Curated OER
Writing a Biography - Mark Twain
Students write a biography. In this biography lesson, students discuss what a biography is and how to write one. They research Mark Twain, answer questions, and write a biography about his life.
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum
Harry S. Truman And Korea
Engage the class in researching oral histories and historical revision, in order to gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the sacrifices made by Americans in the Korean War. The inquiry process is scheduled to take one week....
Smarter Balanced
A New Kind of News
Newspapers and broadcast news. Social media, blogs, and blogospheres. Class members generate a list of news sources they use to get information about events. The big idea here is to introduce the necessary vocabulary and to establish a...
Curated OER
Career Connections
Students research the characteristics of specific occupations with personal career interests and aptitudes. In this career exploration instructional activity, students select three careers to explore and consider their own interests and...
Curated OER
The World of Work
Young scholars practice appropriate behavior during a mock job interview. In this interview skills lesson, students identify a career using the given websites. Young scholars answer questions in preparation for the job interview and read...
Curated OER
The Canadian Expedition
Fifth graders research and write a pen pal letter about the geography of a Canadian town. Students create a script for a phone call with their pen pal and perform it with a friend for the class.
Curated OER
The Solar System
Looking for a cross-curricular project for language arts and science? Use this lesson to reinforce knowledge of the Solar System, as well as expository writing skills. Elementary and middle schoolers choose one aspect of the Solar System...
Curated OER
Meet the Corps of Discovery
Students assume the persona of one of the members of Lewis and Clark's expedition team. They research a member of the expedition team, write a first-person introduction of that team member, and share that introduction in a 2-3 minute...
Curated OER
Email Buddies
Collaborate with another class (or school) and have your learners share ideas about their reading through the use of email. Perhaps you'll create a specific question or a few questions for writers to choose from. Not only will they...
Curated OER
Everybody Needs a Little Sunshine
Three activities introduce upper elementary ecologists to photosynthesis and food webs. In the first, an experiment is set up to determine how plants respond to different types of light. In the second, they connect organism cards with...
Curated OER
Let's Visit Hervey Bay
Students explore the concept of saving files on the computer. In this computer technology and science lesson, students download pictures, facts, and sounds of whales and save them to a disk. Students then discuss the...
Curated OER
Career Connections: The Connection Corner
Students will create a career information center. In this careers lesson, students research careers on a local and national level and create a help wanted ad for an occupation of personal interest. Students create a...
Curated OER
What's in a Name? Considering the Shakespeare Authorship Question
Did Shakespeare really write all that stuff? After viewing a trailer for the film, Anonymous and reading Stephen Marche’s article “Wouldn’t It Be Cool If Shakespeare Wasn’t Shakespeare?” class groups read articles about the Shakespeare...
Appalachian State University
Science Fiction - Genre
Unsuspecting George McFlys are presented into the craft workings of the science fiction genre of literature. Speculations are developed through teacher-led dialogs about how science fiction impacts science, technology, and comments on...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Development
By utilizing a graphic organizer called a bubble map, young readers work toward developing their vocabulary. After reading a story, a word that has something to do with the story is put in the middle circle. Then, other words that have...
Curated OER
Satchel Page
Bring a lesson about Negro League Baseball to your Black history unit, or any other research unit throughout the year. While the lesson plan itself is simplistic, there are several good ideas that you could use, such as creating trading...
Wake Forest University
Authentic Activities for Connecting Mathematics to the Real World
Check out the handout from a presentation that contains a collection of high school algebra projects connecting a variety of mathematics to the real world. Activities range from simple probabilities to calculus. The activities...
Curated OER
Town Along the Chesapeake Bay
Fourth graders make a drawing of a town along a river off of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Upon completion, they give an oral description of their town, including its houses, stores, businesses, farm area, government, etc., and will...
Curated OER
A New You!
Science learners journal familiar ways that the human body can regenerate or heal itself. In small groups, they research and create a poster of current information on stems cells and how they can be used to regenerate. The article for...
Curated OER
How Was Coal Formed?
Geology can be a lot of fun. Learners review geology related vocabulary, make flashcards, use encyclopedias to answer questions, then explore the formation of coal. They identify dates and order them into key time frames of geologic...
Curated OER
Developing, Developing, Developed!
Students differentiate among and explain various levels of economic development around the world. They see that levels of economic development vary greatly in different countries according to many different measures.
Curated OER
Spanish Colonials Encounter Quechan Culture
Students use primary sources from the de Anza expedition of the 1770's to research colonial encounters with the Quechan people from Yuma Crossing, Arizona.
Curated OER
Marine Animals on the Move
Students work with partners to track tagged animals using real-time data from satellites. Students gather and analyze data, compile information and conclusions and then prepare a final presentation of their research.
Curated OER
Creating a Wild Family Album
Third graders choose an animal to research and create a portfolio about that animal that includes information from at least three resources, a graphic organizer, maps, food webs, and captioned pictures.