US Institute of Peace
Mediating Conflict
Two's a negotiation, but three's a mediation! Demonstrate the differences between the two processes through a role-playing lesson. The activity familiarizes pupils with the role of a mediator and examines the types of situations that...
Curated OER
A New Deal for the Arts - WPA Photographs
Students examine school life during the 1930s. They discuss the Great Depression and the New Deal, examine and discuss photographs from the Library of Congress website, and complete a worksheet about school life during the Great Depression.
Curated OER
Water Layering and Circulation
Students examine relationships and interactions between different types of water. They experiment with colored water of different temperature and salinity and discuss how the results relate to real ocean currents.
Curated OER
Bugs
Students participate in an after school program that promotes communicating with others, observing one's environment, how to take care of natural resources, making decisions and learning how to just have fun. They explore the world of...
Curated OER
Portrait of a Hero
Students examine the concept and characteristics of a hero. They brainstorm and categorize a list of heroes, develop a chart checklist, discuss real-life heroes, and create a hero hall of fame display.
Curated OER
Careers in Aquatics
Students discuss careers related to aquatic or marine science. They write a report called "A Day in the Life of a (blank)." After reports are completed, if possible a person working in the field of aquatic or marine science is invited to...
Curated OER
Birth and Early Childhood
Eighth graders read and compare creation stories of different cultures around the world. They identify and define the concept of the cycle of life and collect and analyze birth and childhood folk beliefs and stories in their families...
Curated OER
An Exciting New Year
Students look back on last year, so that they are able to plan ahead for a new year. In this early childhood language arts lesson, students use verbal and cognitive skills to discuss what they did the previous year and what their...
Curated OER
The Sun in Our Lives
Third graders identify the different parts of the sun. In this astronomy lesson plan, 3rd graders examine how the sun's energy drive life processes on Earth. They construct a model of a solar system using large rolls of toilet paper.
Curated OER
Cultivating Caring - Filling Buckets of Caring Carrots
Students practice compassion. In this character education lesson, student read Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Students discuss the book as well as ways to demonstrate they care for one another. Students fill buckets...
Curated OER
Alfalfa Butterfly/Caterpillar Lifecycle Investigation
Students collect and record data. They identify sex of butterflies. They make conclusions based on collected data.
SForsyth
Name and Describe a Street
Build creative writing skills through a project centered around a street name. Young writers start by creating a unique street name and brainstorming what life might be like on that street before writing a descriptive piece about this...
Curated OER
Lost and Found
Students listen to the story "Arthur Lost and Found," and relate to the situations in the story to their own lives. In this reading comprehension lesson plan, students have a class discussion which leads them to more closely examine what...
Curated OER
Call of The Wild
Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...
Curated OER
Digital Learning Day and 21st Century Skills
Digital Learning is any instructional practice which uses technology to enhance your students' learning experience
Curated OER
www.Me.Com
Create a graphic autobiography integrating images and text. Working within the structure of the programs Comic Life and Photoshop, pupils integrate the Principles of Design. They focus on balance, rhythm, proportion, and text structure....
Curated OER
Lesson: Looking Closer: The Artwork of Wangechi Mutu
Social issues of gender and media stereotypes, begins with a multi-sensory experience. Learners view the painting Backlash Blues and make critical comments based on what they see. They then read the Langston Hughes poem and listen to the...
Curated OER
Film Festival: Documentaries for Hispanic Heritage Month
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the New York Times provides links to five short documentary films depicting Hispanic themes and culture. Learners can click on each embedded link to view the films, then answer each set of related...
Curated OER
Graphic Novel Writing Workshop
Khaled Hosseini’s video “Using Real People and Events” motivates learners to reflect on their own experiences and to use those experiences as the basis of a graphic novel that expresses a universal truth. The richly detailed plan...
Curated OER
Geography, Climate, and Community in the Dominican Republic
Learners examine primary source materials on the Dominican Republic in an exploration of how environment influences lifestyles. They compare and contrast life in the Dominican Republic with life in the United States.
PBS
Standing Up Against Injustice
“Sometimes things are lawful yet are actually wrong.” Researchers examine primary and secondary source materials as they study five legal cases involving civil rights attorney William Kunstler in which he attempted to use the legal...
Curated OER
Get Caught Reading: Sharpen Your Literary Focus
Create positive reading experiences that will foster a long-term love of reading.
Curated OER
A Year of Reading
Utilize literature books for youth as a means to engage new readers and celebrate reading accomplishments.
Curated OER
Not All Classrooms Are Created Equal
Insights as to why a certain instructional techniques may work, or not work, for every school or every classroom.