National Council of Teachers of English
Timelines and Texts: Motivating Students to Read Nonfiction
With the emphasis on incorporating more nonfiction in language arts classes the question arises about how to design activities that motivate kids to engage with informational text. How about an assignment that asks class members to...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Understanding the Greenhouse Effect
The greenhouse effect is important, for without it, life on Earth would not exist. An activity that includes modeling the greenhouse effect and acting out the Earth's energy balance makes up the first part in a series of seven...
Minnesota Literacy Council
Introduction to Historical Thinking
Christopher Columbus: hero or villain? Prepare class members for the debate with activities that asks them to think critically about how history is reported.
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Lesson 3: What Makes Attitudes Towards Education Change over Time?
The struggle for women's rights is not unique to this generation, or even to the 20th century. Class members explore the conflicting opinions of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel Hubbard Bell, regarding women's pursuits of higher...
National Endowment for the Humanities
What Happens in the White House?
Young historians complete a unit of lessons on the functions of the White House. They conduct Internet research, develop a list of activities that take place at the White House, and create a chronological timeline of events at the White...
Curated OER
Shakespeare: Julius Caesar
Before your high schoolers read Julius Caesar, have them complete this thought-provoking activity! To familiarize them with some of the play's most important lines, break the class into pairs and have them create a skit around...
Curated OER
Fossil Formation
A fossil is worth a thousand words! Individuals craft their own amber fossil of an insect in addition to molds and casts of seashells. A third activity takes the instructional activity a notch higher: Learners measure stride lengths...
Curated OER
Limiting Factors for Populations
The "Bottled Bacteria" activity instructions are a bit unclear, but the remaining activities investigating limiting factors in ecosystems are well-written. Learners model the exosystem of a bear and a herd of deer. They set up a...
Curated OER
Deformed Frogs! - The Parasite Hypothesis
This project provides students the opportunity to investigate parasites as a possible cause of the observed frog deformities. It asks students to view web-based evidence and interpret whether it supports the parasite hypothesis. Students...
Curated OER
ELD Lesson Plan: Courage
What is true courage? Your class can explore the answer with these three Houghton-Mifflin stories ("Hatchet," "Passage to Freedom," "Climb or Die," and "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle"), which feature courageous characters and...
Curated OER
Newspapers
Here is an engaging and thought-provoking presentation on newspapers. Learners identify different types of text, study layouts, look at common features, and differentiate between fact and opinion in newspapers. Photos are included, and a...
Curated OER
Before, During, and After Strategies For The Catcher in the Rye Chapters 21-23
Create a personal website for Phoebe. Play a song dealing with non-conformity. Have class members write an advice letter to Holden. Here's a teacher resource meant to accompany The Catcher in the Rye that is chock-full of strategies. It...
Curated OER
Measure for Measure: DRTA Strategy
“The tempter or the tempted, who sins most?” Prediction, verification, judgment, and extensions of thought are all part of a
Directed ReadingThinking Activity (DRTA) developed for Measure for Measure. The rationale, assessments...
EngageNY
Summarizing Complex Ideas: Comparing the Original UDHR and the "Plain Language" Version
The eighth lesson plan in this series continues the focus on vocabulary and increasing young readers' awareness of academic language. Pairs of learners participate in a short vocabulary review activity called Interactive Words in which...
Speak Truth to Power
Harry Wu: Forced Labor
Over the course of two class periods, young historians explore human rights issues; specifically, forced labor in China. This resource provides everything you need, including relevant vocabulary, an anticipatory activity, and a...
Writing Educators Symposium
Asking the Right Questions
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and...
Mississippi Whole School Initiative
Dream Big...With Your Eyes Wide Open
For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...
Candlewick Press
A Classroom Guide to Peter H. Reynolds's Creatrilogy
Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...
Anthropological Association
Race: Teacher Guide: Race
How has the concept of race changed over time? Explore the genetic, cultural, and social aspects of race through a series of impactful activities. Scholars discover how race is influenced by inherited traits, examine census records to...
Deliberating in a Democracy
Freedom of Expression
Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...
California Department of Education
Gaining by Giving
Community service is a win-win! Scholars discover how to gain valuable career skills through helping others using a lesson about volunteer work. Second in a six-part career and college readiness series, the activities focus on...
Ogden Museum of Art Education Department
Literacy and Landscapes
As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...
National WWII Museum
Evaluating the US Decision to Drop the Atomic Bombs
While the use of the atomic bomb was the definitive end of World War II, the terrible weapons left new questions. Young scholars use primary sources and analytical worksheets to consider the implications of the fateful decision. Then,...
Curated OER
Does Mother Nature Know Best?
Investigate herbal medicine in the science or health classroom with this lesson from the New York Times. After a discussion about class members beliefs about and experiences with herbal medicines, pupils read an article that might...
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