Smithsonian Institution
Watching Crystals Grow
Amazing science can sometimes happen right before your eyes! The class gets cozy as they watch crystals grow. They use Epsom salts, rocks, and food coloring to create crystals. They'll observe the entire process, documenting every step...
Curated OER
Revolutionary Money
Examine paper money from the American revolution! Historians study the paper bills and discuss the history of money. How has money changed over the times? Activities are included.
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Islamic Civilization in Spain
There may be elements of this lesson that are useful for a unit on Islamic influence in Spain; however, there is little alignment between the learning objectives and the final product --a ten page report. For example, some of the...
Curated OER
Do You Really Know What Wealth Is?
Students explore what it means to have wealth in Mali and in the United States. In this economics lesson, students read "Music in the Fields." Student groups answer discussion questions. Students reflect on the purpose music serves...
Curated OER
Interesting Facts about the Historic Trails
The Oregon trail is a very interesting part of American history. The class, having read or discussed the events leading to the westward expansion and settling of the Oregon Territory, can answer each of these fill-in-the-blank...
Curated OER
Persuade Me, Please! Reading a Persuasive Essay and Liking It!
Persuade your writers that crafting arguments is not that difficult. They only need to follow the steps outlined in this resource.
Curated OER
Explorers’ Experience
Students investigate the Exploration Age. In this research skills lesson, students discover the impact of exploration as they locate information about selected explorers. Students design and create relief maps that feature exploration...
Curated OER
A Creative Way of Reporting on Books
By using creative ways to complete book reports, like using cereal boxes, you can motivate students.
Curated OER
Around the World Calendar
Students examine world landmarks and monuments. They create a 12 month calendar featuring a significant site for 12 different countries.
Curated OER
Under the Spell of Spiders
Students examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Students will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
Curated OER
Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...
Curated OER
Guantanamera: A Poem and a Song
Learners compare revolutionary actions of Jose Marti and Pete Seeger. In this Cuban folk song lesson, students listen to the song "Guantanamera" and discuss the content. Learners read articles on the poet and the songwriter and create a...
Curated OER
Field Trips Can Inspire Students to Write Creatively
Fieldtrips can lead to a variety of writing experiences for students.
Curated OER
Imagining China Through Words
Students create a drawing from a written description and examine and discuss how European artists from the past created images of China that combined imagination with written descriptions and limited visual imagery.
Curated OER
"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black...
Curated OER
Fossils Footprints Across Time
Young scholars examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson plan, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Writing the Artist's Statement
Learners read and write an artist's statement. In this artist's statement instructional activity, students read Dorothea Lange's artist statement before writing one of their own about their photography. They examine their own photography...
Curated OER
Imagining China Through Words
Middle schoolers create a drawing from a written description to examine images of China in European art. In this art analysis instructional activity, students create a visual image from a written description of an object. Middle...
Curated OER
Stamp of Courage
Students discuss the attributes that a hero can have and what it takes to be a Distinguished American, and be commemorated on a stamp. In this courage lesson, students research an everyday hero that they know about and create a...
Curated OER
Plants and Animals: Partners in Pollination
Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.
Curated OER
Mineral Scavenger Hunt
Students complete a scavenger hunt worksheet as they find examples in their classroom, at home, etc., of minerals. Excellent worksheet!
Curated OER
Create a Classroom Exhibit: Rocks and Minerals
Students bring in rocks and minerals from home. They observe them and describe them carefully, completing a worksheet. Finally, a classroom exhibit is created.
Curated OER
Letters from the Japanese American Internment
Students examine letters of Japanese-American children during internment in World War II. They discover what it was like in the camps and how they were treated once they were released. They also view photographs of the camps.
Curated OER
Tombs and the Afterlife
Students design a tomb, create a model of it, and complete a short written assignment explaining the design and contents of the tomb. They study the concept of the afterlife and the importance of pleasing the gods and goddesses.