Federal Reserve Bank
Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building
How tall is the Empire State Building? Lead your class through a collaborative estimation activity to determine the number of quarters it would take to reach the top and teach the following concepts: human capital, human resources,...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 2
Ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM, ta DUM. The force will be strong in the hearts of your young Jedi as they use their lightsabers to strike the accentted syllables in lines from Ian Doescher's William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New...
Student Achievement Partners
"The Glorious Whitewasher" from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain with Mini-Assessment
It's the classic scene: Tom Sawyer is whitewashing a fence. Expose your learners to Mark Twain's humor while reinforcing reading comprehension. Eighth graders are encouraged to read and reread, achieving as much exposure to the text...
Curated OER
Junk Food Jungle
Students become familiar with the nutritional value of foods advertised on television and in magazines. They discuss different types of foods and where snack food fits into a healthy diet. They categorize the foods they eat as healthy or...
Curated OER
President for a Day
Students imagine they are president of the United States for one day! students study general information about the duties of the president of the United States. They create a schedule for one day as president.
Curated OER
Basic Vitamins: Water-Soluble and Fat-Soluble
An incredibly thorough lesson on vitamins, and how to keep one's body at peak health. Learners access a variety of excellent worksheets embedded in the plan that have them consider raw vs. cooked foods, a vegetable nutrition summary,...
Curated OER
What A Pair! A Cross Grade Writing Activity
What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...
Curated OER
Los participios irregulares: el presente perfecto
Looking for a reference guide to equip your learners with as they explore the irregular past participles in the perfect tense? First there's a chart that contains 12 irregulars and their meaning, and then there are example sentences to...
Curated OER
El verbo SER-Explanation and Practice 2
The verb "to be" is irregular in both Spanish and English. Give your Spanish-speaking learners this sheet to review the verb ser and practice conjugating it in the exercise that follows. Looking to extend this activity? Consider...
NASA
Biology Training Conclusion
Gravity is just one consideration when determining human habitability on a new planet. The lesson connects four different units and starts with connecting the various systems: planetary systems, human body systems, etc. After scholars...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Sound Changes
Looking for an auditory approach to phoneme manipulation? You'll find everything you need here for an independent practice activity to get youngsters changing initial, medial, and final phonemes to create new words. They begin with a...
Curated OER
A Personal Journey
Learners will share ideas about class mobility. They create a timeline that chronicles milestones in their own lives, and synthesize their learning by writing personal essays about their class status and aspirations for the future.
Curated OER
Keep Heritage Alive
Youngsters share ideas about cultural and/or spiritual rituals by participating in a fishbowl discussion, which explores the ways rituals have changed over time. They write reflective essays about their own cultural traditions.
Curated OER
Following the Leaders
Examine the historic election of Pope Benedict XVI and reflect on the challenges he faces as the new leader of the Catholic Church. This New York Times lesson investigates how other world leaders are chosen in different forms of...
Curated OER
The Learning Network: Re-envisioning Classic Stories
Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...
Curated OER
A New Era for Palestinians
Get a global perspective and examine the challenges facing Mahmoud Abbas, the newly elected president of the Palestinian Authority. Thoughtful classroom citizens write letters to Mr. Abbas, asking him questions and suggesting advice....
Curated OER
Is That a Fact?
Investigate popular scientific claims and gather evidence to defend or argue against an author's stance. Writers synthesize information and compose their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in the weekly "Science Times"...
Curated OER
Right to Remain Silent(?)
Learners consider the rights of journalists regarding source confidentiality, then create presentations on the New York Times' use of sources. They write guidelines to aid journalists in evaluating the trustworthiness of their sources.
Curated OER
Rave Reviews
A fun instructional activity that utilizes toys and persuasion! After reading the article, which was written in 2005, pull some advertisements for toys currently being sold. These will be more relevant to your middle and high schoolers....
Curated OER
The Many "I's" In "Team"
Pupils examine the negative behavior of an Olympic athlete. They look at how his choices affected the team as well as his position on the team. They consider the many reasons why unity is important among the members of an organization...
Curated OER
A Positive Spin
Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally,...
Curated OER
Denial on Trial
What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...
Curated OER
Tasty Topics
Students analyze a graphic from an article and predict what the article might be about. After reading an article, they discover a journalist's experience of traveling across the United States to compare fast food restaurants. They...
Curated OER
Truth Be Told
Encourage your middle and high schoolers to share their memories of a recent event. After reading a New York Times article, they discuss Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night. They write their own memoir about a significant event that affected...