Curated OER
"Whispering Wires": Public Law vs. Individual Civil Liberties
High school student love discussing controversial issues like those brought up in this fourth amendment case study. They examine the 1928 Olmstead vs. U.S. prohibition court case, applying the fourth amendment to determine whether...
Curated OER
The Outsiders: Anticipation Guide
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is always a favorite for middle and high school readers because it addresses issues that hit home to them, decades after the book is set. Have learners fill out an anticipation guide that encourages them to...
Curated OER
Researching African Americans Who Made a Difference
Celebrate Black History Month with this instructional activity, in which middle schoolers create an essay about a famous African-American. Writers conduct research online, take notes to write an essay in proper format, and use ideas,...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Strangest Dream
Do words change or add meaning or interest to a work of art? The final lesson in a four-part series on the beautiful brain as a work of art focuses on art analysis. Scholars write a story about exploring art from the inside. Reflections...
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical journal...
Curated OER
Lesson: Paul Chan: 1st Light and 5th Light
Paul Chan's latest exhibit includes seven manifestations of light. Today, kids analyze the pieces 1st Light and 5th Light. They consider the concept of opposed or dualistic realities found in literature, society, and Chan's work....
Curated OER
Connected by Art
Students inspect visual arts by exploring images on-line. In this art analysis lesson, students discuss the history of art and the its ability to communicate with people through images. Students utilize pencils and charcoal to create...
Curated OER
Breaking News: School Bans Hugging and High Fives
Students explore current events by analyzing a news article in class. For this school ban lesson, students read a story about a high school in London that has banned physical contact between all students. Students answer study questions...
Curated OER
Poetry Alive! Interpreting Poetry Using Digital Images
Students investigate poetry by incorporating images into the words of a poem. In this language arts activity, students discuss poetry writing devices and self expression with their classmates. Students create a film about the...
Curated OER
Itsy Bitsy Spider & His 2 Friends: Music, Pitch, High and Low Notes
Students gain practice with high and low notes when singing an adaptation of the 'Itsy Bitsy Spider".
Curated OER
Weapons in school: Protection or danger?
Young scholars write an editorial (staff opinion) or commentary (writer's opinion) if they/he or she believe the school rules are either too strict or too lenient when addressing weapons possession. Students research past situations in...
Curated OER
Body Language: How To Talk To Students About Nudity in Art
Students explore nudity in art in musweum and classroom settings. Student's age, culture, comfort level and parental reactions are considered in the presentation of these two lessons of this unit.
Curated OER
Spelling, Capitalization, and Punctuation
Elementary schoolers explore writing conventions. First they play a ball toss game to practice spelling high frequency words. (A link to a 2nd grade list is attached.) The class works together to correct spelling, punctuation, and...
Curated OER
School Lunches Get More Healthful
Learners read a story called School Lunches Get More Healthful and answer vocabulary and comprehension questions about it. In this current events school lunch lesson plan, student respond to literature by answering questions, recalling...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-Magic School Bus
Students read The Magic School Bus Gets Baked In A Cake: A Book About Kitchen Chemistry by Joanna Cole. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of kitchen chemistry. Included are reading, art, math,...
Curated OER
School Announcement Blog
Students become bloggers. In this technology lesson, students use video and image editing to add to an online school announcement blog that they maintain.
Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They...
Curated OER
Secret Life of Bees Research
The Secret Life of Bees provides high schoolers an opportunity to connect the events in the novel to events in America’s history. After choosing a topic from a provided list, individuals research how the event affected the Civil Rights...
Georgia Department of Education
Exploring Poetry and Poets
Combine the study of poetry and non-fiction texts with this complete and ready-to-use six-week unit. After reading numerous poems from local writers and compiling a personal anthology, high schoolers find and read a memoir or biography...
Curated OER
Preparing for the Possibility of Terrorists
Learners investigate what schools and communities can do to be prepared for terrorist attacks, review school's disaster plan, research types of possible attacks, prepare infographic that makes facts clear, and write news article...
Curated OER
Lesson: Allison Smith: What Are You Fighting For?
Trench art is a nontraditional art form created by soldiers in trenches during wartime. Artist Allison Smith connects her art to the American Revolution and the question: "What are you fighting for?" Kids examine her art, how it connects...
Curated OER
What Do You Think? Analyzing Points of View About an Issue
"How might multiple perspectives of standardized testing impact me as a student?" is an example of an essential question that a researcher might use as a basis for this lesson on how to research and present a written stance on a...
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Parts of Speech Adverbs: Building Blocks of Grammar
What is the difference between an adjective and an adverb? Encourages scholars to explore the answer to this question while building a foundation of the English language. The lesson comes complete with an attention grabber, notes, and a...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.4
Your pupils will be expected to determine the meaning of words and how those words affect the meaning of a text. Help them master this skill with the ideas listed here. First, look over the two activities that could be used for your...