Towson University
Mystery Disease
How did scientists determine the cause of illness before technology? Science scholars play the role of medical researcher in an engaging guided inquiry activity. Using observations, technical reading, and Punnett squares, learners...
Curated OER
Ecuadorian Rainforest
Have your class talk about the importance of the rainforest and the products that come from it. Learners watch a video showing the path of chocolate from the rainforest to the supermarket. They discuss how the rainforest and...
Newseum
Can I Trust the Creators?
It's easy to find information at the click of a mouse, but is it trustworthy? Pupils learn about the E.S.C.A.P.E. acronym for evaluating sources. Next, learners read a news story and evaluate its sources to determine credibility. Last,...
Newseum
Evidence: Do the Facts Hold Up?
Sometimes it's hard to escape bad information! Pupils learn the E.S.C.A.P.E. method for evaluating news sources and complete a worksheet to assess a news article using their new skills.
Literacy Design Collaborative
Betrayal in Literature—Barreiro
What do Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter" and the Book of Genesis have in common? Both are complex texts that model how authors can approach the same concept—betrayal—in very different ways.
US Mint
The Growth of a Nation
Young historians explore the identity of the early United States in this four-part lesson series. Working in groups of three, students research the political, economic, and cultural atmosphere of each member of the...
Curated OER
Human Body Series - Bones, Muscles, and Joints
Strengthen understanding of the musculoskeletal system with a structured lesson! Begin with a discussion of bones, joints, and muscles. Have small groups read assigned articles and watch videos to gather information and then write a...
iCivics
Step Five: All about Public Policy
Public policy is important to understand because it affects everyone. The resource tells middle schoolers how the government uses policy to accomplish goals in the administration. It includes a reading, true or false worksheet, a...
Curated OER
Math for the Frontier
Make history come to life by using the Frontier House series to engage students in the past. Your class will "prepare" for a trip to 1833 Montana. They will learn about homesteading, frontier life, inflation, and cost of living. Using...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 3
Curator, artist, art handler, archivist, conservator-restorer, guide. Who would have thought there were so many different kinds of museum professionals? After a visit to an art museum, class members reflect on the role of the museum in...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Online Sources
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
Discovery Education
Market Research and Design: The Headphone Challenge
Watch augmented reality bring classrooms to life. Scholars work in groups to design, build, and market a new pair of headphones meant for children under three. They use an augmented reality app to show their headphones in action as they...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Looking and Learning in the Art Museum — Lesson 2
Is there a difference between examining an original work of art and viewing a reproduction? Class members are asked to reflect on this question after researching a piece, study a reproduction of it, and the examining the original in an...
Computer Science Unplugged
The Orange Game–Routing and Deadlock in Networks
How is data able to move in a congested network? Groups simulate moving data around a congested network by passing fruit around a circle, following specific rules, until everyone ends up with their own fruit. Extension activities...
Shodor Education Foundation
Squaring the Triangle
Teach budding mathematicians how to square a triangle with an interactive that shows a graphical proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. Pupils alter the lengths of the legs using sliders. Using the inputted lengths, the applet displays the...
Common Sense Media
Identifying High-Quality Sites
Use a Huffington Post article focused on false pictures of Hurricane Sandy to launch a discussion about the reliability of online information. Groups compare and contrast how print and broadcast media regulate...
Curated OER
Energy and Work: Transformation through Engines
Students are introduced to the concept of thermodynamics. In groups, they participate in experiments in which they discover how potential energy converts into kinetic energy. They use the internet to research the components of a...
Curated OER
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
Students research the Industrial Revolution. In this Industrial Revolution lesson plan, students research on the Internet, with books, magazines, fill out worksheets, and more to learn about inventions that were made out of necessity or...
Curated OER
Hunt the Fact Monster: October # 3
In this internet research worksheet, students search the internet via the Fact Monster website for facts about Columbus, Halloween, Bats, Africa, and Walt Disney movies and answer 5 multiple choice questions.
IBM
The Human Body
Every moment, the systems in your body are working together to keep you breathing, standing, and thinking. Elementary schoolers explore the human body and its systems with an impressive, 15-page lesson plan that should leave your...
City and County of San Francisco
I Want It! I Need It!
Discuss wants and needs with your elementary ecologists and get them to consider what would happen to our natural resources if we all got everything that we want. Learners play a card sorting game and take an ecological footprint quiz on...
Curated OER
Noncombatancy and the Seventh day Adventist Church
Upper graders investigate how the Seventh Day Adventists are objectors to the practice of war. The lesson covers the Civil War and examines the church's position about the practice of war. The research extends to modern wars and learners...
Curated OER
The History of Mathematics
Research the interrelationship between math and science. Search the Internet to discover the history of several branches of mathematics and make text-to-world connections between the concepts covered in each branch with related...
Social Media Toolbox
Law Review
How can your journalism class ensure they use social media responsibly and legally? The sixth lesson in a 16-part Social Media Toolbox series asks pupils to dig deep into the legal aspects of social media use by school publications....