Curated OER
How Can We Move Our Principal?
Students learn about six simple machines. Students use their knowledge of simple machines to build their unique machine. Students write reports explaining their machines.
Curated OER
Nominate a Classmate
Students study what it means to be good citizens. In this government lesson, students nominate a classmate for being a good citizen and write a persuasive letter to the principal persuading the principal to make that person the citizen...
Curated OER
Uniforms vs. Fashion: Want to Take a Side?
Seventh graders write a draft of a persuasive essay to the principal addressing the issue of whether or not Three Oaks Middle School should adopt uniforms. This lesson get your students motivated to try persuasive writing!
Curated OER
Photosynthesis
In this biology worksheet, students explain where the energy of food originally came from. Then the explain one of the principal chemical compounds that living things use to store energy. Students also describe how ATP and ADP differ and...
Curated OER
Severe Weather Action Plan
Young scholars obtain and review copies of school's severe weather action plan (if one exists) and discuss how plan can be used in an actual severe weather emergency; if no plan exists, students develop, write, edit, and present one to...
Curated OER
Sobering Plans
Students explore the rights they give up while in school and then learn about plans to use breath analyzer tests during school hours. They then debate the issues surrounding this topic and write letters to the principal advocating or...
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How We Can Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle
Students evaluate the school's recycling and waste management practices. After analyzing current methods, teams develop a new recycling plan, and create a slideshow presentation. They present their proposals to the principal for...
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Understanding Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Third graders explore civil rights by researching the late Dr. King. In this African American leader lesson, 3rd graders read the book Martin's Big Words which explore the foundation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s principals and...
Curated OER
State v. Mary Witch Scripted Mock Trial
Kidnapper or kindly old woman? Kids stage the trial of Mary Witch and must decide if Mary kidnapped Hansel and Gretel or in fact was trying to save them. A script and complete directions are included in the 17-page packet.
Film Education
Gone with the Wind Study Guide
The 1939 Oscar-winning Gone with the Wind, is the focus of an informational packet designed to be used with a viewing of the film. As part of their analysis, media students respond to a series of discussion points about the influence of...
Reed Novel Studies
One-Eyed Cat: Novel Study
The Great Depression was a devastating period in American history that lasted for an entire decade. Using an enlightening novel study, scholars uncover additional facts about the era. They also write quatrain poems focusing on themes...
Curated OER
Career Education for Early Elementary Grades
It's never too early to connect children with the real world meaning of their work. A series of four one-hour sessions, plus a field trip, make up this unit on college and career readiness for first and second graders. After viewing a...
Curated OER
Commonly Misused Words
Affect or effect? Ensure, insure or assure? Here’s a presentation that focuses on commonly misused words that sound similar yet have different spelling and meanings. The homonyms are defined and then examples are presented. Consider...
Penguin Books
Using Thirteen Reasons Why in the Classroom
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher helps bring difficult, but important, topics such as suicide and bullying into the classroom. An educator's guide for the novel provides activities and discussion questions to help teens explore the...
Channel Islands Film
Santa Cruz Island - Visible Thinking Routines
Visible Thinking Routines are designed to help learners deepen their understanding of what they are learning and enable them to communicate their understanding of concepts to others. Individuals adopt one of these routines to use to...
Channel Islands Film
Sa Hi Pa Ca (Once Upon a Time): Lesson Plan 2
What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a history of the...
Curated OER
Pizza for Everyone
Pizza is the inspiration for the cross-curricular lesson plan detailed here. Start out with a poem about pizza and move into a discussion about balanced eating. To close the language arts portion of the lesson plan, ask your pupils to...
Curated OER
Harvesting Hope--Asking for Change Letters
Second graders compose friendly letters. In this writing lesson, 2nd graders read the text Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez and discuss the rights of farm workers. Students brainstorm things at school they would like to change...
Curated OER
Action, Please!
Students create an advertising campaign. In this environmental education lesson, students research aluminum and aluminum can recycling. Students wrap the lesson up by writing newspaper articles, creating public service announcements, and...
Curated OER
Talk About the Passion
Students think critically about artistic freedom and evaluate the aims and effectiveness of censorship and education. They begin an investigation of the ongoing controversy surrounding Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ" by reading "New...
Curated OER
See the World
Seventh graders locate and write creatively about different places and their cultures. They identify the physical, economic, social, political and cultural characteristics of selected regions in the Eastern Hemisphere. Finally, 7th...
Curated OER
Tell Me; I’ll Listen
Encourage respect, responsibility, and caring within your classroom with a collection of lessons that spark dialogue and self reflection. To address character traits, lessons touch on topics such as staying safe in the cafeteria,...
Curated OER
Taxation Without Representation
Eighth graders empathize with how colonists felt when they were taxed without representation. They use a metaphor of students and a school principal to describe the strained relationship that developed between the colonies and Britain.
Curated OER
Famous Britons 3
In this research activity, students match 20 famous Britons with their principal occupations. People include John Lennon, William Caxton, and Geoffrey Chaucer.