Curated OER
Learning About Trees
After looking at pictures of trees, discussing tree growth, and identifying the parts of a tree, lead your class on a nature walk and have them collect samples and record their observations. They then work in pairs to polish the...
National Woman's History Museum
Taking a Stand: Woman Suffrage and Protest at the White House K-8
A class discussion opens a lesson on women suffragettes. Learners imagine they are preparing to protest for women's voting rights. Scholars create a colorful poster to hold up high when marching in front of the White House.
Curated OER
Does Free Speech Exist in School?
Students examine their own First Amendment rights as students. They read and discuss a news article, discuss the Supreme Court case Frederick v. Morse, take an online quiz and conduct Internet research, and create a brochure outlining...
Curated OER
Boston Women: The Struggle for Freedom 1760 -1850
Fifth graders investigate the lives and various accomplishments of selected women of Boston.For this famous women writing lesson, 5th graders research biographical information. Students discuss the achievements of these women using...
Curated OER
The Designed World
Students study the classification system used in a library. In this sorting and classification lesson, students visit their library and define the classification system in place. Students discuss the sorting method and then come up with...
Curated OER
Virtual Tour of John F. Kennedy Library
High schoolers take a virtual tour of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. In this Kennedy presidency lesson, students access the library via the Internet and take notes on the experience. High schoolers write essays using the...
Curated OER
Indian Boarding Schools
Middle schoolers research government-run American Indian boarding schools. For this American Indian history lesson, students analyze primary documents to develop an understanding of the forced acculturation of American Indians through...
Curated OER
The Need for Government—A Cinematic and Literary Perspective
Students examine the philosophy of government. In this types of government lesson, students explore literature and movie clips to determine the value of rules in lawless societies.
Curated OER
The Need for Laws
Students consider the presence of authority in their lives. In this law lesson, students compare forgotten laws that function in their lives to forgotten instructions in making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Curated OER
Sorting
Students examine the concepts of organization and classification. In this library skills lesson, students practice ordering and sorting skills by playing an interactive Internet game. Students then practice their classification skills in...
Curated OER
Start Your Engines: An Internet Research Lesson
Fifth graders engage in a lesson which offers informational how-tos for conducting research on the Internet. Three search engines are introduced and used to gather information to solve a specific problem.
Curated OER
The Magic School Bus Goes to Mussel Beach
Students investigate tides and create a model of an intertidal zone. In this hands-on marine science lesson plan based on a Magic School Bus book, the teacher leads students in a discussion about tides, then helps students model a tide...
Curated OER
Suitable Schools
Students explore education requirements for different professions, and define the skills and knowledge that adults use in their everyday lives. They define and describe what students, teachers and parents expect from formal schooling.
Curated OER
School Lighting Audit
High schoolers identify the data included in an energy audit. They perform an audit on the lighting in their school building. They complete a worksheet and discuss lighting issues with school staff.
Curated OER
A Colony is Born : Lesson 6 -To Leave or Not to Leave
Fifth graders connect reasons for coming to the New World with identity. The create identities and place them in one of three settled regions. They refer to prior study notes in their Colonial Notebooks to establish their identities.
Curated OER
A New Candidate for Animal Farm
Students create an advertising campaign in which a candidate from Animal Farm will run for an upcoming election. In this follow-up activity to George Orwell's Animal Farm lesson plan, students explore propaganda, rhetoric, and satire as...
Curated OER
Perspective Drawing for Beginners
Students explore one point perspective. In this perspective lesson, students discover how to create illustrations with vanishing points. Students create an original piece of art.
Curated OER
Folktales: Oral Traditions as a Basis for Instruction in our Schools
Middle schoolers visit their school library to read a variety of folktales. While they read, they identify the trickster or hero in each and discuss how the character represents the chaos in the real world. In groups, they write their...
Curated OER
Primary and Secondary Sources - 7th
A link to a beautiful Animoto presentation is included, giving examples of primary sources that a student might want to contact when doing research. Using the Topaz Internment Camp in Utah as a sample topic, middle schoolers view a slide...
Teaching Tolerance
In Our Own Words: A Story Book with a Purpose
Academics turn into storytellers in an engaging activity on activism. The activity focuses on promoting social change in local communities with stories. Young historians plan a storybook to target a specific audience and social issue and...
American Documentary
Comparative Religion Investigation: What Happens When We Die?
How do different religions offer explanations for what happens when we die? Invite your learners to consider the variance and complexity of religious beliefs, and to research and compare/contrast the concept of death and afterlife...
EngageNY
Equivalent Ratios II
What is the connection between equivalent ratios? Class members first find the multiplication factor used to create equivalent ratios. Next, they take that information to determine whether ratios are equivalent. The second...
Global Oneness Project
A Vanishing Island
The effects of rising sea levels on Isle de Jean Charles, located off the coast of Louisiana, are documented in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's poignant short video. Viewers are asked to consider not only the plight of residents but also what...
K20 LEARN
Bear Tale: Author's Purpose - Informing Or Entertaining
After reading The Mitten by Jan Brett, scholars discuss the author's purpose. Small groups compare and contrast a book written to entertain and a book to inform, then create a T-Chart detailing the characteristics of...