Curated OER
Letters from the Heart: Designing for the Other 90% of the World's Population
Students explore varied aspects of the design process and learn that most products are designed to reach the worlds wealthiest 10%. In this activity, students work in groups to learn ways in which designers are attempting to rectify this...
Curated OER
Aesop's Fables
Examine the fables of Aesop with your class. Pupils identify the morals of fables and role-play a scene from their favorite fable of Aesop. Additionally, they compose letters to a favorite character in the fable. Learners role-play again...
Curated OER
Dead Word Wall Kills Overused Words
Have your class attend a funeral for the words they overuse in their writing. They develop a list of alternate words for those overused words, and make an effort to employ alternatives whenever possible. This is a great way to improve...
Curated OER
Language Arts: A Hoe-Down Wedding Invitation
Students write wedding invitations for the fairy tale, Bubba, the Cowboy Prince. Once they assess the components of the original Cinderella story, they compare and contrast it with the fractured fairy tale. Students decorate their...
Curated OER
Our Picture and Word Book
Create a fun song for your young learners! It should include each of their names and use rhyme to make it memorable. Then show the class a picture dictionary, and have learners make their own class dictionary! If you have time, consider...
San Francisco Symphony
By the Great Horn Spoon!
By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...
Curated OER
Nous Nous Souvenons: French-Canadians
Learners research the French-Canadian influence in northern New York. They interview families of French-Canadian descent, research immigration history, visit a French restaurant, write narratives about their experiences interviewing...
Curated OER
The Early Suffragists
Students research early suffragists in an effort to find the most influential leader of the movement. They give presentations and the class chooses a winner. They write letters to the postmaster suggesting they be placed on a stamp.
Curated OER
Publishing Pupils
Second graders are guided through the writing process and then given time to use the skills they have acquired by writing a story and publishing it using a computer.
Curated OER
A Bearrific Home Adventure
Students and their families participate in an at home journal activity. In this journal writing lesson plan, students read the book If You Take a Mouse to School. Students take home a suitcase with a bear and writing elements. Students...
Curated OER
A Letter to Armadillo
Third graders compose a postcard that includes a short letter, name, address, and postcard design.
Curated OER
E-Pal Adventure
Eighth graders develop online writing relationships with students from another area in their state. They write weekly regarding assigned topics, including researching information about the area in which they live.
Curated OER
Sarah Plain and Tall
Students read the story, dividing it into chapters per day until complete. They respond to the ad, just as Sarah, Plain and Tall did and use the correct parts of a letter used including a return address, greeting, body, closing and...
Curated OER
Bueno Brothers' Bean Dip
Pupils play a game in which they see how many words they can form from a scoop of lima bean letters
Curated OER
A South African Storm
Students explore racial prejudice in South Africa through the reading of "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard. In this cultural and geography lesson, students discuss ethnicity and prejudices and cite examples from the letter....
Curated OER
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Students write a class letter to a local policeman asking him to come and talk to the class and create a list of safety tips as a class. Students research information on police dogs: type of dogs used, where they come form, how they are...
Curated OER
Developing Relationships with Older People
Students read books and view movies about older people. They write a questionnaire to interview older people at a retirement center, interview the people, record their information on graphs, and write follow-up letters.
Curated OER
The National Women's Party and the Enfranchisement of Black Women
Students analyze the attitudes and hostility given to African-American women within the National Women's Party. They finish the lesson by examining another moment in the party's history and writing about it.
Curated OER
Let Your Fingers Do the Estimating
Investigate estimation with the White Pages. Youngsters use the phonebook to estimate the average number of phone listings that can be found there. They write a paragraph explaining the processes they used in this challenge.
National Security Agency
Sampling for a Rock Concert
Over the course of three class periods, middle schoolers design an experiment to provide learner input to administration about which rock band to invite to play at school. They practice several random sampling exercises, all well...
Curated OER
El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico
Students conduct Internet research on the Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. They complete a worksheet answering questions about the Ballet Folklorico, and create an award and write a speech to present to the class.
Scholastic
Perfect Postcards: Illinois
Connect the geography and history of Illinois using an art-centered lesson on the railroads. The railroad connected once-distant places, particularly in the Midwest. Using research, class members create postcards of fictional cross-state...
Curated OER
Children's Literature Across the Curriculum Ideas-OGBO : Sharing Life in an African Village
Students read OGBO: Sharing Life in an African Village by Ifcoma Onyefulu. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding the study of Nigerian culture. Included are reading, art, math, science, writing, social...