Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Curated OER
Fifteen Seconds of Fame
A reading of Panic in Paris launches a review of the elements of narrative writing. Class members work in groups to find narrative devices in the book and record their findings on a provided worksheet. Using the completed pages,...
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Texture Hunts and More: Madonna and Child with Saints
Students investigate different painting techniques by studying classic works of art. In this art history lesson, students observe the famous Madonna and Child with Saints painting and describe the texture and images they notice....
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Hold On to Your Hats
Elementary schoolers study the symbolism and influences found in advertising. First, they learn about the history and cultural significance of the Summer Official's Hat that was a symbol of status in ancient China. Then, they access...
Cornell University
Beam Focusing Using Lenses
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
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Launching Rockets
Second graders discuss experiences of watching a rocket launch either on television or in person before making paper rockets. They make and color rockets which they attempt to launch using a strong breath blown through a straw at the...
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Oh! The Stories Behind Nursery Rhymes
Students investigate the games that children used to play to nursery rhymes. They explore the role of illustrators and illustrate their own book of rhymes in this unit.
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Adding Integers
Students explore the concept of adding and subtracting integers. In this integer lesson, students use strips of paper (various sizes) to add and subtract integers. Students visualize the process of adding and subtracting integers.
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Classic Storytelling with a Technology Twist
Students use technology to improve their knowledge of literary terms, math, and technology skills. In this technology storytelling lesson, students learn about character, plot, and setting in various stories by using technology like...
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Show Some Backbone and Teach Invertebrates
Fifth graders identify two similarities and two differences between two phyla, assign fictitious invertebrate to its phylum and explain why it belongs in that grouping, and construct member of given phylum and explain why it should be...
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Hands and Feet of Many Colors
Students perform activities that involve color and shape discrimination. They play games to practice memory skills. Students recognize body parts to participate in activities.
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My Name Puzzle
Students solve a name puzzle, write their name six times, and identify their name on their envelope.
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Shapes
Students recognize different shapes, such as squares and rectangles. They make a face using squares and the rest of a body using rectangles, using the drawing pencil in KidPix.
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60's Pop Art: Multiples of Me
Students discover characteristics of Pop Art through slides and discussion of the 60's era and produce a pop art portrait of themselves using Clarisworks paint program and Hyperstudio.
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Pop Art: Multiples of Me!
Students discuss major events in the 60's era including conflicts, culture, and history. Students also take a look at artists from this time and discover Pop Art. They then create their own portrait in the Pop Art style using Clarisworks...
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Super Sentence Starters
Fourth graders create more complex sentences by adding specified parts. They play a game where they be making sentences sound better by adding new words or phrases. They use worksheets imbedded in this lesson to give them lots of ideas.
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Thanksgving Poem
First graders read a Thanksgiving poem to build reading comprehension skills. They develop the skill of using context clues while explaining the meaning of each line of the poem. The assessment is done as the teacher listens to poems...
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Beginning Sounds
Students are introduced to the different sounds that could be used at the beginning of words. After being shown words, they choose the one that has the same sound as the word their teacher said. Individually, they sort out picture...
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Exploring Feeling Through Eric Carle
Students construct a "feeling cube" for the purpose of exploring and discussing feelings. Students read "The Hungry Caterpillar" discussing life cycle and making a sock puppet, discussing the feelings explored during the activity and the...
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On The Farm
Students identify animals found on farms. They create a farm picture using KidPix Software. They can combine their pictures to create a class book on farm animals. They can use graphic pictures from clipart to decorate the cover of the...
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Gross Motor Development
Fourth graders participate in a game reflecting the solar system, stars, and rockets. They simulate how space invaders move and hit stars and rockets. They discuss how scientists study the stars and planets.
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Understanding Bernoulli's Principle
Fifth graders explain why we fly. In this space science lesson, 5th graders discuss Bernoulli's prinicple and its relation to flight.
Curated OER
The Shapes of Art: A Lesson in Aesthetic Awareness
Learners become immersed in analyzing the influences on and development of an artistic paradigm; they also move into, through and beyond the literary piece.
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Fleece, Feathers, and Fur
Students improve vocabulary and explore predicting and categorizing after reading the book, Is Your Mama a Llama?