wait, you mean researchers don't all use Wikipedia? Teach your class about intelligent research with a lesson about evaluating digital sources. The lesson starts with a quickwrite and includes vocabulary exercises and several...
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Family Foodways
Discover, document and share the knowledge of family food and ways special occasions are treated. Your class will explore the context in which food traditions are created and adapted in their families and communities. Each student also...
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A Nation's Voice
Students research the Constitution and the War Powers Act in order to determine what the powers of the government are in times of conflict. They answer a series of questions then write a legal brief either supporting or condemning the...
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And Your Point Is . . .? Part II
After researching recent community or political issues, paired with a review of proper debate format, class members select a topic, adopt a side, and prepare for a debate. The value in this resource is the review of debate procedures,...
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Conservation vs. Economic Growth
Investigate the choices people make between economic growth and personal growth and development using the ethical/decision making model. Small groups create and present a position paper describing their feeling for or against the...
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Collective Poetry: Teaching Tolerance
Help your class create collective poetry following a simple, engaging model from Teaching Tolerance (tolerance.org). Each young poet writes five things on an index card: sayings from others, favorite sound, favorite place, favorite...
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Debates On Important Court Cases
Students debate important court cases. Divided into three groups, students accept a position as first debater, second debater and the third group is neutral. At the conclusion of each debate, students vote to determine the winning side.
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Focus on the Media
Students critically examine news articles and editorials for attitudes of discrimination and prejudice. Students then complete checklist in which they analyze news reports for context, content, point of view, language, graphics, and...
Alabama Learning Exchange
The Earth Has Many Layers
Students conduct an experiment. In this Earth's layers lesson, students learn about soil, sand and rock. They complete their own Jell-O Mountain and investigate the Earth's layers on-line.
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Indian Removal to the Great American Desert
Seventh graders examine American policies to relocate Native Americans. In this Native American history lesson, 7th graders determine why Native Americans were relocated and investigate their response to the policies as they analyze...
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Standards and Measures
Students conduct a "one-question interview" about standardized tests. They assess two sections of a standardized test that they took or will take this year and write an article for their school newspaper that consolidates their test...
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Are We Safer?
Students discuss the meaning of feeling safe in their environment after September 11th. After reading National Intelligence reports and news articles summarizing the findings about national security, they write letters to their...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Gulliver's Travels
Students read and analyze the book, Gulliver's Travels. They develop a reading folder, identify the main story elements, compare/contrast Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput and Brobdingnag, and write a paragraph about the main characters.
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American Media: Addicted to Scandal?
Students examine media coverage of George W. Bush's refusal to answer questions regarding past illegal drug usage in the 1999 campaign. They consider the role of rumor, scandal, audience and relevance in political media coverage.
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Technology Newsletter
Students discuss impact and value of modern technological inventions on society, contemplate world without technology, skim magazines and newspapers for advertisements highlighting modern technologies, and work with partner to create...
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Conflict Resolution in the World Today: Introduction to Current World conflicts, their Antecendents, the Progression, and their Potential Conclusions
Learners write a paragraph describing a conflict they had with a friend or a family member and a paragraph explaining how it was resolved. In this social science lesson, students share their paragraphs with a partner and then will...
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Justice Is Blind, Colorblind That Is
It's so interesting to see kids respond to articles about education. To start the day, prompt learners to discuss the words colorblindness and diversity. Then, split your class in two and have one side read an article from 2007 and...