Curated OER
Literature and Humor
From Canterbury Tales to The Odd Couple, this presentation details the different treatments of humor in different literary formats. Numerous authors and works of literature are represented here as examples of satire, irony, comedy, and...
Media Smarts
Teaching TV: Television Techniques
As part of a five-instructional activity unit on how television uses technology and film techniques to communicate meaning, elementary young scholars create their own media productions that demonstrate their understanding of these concepts.
Curated OER
Hype!
Eight various activities have your learners looking at hype in the media. Advertisements for films, politics, music, and philanthropy all contribute to emotional appeals and marketing strategies trying to convince consumers to...
Exploratorium
Diamagnetism
If you are attracted to activities dealing with diamagnetism, here is a rare find that you will appreciate. With a neodymium magnet and a few common materials, move a pair of juicy grapes without touching them. Though the fruit is...
Media Education Lab
Propaganda Techniques
In an age of fake news, alternative facts, and biased reporting, it is more important than ever that 21st century learners develop the critical-thinking skills necessary to recognize, analyze and resist the propaganda techniques used in...
Curated OER
Poetry Alive! Interpreting Poetry Using Digital Images
Students investigate poetry by incorporating images into the words of a poem. In this language arts lesson, students discuss poetry writing devices and self expression with their classmates. Students create a film about the...
Curated OER
Frozen Film
Students are introduced to the topic of light interference through this hands-on activity. They observe how light reflects off two surfaces and then meets to form an interesting variation of color on a film surface.
PBS
Pearl Harbor and the Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
Balancing national security and civil liberties can be tricky. To appreciate the tension between these two concepts, class members investigate the Japanese attack on the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and President Franklin D....
Curated OER
The Crucible
Students create a movie of a scene from The Crucible upon completion of reading the book. They assume a variety of roles in the film production.
Curated OER
Candles in the Dark
Young scholars analyze and apply their personal responses through poetry and film to a challenging and disturbing event-the Holocaust. They use a digital video camera to film each student reading their poem.
Curated OER
The Call of the Wild: Differences Between a Book and a Movie Adaptation
Fling your class members “into the heart of things primordial” with a Venn diagram activity that highlights how the same themes are treated in the film and book versions of The Call of the Wild. Consider extending the exercise by having...
Curated OER
Systems, UP, Up and Away!
Students discuss rockets and how they work. Students research basic information about the Space Shuttle. Students work in collaborative groups creating "rockets" with empty film canisters. Students launch their "rockets" and record...
Curated OER
Introduction To Literary Analysis
Explore the fascinating ways in which authors use specific literary devices to create interesting and realistic texts. Using non-fiction articles with the subject of rogue waves, an excerpt from The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger,...
Curated OER
Frozen Film
Learners discover how light reflects off surfaces. In this hands-on demonstration, students examine how variations in color are produced by light interference.
Curated OER
People Are Like Peas in a Pod
Students experiment with pea pods to observe/appreciate the diversity of individuals within a population, and to explain of how dominant and recessive traits, genotypes, and phenotypes help produce variation in a population.
Curated OER
Number the Stars
Fifth graders examine threat to all people (particularly the Jews) resulting from the imposition of Nazi authority, and appreciate the courage exhibited by ordinary people acting out of conscience.
Curated OER
The Oregon Trail
Fourth graders discover the significance of the Oregon Trail in Idaho history. In addition, 4th graders conceptualize the Oregon Trail in relation to their own lives. They engage in a wide variety of curricular activities, culminating in...
Curated OER
Family History
Students appreciate how families are important to the expansion and progress of a country. In this biographies lesson, students read a biography and write their biographies including photos. Students create family trees.
Curated OER
A Conventional Family
Students explore writing techniques by analyzing their own families. In this family values lesson, students view the film "The Incredibles" in class and discuss the different types of modern-day families. Students write about their...
Curated OER
Caterpillars To Butterflies
Students gain an appreciation of nature by teaching them about the life cycle of the butterfly. They set up a terrarium so they can observe the changes a caterpillar goes through.
Global Oneness Project
Resurrecting a Home
Davina Pardo's documentary Minka asks viewers to consider that value of preserving traditional dwellings and traditional building techniques by examining how American journalist John Roderick and Japanese architect Yoshihiro Takishita...
Art Institute of Chicago
African Myths and Stories
Young historians discover African stories associated with a royal altar tusk from the Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria, read myths illustrated on the tusk, and write a story about the life of an oba using figures depicted on the tusk.
University of British Columbia
The Outsiders: Identity, the Individual, and the Group
S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is the anchor text in a unit that asks readers to reflect on their own identity, their place in their family, in groups with which they identify, and in school.
Curated OER
Neighborhood Appreciation
Fifth graders examine the neighborhoods around their school. Using maps, they document landmark buildings and community organizations with digital cameras. They write about their journeys and share them with the community.