Unit Plan
National Institute for Literacy

Making Sense of Decoding and Spelling

For Students Pre-K - 3rd Standards
Go over digraphs, vowel sounds, and affixes with a series of decoding and spelling lessons. Each lesson guides learners through a different reading and phonics skill, building on the lesson before, and challenging them with each step.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clay Wipe Away: Ceramics

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Discuss Pre-Colombian South American art with your class, then get out the clay and create some. Pupils practice using the wipe-away technique to create a ceramic tile similar to those made by the Maya. Great web links and a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Division by Fractions (Part Two)

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Investigate division through the use of array models. The lesson focuses on using area models to compare division as sharing with division as grouping. Learners evaluate the usefulness and limitations of the two array models.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deck Tennis

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders study deck tennis. In this lesson that can be adapted to teach movement, passing and positioning in any sport, 7th graders toss and catch a rubber ring, students of varying abuilities will be able to participate in this...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Do You Think? Analyzing Points of View About an Issue

For Teachers 9th - 10th
"How might multiple perspectives of standardized testing impact me as a student?" is an example of an essential question that a researcher might use as a basis for this lesson on how to research and present a written stance on a...
Lesson Plan
2
2
Curated OER

Fracking: Positive or Negative Impact?

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
Your teenagers may have heard of fracking, but do they really know what it is? And could they debate the benefits and risks? Educate your environmental science class with a lesson plan about hydraulic fracturing, non-renewable...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Camel Container: Ceramics

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Play with clay while building finger dexterity and important sculpting techniques. Learners make camel containers while they practice throwing and molding clay. Fun camel facts make this an interdisciplinary art lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The World of Work: The Portfolio

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Young scholars compile information to include in their career portfolio. In this portfolio lesson, students view example portfolios using the given website and identify the portfolio components. Young scholars gather and compile...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Order! Order!

For Teachers 1st - 4th Standards
Polish organization skills in your youngsters. With this instructional activity, they are introduced to the trait of organization and participate in activities that reinforce organization. They cut apart a familiar story,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Because of Winn-Dixie

For Teachers 3rd Standards
Readers analyze an excerpt from Kate DiCamillo's novel Because of Winn-Dixie. They read silently, and then hear it read aloud. Definitions for underlined vocabulary words are in the margin, and other potentially difficult words...
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Writing and Research Using Counterclaims

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Introduce your high school scholars as to how to use counterclaims in argument writing. Learners explore this skill with collaborative efforts and technology. Together they explore the pros and cons of homework and develop a thesis for...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Credible Sources on the Internet: What to Trust, What to Dismiss and When to Cite a Source

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Wait, you mean researchers don't all use Wikipedia? Teach your class about intelligent research with a lesson about evaluating digital sources. The lesson starts with a quickwrite and includes vocabulary exercises and several...
Lesson Plan
Japan Society

Akutagawa Ryunosuke and the Taisho Modernists

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Deep Impact

For Teachers 6th - 12th
How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times lesson to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a Hybrid, the Big...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Prisoner in One's Own Home

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Examine the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. After reading an article from the New York Times and exploring the author's word choice, young readers find the central idea in the text and work on researching...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Drawing Favorite Physical Activity

For Teachers K - 5th
Young elementary students will discuss their favorite activities and then draw a picture of themselves participating. The lesson provides opportunities for cross-curricular study as students can then write about why they like the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Not Just the Facts

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Encourage your learners to explore the differences between hard news and news analysis. They outline a complex news analysis about the upcoming presidential election, then endeavor to write an analysis of the same topic, using local...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Nine Planets

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
A solid instructional activity on teaching the nine planets in our solar system is here for you. In it, young scientists learn the correct order of the planets, and they choose one of the planets to do a research report on. They must...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Christmas Candy

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Here is a tasty topic for a lesson: Christmas candy! Third and fourth graders research classic Christmas candies, then create their very own! They write a descriptive paragraph about their candy, then use KidPix to create an illustration...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poly-Mania

For Teachers 9th - 12th
This hands-on lesson takes young geometers on a tour of 2D polygons and 3D polyhedrons. After exploring different web resources and discussing geometric shapes, small groups construct models of polyhedrons using bendable straws. Note:...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Noncombatancy and the Seventh ­day Adventist Church

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Upper graders investigate how the Seventh Day Adventists are objectors to the practice of war. The lesson covers the Civil War and examines the church's position about the practice of war. The research extends to modern wars and learners...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Where in the World is the Wide Web?

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders investigate how the web works and how to search effectively. In this Internet use lesson, 6th graders brainstorm positive and negative experiences they have had while on the Internet. Students view two web sites to learn...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Queen Min

For Teachers 10th - 12th
The Empress Myeongseong is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to examine a historical record and a first-hand account of one of Korea's most intrepid and controversial women.
Activity
G. Turrell

Science Activity 1: Light & Sound

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Are you looking for lab sheets to go with your class experiment on plant response to light? You are no longer in the dark! This is a lesson that was written for a unit on light, but could easily be used to demonstrate plant behaviors in...