Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Making of the Fittest: Got Lactase? The Co-evolution of Genes and Culture
Got milk? Only two cultures have had it long enough to develop the tolerance of lactose as an adult. Learn how the responsible genes evolved along with the cultures that have been consuming milk. This rich film is supplied with a few...
National WWII Museum
World War II in Photographs
A picture is worth a thousand words, and this activity is worth so much more! Learners closely analyze a series of photographs from World War II, matching them with their appropriate captions and sequencing them into a correct...
Curated OER
Adventures in Creating Hypertext Stories
Use hypertext to make a multimedia choose-your-own adventure story! Young writers incorporate knowledge of story writing elements to write their own stories, and rewrite the adventure with various scenarios and endings. Use technology to...
Curated OER
To Recycle, or Not Recycle?
To recycle or not to recycle, that is the question. Your class can find the answer by taking a teacher created WebQuest, where they assume a role of a community member taking a stand on implementing a community wide recycling plan. The...
Curated OER
Where'd You Get Those Genes?
Really a unit, this resource exposes middle schoolers to genetics at their level. They read interviews and biographies, trace a family tree, play games that simulate inheritance concepts, and more! Teacher's procedures, student...
Curated OER
From Genes to Jeans
This unit of lessons is designed for 7th through 9th graders. They are introduced to the world of agriculture and the genetic research and various technologies that are associated with agriculture. Pupils work together to come up with a...
US Department of Education
Early Childhood: Five Themes of Geography
Any preschool teacher would be thrilled to have a resource like this one. It includes activity ideas, discussion leads, book suggestions, and a glossary for learners ages 2 - 5. The entire booklet focuses on ways to teach young children...
Curated OER
Thanksgiving in America
A rhetorical look at Thanksgiving celebrations from all sides of the American dinner table.
Curated OER
Information Shuffle
Gather some information, print it onto sentence strips, and then have your class physically shuffle the cards to better understand the importance of organizational patterns in writing. Middle school learners examine information for a...
Curated OER
Sensational Soil
Fourth and fifth graders explore soil by taking a simulated field trip under the earth. They go to an Internet site that runs a simulation which charges them with finding a source of pollution that could destroy all of Earth's soil, and...
Curated OER
A Whole Lotta Changin' Goin' On
Here's a fabulous lesson on the life cycle of a butterfly. Youngsters are able to identify and understand the four stages of life. They construct models of a caterpillar and write a sequence story about the life of a butterfly. This...
Curated OER
Living Art-i-facts: Technology Takes Us There!
Students create living artifacts dealing with different times and cultures. They explore Ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, Islam, Africa, and the United States.
Curated OER
Edible Numbers
Believe it or not, this is a 76-page series of lesson plans published by the California Commission on Agriculture which is designed to teach upper-elementary learners about agricultural practices and products in the state. There are two...
Discovery Education
Sonar & Echolocation
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Mexic-Arte Museum
El Dia de los Muertos
Celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday El Dia de los Muertos! Explore the intricate history behind the traditions, compare other cultural rituals honoring the dead, and create sugar skulls. Learners read informational text on Aztec...
North Carolina State University
Exploring Genetics Across the Middle School Science and Math Curricula
Where is a geneticist's favorite place to swim? A gene pool. Young geneticists complete hands-on activities, experiments, and real-world problem solving throughout the unit. With extra focus on dominant and recessive genes, Punnett...
Curated OER
Modern Interpretations
To conclude an eight-lesson study of the events that occurred in the early colonial period in Deerfield, Massachussetss, class members evaluate the point of view and bias found in late 19th and early 20th century retellings.
Alabama Learning Exchange
J. Alfred Hyperbolizes
Mermaids will sing to your class members as they engage in an activity related to T.S. Eliot's famous dramatic interior monologue. After engaging in a socratic seminar about literary devices in the poem, individuals choose one...
Louisiana Department of Education
Unit: Hamlet
Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...
Louisiana Department of Education
The Metamorphosis
How can something be true even if it didn't happen? Invite your classes to investigate the truths found in the world of magical realism as they analyze short stories, poems, informational texts, video, and art from this genre.
Science 4 Inquiry
States and Phases of Matter
Plasma is the most common phase of matter in our universe. Scholars explore the change of energy as molecules change phases of matter. They rotate through stations, graphing the changes in energy level.
Curated OER
Novel Topics Research Unit
Seventh graders use a variety of research tools to locate information about a topic that is included in a novel that they are reading. They work with a partner to research the topic, record bibliographic information, and to complete a...
Curated OER
Sculpture
Sixth graders explore the art of sculpture. They examine the sculptural techniques that can be used. Students select sculptural materials, tools, and techniques to create a novel interpretation of an everyday object.
Curated OER
The World Almanac for Kids
Fifth graders identify and compare the features of The World Almanac for Kids in the print form and in the CD-ROM/ on-line form. They predict which format is the easiest to access and the most informative, then draw conclusions from...