Curated OER
Finding Meaning in the Badge
Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The lesson is discussion-based and requires learners to compare and contrast...
IPDAE
Themes in Short Stories
"What is the theme of this story?" The very question can spark fear in the minds of readers and incinerate confidence. Here you will discover an exercise that shows how writers use the tools of setting, plot, conflict, and...
EngageNY
Linear and Nonlinear Expressions in x
Linear or not linear — that is the question. The lesson plan has class members translate descriptions into algebraic expressions. They take the written expressions and determine whether they are linear or nonlinear based upon the...
Curated OER
The Finer Things in Life
Momoyama and Edo are periods in Japanese history that can be defined culturally and artistically. Learners explore and discuss how the samurai used sword guards and grip enhancers. Pupils read the story "The Inch-High Samurai," examine...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Patterns in the Distribution of Lactase Persistence
We all drink milk as babies, so why can't we all drink it as adults? Examine the trend in lactase production on the world-wide scale as science scholars analyze and interpret data. Groups create pie charts from the data, place them on a...
Forest Foundation
Fire in Our Communities - What Can We Do?
Learn about defensible space and renewable resources with a lesson about forest fires. After exploring the ways that humans have impacted the environment, kids conduct mock interviews about differing points of view in the conservation...
EngageNY
Unknown Angle Problems with Inscribed Angles in Circles
We know theorems about circles—now what? Class members prove a theorem, with half the class taking the case where a point is inside the circle and half the class taking the case where a point is outside the circle. The lesson then...
EngageNY
Sampling Variability in the Sample Proportion (part 1)
Increase your sample and increase your accuracy! Scholars complete an activity that compares sample size to variability in results. Learners realize that the greater the sample size, the smaller the range in the distribution of sample...
National Council of Teachers of English
Writing Acrostic Poems with Thematically Related Texts in the Content Areas
Scholars scour thematically aligned texts to gather a bank of words they can use in an original acrostic poem.
Curated OER
Physical Education Unit Plan: Soccer - Lesson 10
The concluding instructional activity in this four-star series is World Cup day! Players come dressed in the colors of the country they are representing for the World Cup tournament. The rules for the mini-games in this tournament are...
US House of Representatives
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Groups select a photograph from one of the four eras of African Americans in Congress and develop a five-minute presentation that provides background information about the image as well as its historical significance. The class compares...
Generation Rx
My Generation Rx: Minute Activities
Want to discuss the prevalence of prescription drug abuse among teenagers, but running out of class time? A series of short, straightforward activities address topics such as sharing prescription drugs, coping mechanisms for stress, and...
American Chemical Society
Comparing the Amount of Acid in Different Solutions
Upcoming chemists use chemical reactions to determine relative pH in two different acids. This is a terrific lesson for middle schoolers that can stand alone as a practice in precision and lab skills, or as part of the unit on chemical...
Curated OER
Interpret Clock Time
Save yourself a few minutes of planning with this elementary math lesson on elapsed time. Through a series of collaborative and independent learning activities, children explore different real-world situations as they learn how to...
Arizona State University
Journalism Lesson
Engage your pupils in a seres of journalism activities. For this journalism lesson plan, learners practice with AP style, analyze an article, practice writing leads, work with organizing information, and take a stab at writing headlines....
Cleveland Metro School District
Novel Lesson for The Giver
Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking works of literature in the middle school curriculum. Round out your novel unit with a collection of reading activities, comprehension questions, memoir and journal...
Poetry4kids
Five Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block
Every writer knows how terrible writer's block can feel. Use these five writer's block-busting techniques to help young writers get out of their rut and into a better state of mind.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Let’s Count!: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Challenge young scholars with a counting-themed series of activities. Your counters will write invitations to a feast, create books about dinner parties and animals, design posters, draw pictures of their favorite peaceful places, and...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Ins and Outs of Photosynthesis
The most important chemical process on Earth is photosynthesis. Scholars explore the changes in the gases in our atmosphere as life on Earth developed. They create a model of photosynthesis and consider simple questions.
EngageNY
Presenting a Summary of a Statistical Project
Based upon the statistics, this is what it means. The last lesson in a series of 22 has pupils present the findings from their statistical projects. The scholars discuss the four-step process used to complete the project of their...
Curated OER
What's In a Noun: Grammar and Usage
Nine lessons in a grammar and usage unit provide endless opportunities for drill and practice. Topics include the four types of sentences, subject and predicates, nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns, adverbs and prepositions, conjunctions...
Historical Thinking Matters
Spanish-American War: 3 Day Lesson
Why did the United States choose to invade Cuba in 1898? As part of a 3-day lesson, your young historians will first develop working hypotheses to answer this question, then work with a variety of historical primary source documents that...
PHET
Planet Designer: Retro Planet Red
What does the atmosphere on Mars look like? This fourth lesson plan in the series of five is designed for high schoolers. Scholars apply previous knowledge to add atmosphere to Mars in an online simulation. This comprehensive lesson plan...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Micro-GEEBITT Climate Activity
A truly hands-on and inquiry based learning activity bridges all the lessons in the series together. Beginning with a discussion on average global temperatures, young meteorologists use real-world data to analyze climate trends in order...