University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Do You See What I See?
Can art play tricks on your eyes, and can a still painting really appear to vibrate? The second lesson in a four-part series discusses the way our beautiful brains translate visual images. It highlights the style of optical art and...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Some DNA Does Not Encode Protein
Roy John Britten easily earned a PhD in nuclear physics—but he found painting with water colors too difficult. Young scientists learn about Britten's life, career, and research with an online interactive. They read a biography, view...
PBS
Gratitude and the Environment
A class discussion begins a two-part lesson about gratitude and the environment. In part one, learners watch a video then share their feelings about its most memorable moment. Delving deep into the meaning of gratitude, scholars create...
Curated OER
Elders as Resources Lesson Plan
Young scholars participate in an Elders as Resources project. In groups, they work with their elders of the community to exchange viewpoints in which they can discover aspects about each other previously unknown. They also examine the...
Curated OER
Historical Harbor Habitats
Tenth graders create food web displays in the classroom. In this ecology instructional activity, 10th graders identify the different pollutants in the environment and their effect on organisms. They collect samples of sediments from the...
Curated OER
Mock Standing Committee
Students participate in standing committees to explore controversial issues. They research the issue in order to develop a perspective on the topic.
Curated OER
Immigration in the Late 1800's
Seventh graders explore the progression of immigration patterns in the United States. They examine how immigrants perceived and adapted to the United States culture. Students discuss how immigrants were able to perserve their culture in...
Curated OER
Harvesting the New World: Changing Land Uses and Contact Between Cultures in Colonial Times
Ninth graders differentiate the Native American and European values. In this world history lesson, 9th graders define colonialism in their own words. They study the effects of epidemics and other diseases to Native American populations.
Curated OER
Getting to Know You
Young scholars complete an getting to know each other activity. In this personal names lesson, students play a name game, read a book about names, and then discuss why names are important. Young scholars design a name card on oak tag...
Curated OER
Cave Painting in the Ice Age
Students take notes and sketch during the Internet research. They take notes of the colors found in the cave paintings (black, browns, ochre, sienna). They create an initial full size comprehensive sketch on scrap paper and in their...
Curated OER
Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot!
Students, in small groups, simulate an ancient civilization and the art they created, another group represents vandals, and the final group represents archaeologists who try to figure out what life was like for the "ancient peoples". ...
Curated OER
Seeing Cells
Sixth graders study living cells and their functioning units. In this cell instructional activity students color cell diagrams, answer questions and discuss the differences between plant and animal cells.
Curated OER
International Festival: Venezuela
Students become familiar with the Venezuelan culture and geography. In this Venezuelan Festival lesson, students compare and contrast themselves to the people of Venezuela. Students participate in activities to understand the...
Curated OER
Tom Thumb Stories From Around the World
Students read Tom Thumb story versions from around the world. They locate the country on a map. They compare and contrast the stories and analyze common elements found in fairytales. They create a finger puppet and write about being...
Curated OER
Arsenic and Human Health
Ninth graders concentrate on arsenic poisoning as an example of the connections among health, geography, and geology as they develop a persuasive presentation about the dangers of arsenic in the drinking water, targeting a specific...
Curated OER
What's That? Diversity Among Organisms
Seventh graders can go outside and explore the organisms that live in the environment outside their door. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to examine the world around them with a new perspective. This activity will increase...
Curated OER
How Can We Extract Human DNA?
Students perform an experiment in which they extract DNA samples from hair samples. They follow a set procedure to extract the DNA and complete summary questions.
Curated OER
Sugar Bush Sap Production - Human Environmental Impact on Sap Sand
Eleventh graders compare the amount of sugar sand present in tree sap. In this environmental science lesson, 11th graders measure different tree circumference. They prepare a report and share findings in class.
Curated OER
Playing Humanity: Comparing Shylock and Antonio
Students read a scene of "The Merchant of Venice" and write remarks by Antonio and Shylock that indicate traits of their personalities. They enact both characters and discuss the treatment of anti-Semitism, bigotry, persecution and mercy.
Curated OER
Human Evolution
Students make and use observations of Laetoli footprints to provide clues to life in the past. They collect and analyze data to study the relationship between foot length and body height.
Curated OER
Historical Perspectives
Twelfth graders watch episodes of Star Trek and analyze the works of it that pertain to the theory of relativity. In this creative lesson students also write and illustrate a children's book about the special theory of relativity.
Curated OER
Human Expression
Middle schoolers compare figurative works of art to determine what they say about the cultures that created them.
Curated OER
Natural Resources: Getting a Fair Share?
Students explore the impact of human behavior on key components of the environment, examine how theirn own personal decisions have added to the problem, and explore possible solutions to the current ecological crisis.
Curated OER
Prairie Dog Prognosis
Students discuss the transmission of diseases from exotic pets to humans. They research different aspects of particular zoonotic diseases from the perspectives of the animal vector, the parasite, the infected human, and the carrier human.