Curated OER
Scientific Detectives
Middle schoolers examine the legitimacy of advertisers' claims about products using science and critical thinking. They view and discuss ads, read a case study, and conduct an experiment to demonstrate whether a product lives up to its...
Curated OER
How the New Year is Celebrated around the World
Develop compare and contrast skills while expanding cultural knowledge by looking at how different countries ring in the new year.
Dick Blick Art Materials
“Gawu” — African-influenced Tapestry
Here's a great way to combine environmental science with art. Kids use recycled materials to create their own Gawu, a tapestry made of discards. Although designed for special education classrooms, the activity is sure to engage all...
National Council of Teachers of English
Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction
With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...
Novelinks
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle: Problematic Situations
When is it okay to go against authority and what can happen if you do? This is the leading question in this activity to accompany your classroom reading of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi. After reading...
Curated OER
Persona in Autobiography
A talkative old man? A naïve believer in Human Perfectibility? A Sage? Who is this guy, anyway? The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin launches a study of the way Franklin uses structure, style, and purpose, as well as different...
EngageNY
Writing Equations Using Symbols
Build upon prior equation writing experience to create more complicated equations. Lesson one in a 33-part unit builds upon the class members' sixth and seventh grade experience of writing linear equations. Several examples...
Curated OER
Compliments and Feelings
How do you feel when you get a compliment? Give a compliment? After modeling how to make explicit compliments (“I like the way . . .”) ask class members to practice saying nice things about themselves and others, and to consider how...
Oklahoma Bar Association
Into Which Caste Have You Been Cast?: India's Caste System
What was it like to fit into a certain class with no choice in the matter? Learners experience the caste system in a role-play activity, work individually on handouts to enhance their learning, and participate in an evaluation activity...
Curated OER
Wynton's Tune
Students examine the serigraph, "Wynton's Tune," by artist Faith Ringgold. They discuss the painting, listen to jazz music, create a drawing that tells a story inspired by their favorite music, and write sentences describing their artwork.
Curated OER
Iran Hostage Crisis: Reading Primary Documents
Following brief instruction about the Iran Hostage Crisis during Jimmy Carter's presidency, small groups read three-page sections from the diary of hostage Robert C. Ode. They write editorials from the perspective of either U.S. citizens...
Virginia Department of Education
Absolute Value
Your birthday can be more than just about presents; it can even teach about absolute value. The class investigates absolute value as the distance from zero on a number line. Plotting birth months and comparing each birth month to July...
Curated OER
Gandhi's Ashrams and School Sustainability
Explore philosophy and religion by researching Gandhi. Lead your young students to investigate the life and accomplishments of Mahatma Gandhi by reading the assigned text. Your class will define sustainability and create a sustainable...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
The Effect of the Great Depression on Children
How did the Great Depression affect children? Sometimes studying the Great Depression means only studying about how it affected adults, however, relating the experiences of children and peers their age to themselves may make the...
Google
Beginner & Intermediate 5: Evaluating Credibility of Sources
Convey how to determine appropriate and credible online sources with a series of three lessons. After completing the lessons, class members will know what kinds of sources to use, how to identify credible sources, and how tone and style...
Curated OER
Food, Glorious Food?
How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers...
Curated OER
STD & HIV/AIDS, Day 2: HIV/AIDS - Staying Safe
Decrease risky behavior and inform your secondary Special Ed class about AIDS/HIV. They talk about germs, AIDS, transmission, and staying safe. Developmentally disabled individuals need to be informed about safe sex and disease...
Curated OER
Hiroshima: Question Answer Response Strategy (QAR)
“The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable. . .” After reading “The Aftermath,” the final chapter of Hiroshima, class members use a Question Answer Response (QAR) strategy to reflect on issues raised...
Unified School District of De Pere
Reader Response Journals
Writing about and in response to what you read can help you process the text and lead to stronger analysis. Included here are four larger topics that students can write about, sentence starters to help pupils get started with their...
Curated OER
Spanish Literature: Teaching the Course for the First Time
Are you a first year AP Spanish teacher? Will you be teaching literature this year? Read this article for some professional development; what can you do to ensure your Spanish learners build their skills and master Spanish literature?
Illustrative Mathematics
Bowling for Numbers
When do teams want a strike? When they are playing this fun math game modeled after bowling. First, class teams roll four dice to generate the numbers they will use in that round, called a frame, of the game. Next, pins numbered 1...
CK-12 Foundation
Angular Velocity: 200 Meter Dash
Do curves slow runners down or help their speed? Pupils simulate a 200-meter dash to calculate the angular and linear velocity of a runner. They then determine whether the runner is faster around the curved section of the track...
Cornell University
Characterizing a Solar Cell
Young classes are sure to get a charge out of this lesson! Learners experiment with circuits of a solar cell. They practice determining current, voltage, and power for the circuit and maximize the voltage and current of the cell.
Vanier College
Analyzing Short Stories/Novels
Good questions can help focus readers' attention on the elements writers use to add depth to their stories. The questions on this worksheet do just that and encourage readers to think critically about a story and author's purpose.