Curated OER
Short Story Commercials
Middle schoolers read short story selections, and work with classmates to produce commercials using digital video equipment.
Curated OER
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Christmas Bells
Students read and analyze the anti-slavery poem, "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They discuss the content and form of the poem, write an essay, write an original poem, examine how this anti-slavery poem was converted...
Curated OER
Walking in Their Shoes
Students explore the challenges of those who have "learning disabilities." They develop a storyboard and create a video which depicts learning disabled students coping with life. Special effects are added to the video scenes, as well as...
Curated OER
In Search of Ethnic Identity in Selected Narratives: New Reading, New Meaning
Students read texts reflecting multiple cultural perspectives.
Curated OER
George Washington Crossing the Delaware: A Study of Setting and Character
Middle schoolers examine "Washington Crossing the Delaware." In this American Revolution lesson, students analyze the painting, research its background, and then perform skits based on their findings.
Curated OER
Shakespeare Was A Black Woman
"I all alone beweep my outcast state." After a discussion of the "Shakespeare in American Life" segment in which Maya Angelou's relates her reaction to Sonnet 29, class groups create and perform a scene about an outcast that includes the...
Shakespeare in American Life
Tom Hanks and Caliban: Survivor Superstars
Here’s a clever way to combine language arts and social studies. Shakespeare’s The Tempest is believed to have been inspired by the wreck of the Sea Venture on Bermuda in 1609. The class views a brief scene from Castaway in which Tom...
Cornell University
Exploring Rocks and Minerals
Investigate the properties of rocks and minerals through a rockin' hands-on activity. Learners test rocks for various properties and, using a guide, attempt to identify different samples. They use various properties including hardness,...
Cornell University
Casting
Don't cast a great hands-on resource aside! Scholars learn about the process of casting by actually trying out an example. Plaster of Paris and cookie cutter molds help them complete the activity.
Cornell University
Density
Certain things just do not mix, including liquids of varying densities. Learners collect data to determine the densities of several liquids. They then use the density information to predict the type of liquid.
Curated OER
The African Slave Trade: From West Africa to South Carolina and Beyond
Eighth graders explore the African slave trade. They identify the principal figures practicing the African slave trades at three locations. Students draw the physical routes of the slave trade on a map and they list the reasons for the...
Curated OER
Compare Data Sets
In this comparing data sets practice worksheet, students sharpen their problem solving skills as they solve 6 story problems.
Curated OER
Habitat Happenings
Students examine the characteristics of the Prairie Creek Habitat in Illinois. In groups, they travel between various stations writing haikus and reading brochures. They identify what occurs in each habitat and identify the animals...
Curated OER
Contemporary Civic-life Issue Research Based Essay
Seventh graders write a five paragraph persuasive essay on a contemporary civic-life issue.
Curated OER
Create a 60s Mural
Pupils conduct Internet research on the 1960s and use what they have learned to create a mural.
Curated OER
Passport to Africa
Learners begin the lesson by reading a novel about the diversity of geography in Africa. They are to create an oral report based on information they research. They also communicate with someone through email about the situation in Africa.
Curated OER
That #!%@! English class
Learners research the Alameda story. They interview English teachers, curriculum experts, parents, etc. to view their intake on the story line. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions on a...
Curated OER
Caribou
Eighth graders study the cultural and nutritional importance of the Caribou in Inupiaq life. In this World History lesson, 8th graders analyze primary sources that explain these people's lives.
Curated OER
What Are We Going To Do About Baby Six Billion?
Students formulate and evaluate suggestions about government policy using demographic examples and projections. They examine websites and utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan.
Curated OER
Native Americans - Searching for Knowledge and Understanding
What do you know about American Indians? Upper graders compose an informational essay based on the research they conduct. They choose a Native American group to study and, using the provided list of web links, gather information and...
Curated OER
Lotto or Life: What Are the Chances?
Though the website does not seem to have the mentioned video, a reding and lottery style games simulate the chances of finding intelligent life somewhere other than Earth. Without the video, this lesson is short, but it can be a useful...
Curated OER
Patchwork Quilts
Fourth graders examine about traditional quilting patterns, the symmetry in such patterns, and practice creating patterns of their own. They design a quilting pattern, and groups make colorful "patches," of a pattern. They assemble the...
Curated OER
Dateline: Troy
Students read an abridged version of The Odyssey andl write a composition comparing Odysseus or the Iliad with Odysseus of The Odyssey. Students write a speech that King Priam would make in the attempt to persuade his son, Paris, to...
Curated OER
Time (Prepositions)
In this grammar worksheet, students choose the appropriate preposition in parentheses that makes twenty sentences grammatically correct.