DiscoverE
Product Dissection
Sometimes, taking things apart is more fun than putting things together. Groups of learners participate in a reverse engineering activity. They dissect a device of their choosing to see how it works—great hands-on learning from the...
NASA
Let's Investigate Mars
Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy lesson. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's nearest neighbor.
Dick Blick Art Materials
Fauvism is for the Birds!
Here's a art project that lets kids use bold colors to express their inner wild beasts, and maybe even attract a few wild birds. Using old picture frames, canvases, and screen mesh, young fauvists craft bird feeders and decorate their...
Education Oasis
Creative Writing Unit: Analyzing, Interpreting, Discussing and Writing Various Genres of African-American Literature
A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...
Curated OER
Lesson New Museum: Exploring the Building
Explore the possibilities of buildings, public spaces, and architectural design. Learners examine the work of SANAA architects Sejima & Nishizawa through background information, images, and guided class discussion. This lesson...
Curated OER
Printmaking
Analyze the process of printmaking and explore how prints reflect an artist's view of society. After viewing and analyzing the prints of Elizabeth Catlett, class members create an inner tube and a linoleum block print. They then research...
Curated OER
Double-Entry Journal Writing
Introduce your learners to the concept of a double-entry journal. Talk about how to connect with the text and model an example for them. Using whatever literature you are working with, have scholars choose a quote and make their own...
Curated OER
Eight Basic Elements of the Earth
Young scholars identify the concept of an element and work with an idea that all of the millions of substances on the earth are various combinations of only 8 elements. They work with the Periodic Table of the Elements and symbols of...
Curated OER
Doing Your Best
Students awareness is raised when they reflect on the importance of working hard at home and at school. They develop responsibility and make the most of their abilities. A quote for the week is provided and discussed what it means. ...
Curated OER
Using Words to Work Things Out
Third graders discuss ways to use words to solve a conflict. In this conflict resolution lesson, 3rd graders read the book Angela and Alice and discuss the conflict from the story. Students brainstorm ways to solve conflicts among...
Curated OER
Build a Model Submarine
Learners form lab groups and work together to construct a submarine out of a soda bottle. Next, they observe its action in a tub of water as the inner pressure is changed. It is an engaging experiment. However, links to outside resources...
Curated OER
Perplexing Puzzles
Elementary and middle schoolers explore scatter plots. In this graphing lesson, pupils work in small groups and use jigsaw puzzles to develop a scatter plot. Younger students may develop a bar graph.
Curated OER
History / Introduction of Pythagorean Theorem
Learners explore Pythagoras and the history behind his theorem. They work together to solve a proof that is embedded in the instructional activity.
Curated OER
Leaky Seal
Junior high schoolers explore possible theories for the cause of the Hunley submarine sinking. Through hands on activities, they investigate how to create a waterproof seal. Afterwards, they discuss how seals work and various...
Curated OER
Earthquakes and Seismic Waves
Students investigate the Richter scale and seismology in a teacher-led lab in which they are introduced to the concept of seismic waves and epicenter location. They further investigate the inner workings of a seismograph and practice...
Curated OER
The Inner Voice: Writing as a Tool to Control Anger in the Classroom
Third graders write about their feelings and thought for 10 minutes. They color an image that corresponds with their feeling and present their feeling poster. They write about their thoughts and daily feelings to help them reflect and...
Curated OER
"I've Been Working on the Railroad" - Federal Land Grants and the Construction of the Illinois Central Railroad in Mid-nineteenth Century Illinois
Eleventh graders, in groups, design a self-sufficient community. Groups present the communities they've designed. They compare and contrast the communities presented. They research the theories of Johann Heinrich von Thunen online and...
Chymist
Earth Science
Explore the consistency of the earth's layers and soil through modeling. By conducting an engaging experiment, learners develop a model for the earth's layers and a soil profile using edible materials. Each material is chosen based on...
Teach Engineering
The Amazing Red Planet
Introduce your class to Mars with a resource that provides information about its size, location, length of day, length of year, number of moons, and average temperature. Also includes is information about the lans for past and future...
Curated OER
Socratic Seminar on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter From Birmingham Jail
Key in the struggle to gain the rights of democratic citizenship was the April 1963 arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for civil disobedience. To deepen their knowledge and understanding of events during the civil rights movement,...
Curated OER
Mr. Lincoln's Hat
Bring out the inner artist with this Abraham Lincoln lesson. Elementary students work on a home project creating a hat similar to Abraham Lincoln's hat. They will use geometry and measurement to create the scale of the hat, then...
Curated OER
The Hand Drill: An Example of a Screw
Students examine how a screw works as an inclined plane and a hand drill works as a screw. In this physics lesson, students complete two hands-on activities working with simple machines including screws and hand drills. This lesson...
Curated OER
If You Really Love Me
Learners identify the effects of substance abuse. In this drug awareness lesson, students work together to develop a slogan for substance use and abuse. Each pair of learners posts their slogans for the class to see.
Curated OER
Understanding Volcanoes
Students create a model volcano in groups, and discuss what each part of the model represents as they go along. In this volcano lesson, students come back together as a whole group and discuss what group did the best work, according to...