National Museum of the American Indian
To Honor & Comfort Native Quilting Traditions
"Native American history leaps boldly off the colorful quilts and patchwork designs." Learners discuss Native American identity and symbolism by reading about a variety of Native quilters and their unique art process, and participate in...
Baylor College
Microbes and Disease
Discuss how diseases have impacted human history. Divide your class into groups and assign each group one of the following: tuberculosis, malaria, plague, cholera, smallpox, and AIDS. They read up on, complete a concept map, and present...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign
The I-STOP law was designed to regulate the distribution and tracking of prescription drugs. After reading an article about its signing and implementation, middle and high schoolers work together to come up with their own ideas for an...
Curated OER
What's So Bad or Good About Conflict?
Learners of all ages discuss how conflict can be negative and positive. First, they create a class bulletin board about conflict, and provide their thoughts and connotations surrounding the word. In a class discussion, they ask questions...
Curated OER
Writing Process- Narrative Writing
Graphic organizers are a wonderful tool for young writers to use to help them get their thoughts in order for a piece of writing. Here, learners are coached on what a piece of narrative writing is, and how they must have a distinct...
Curated OER
Getting the Word Out
Discuss and generate blogs in this technology lesson. Middle and high schoolers explore examples of blogs and create their own blogs. Use this lesson throughout the year to reinforce concepts from your language arts class (or any class)....
Curated OER
Appropriate Use of Helping Verbs
Readers of all ages correctly use appropriate verbs in their speech and writing. The focus of this lesson is on the proper use of helping verbs.
Penguin Books
An Educator’s Guide to Gayle Forman
Sometimes a novel is the best way to tackle a tough topic. A helpful educator's guide for the novels of Gayle Forman discuss tough topics such as teenage suicide. Discussion questions and writing activities encourage readers to think...
Curated OER
Appropriate Use of Helping Verbs
Intended for learners struggling with or having issues using auxiliary verbs, this activity has them orally compose sentences using one of the provided helping verbs. They will attempt to find patterns in groups of verbs and make class...
Curated OER
Connotation: Three Lessons for Effective Word Choice
Over the course of three days, middle schoolers explore the concept of connotation. They differentiate between the connotative and denotative meanings of sports team names, develop their own team names, logos, and text, and revise a news...
Curated OER
Who Am I?
Middle schoolers use a graphic organizer to brainstorm information about their lives. They utilize brainstorming techniques in a writing exercise, and create a graphic organizer describing their lives. They set personal goals for the...
Curated OER
The Joy Luck Club: Problematic Situation
How do your learners react in conflicts with authority figures? Help them begin Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club with an activity about different conflicts that kids can run into with their parents. Each scenario prompts learners to rank...
Curated OER
Shadow Pictures
Students discover the power of lights, shades, and shadows in this Art lesson intended for upper-elementary/middle-level Art classrooms. Older students may want to experiment by adding more than one silhouette to the Bristol board used...
Curated OER
Maracas
Students create Maracas out of various supplies while learning about percussion instruments in this Art and Music lesson for the elementary and middle level classroom. Detailed directions for two different methods are given.
Curated OER
GUITARS AS SCULPTURE
Students discuss guitars, pointing out different parts of the guitar, compare/contrast guitars from different times, imagine they are designers hired to build a new age guitar, create many preliminary sketches, choose one, and begin...
Curated OER
Italian Renaissance
Fifth graders explore the Italian Rensissance in this six lessons unit. The prominent citizens, the ideas, values, art, philosophy, and literature of the are seen as a rediscovery of Ancient Greek and Roman times.
Curated OER
Ideal Living
Students examine two artists Vasily Kandinsky and Marcel Breuer. In this artist analysis lesson, students explore the principles of Bauhaus and consider the elements of chair design. Students identify the technique of lithography and may...
Scholastic
Frindle Lesson Plan
"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own...
Curated OER
Grab a Winning Book to Read on March 3
Young scholars identify periods of history and read a news article about a librarian who wrote an award winning book. For this current events lesson, the teacher introduces the article with a class challenge and a vocabulary activity,...
Curated OER
Bestiarity and Gargoyles
Students complete an art project. In this gargoyles activity, students learn about gargoyles and other medieval architecture features and discuss their purposes. Students create their own monsters using an etching technique. This...
Curated OER
Once Upon a Castle
Students complete a variety of activities surrounding castle communities and fairy tales. They write a letter to a fairy tale character, write a fairy tale, create a model of a castle, and draw a map of a castle community.
Curated OER
Songs About Age
Students discuss common attitudes about aging that are found in popular songs and how music is a means to explore attitudes about aging in this one-day lesson ideal for a middle-level general music classroom. The lesson includes a list...
Curated OER
Symbolism: Finding the Hidden Meaning In Chinese Art
Students study and interpret Chinese art to find its symbolism, or the "hidden meanings" in this middle level lesson plan well suited for the Language Arts or Art classroom. An enrichment activity is included that allows each student to...
Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc.
Roman World vs. Feudal World
Young historians compare the major features of the Roman and feudal worlds, such as religion, social hierarchy, and political tenets, using online resources and group discussion.