Curated OER
Life as a Legend: Marilyn Monroe: What is Beautiful?
Students consider the notion of beauty and what impact the media and popular culture have on it. In this cross curricular lesson, students examine print ads, write down and share their thoughts on them. Then students form literary groups...
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Story Map for Bud, Not Buddy
Why should your class complete a story map? After reading Bud, Not Buddy, divide your class into pairs or small groups to complete the included worksheet. They list the main characters, the conflict, main plot events, the resolution, and...
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Going for the Gold!
Fourth graders discuss their success and failures. They write a short essay on what they have been taught about the personal and ethical skills needed to work with a diverse group of people. Students discuss in small groups to determine...
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Perplexing Puzzles
Elementary and middle schoolers explore scatter plots. In this graphing lesson, pupils work in small groups and use jigsaw puzzles to develop a scatter plot. Younger students may develop a bar graph.
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Many Passages: The Voyage of the Slave Ship Brookes
Examine three perspectives of the slave trade - captain, sailor, and captive - through this collaborative analysis activity. Small groups study one perspective with a primary source to analyze. They discern what is a historical fact and...
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Planning a Government
Demonstrate the complexities of running a government with this group activity. Young politicians are arranged into small groups and become leaders of a hypothetical country (outline of country provided). Groups must outline 6 (listed)...
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Cleveland May Gamble on Gambling
Young scholars read articles, both pro and con, about a city proposing to approve gambling. They discuss the biases of the articles then interview parents and community members about the issue. They work in small groups to develop either...
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Migration Waves
Students examine how migration waves impacted Native American history. They listen to a lecture and take notes, read and discuss handouts in small groups, and create a group table that illustrates the differences and similarities between...
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Strange Bugs
As individuals or in small groups, marine biologists research and discuss archaea and their unusual behavior as compared to bacteria. Teach them about the chemical makeup of the cell membrane of these strange organisms. This complex...
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"The Three Billy Goats Gruff:" Retelling the Story
Youngsters retell the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. They write a sentence for speech bubbles for a character in the story, identify the phrases that can be used for retelling a story, and in small groups write a sentence for the...
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Workshop Lesson: Digital Camera
Students perform an activity in small groups in order to investigate different types of shapes found in photographs taken with a digital camera. The integration of technology is used to engage students in the lesson.
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Videobusters
A real-world scenario, Videobusters, a video rental store has just got to get organized. In small groups, the class works on organizing and analyzing data utilizing matrices. They need to use their skills in adding, subtracting and...
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How Diverse is That?
After reviewing biodiversity, learners work in small groups to analyze actual species distribution data. They learn to calculate the Shannon-Weaver diversity index for different communities. Though not particularly engaging, the content...
PBS
Baseball: The Tenth Inning
The intent of this resource is to explore Latin American accomplishments in baseball, recognizing the changes in demographics of players over the last century. Social studies classes begin with a discussion and brainstorm surrounding...
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Radio News
Part of a larger unit from the Media Awareness Network on media literacy, this particular lesson plan focuses on the medium of news radio. Small groups participate in discussions on their radio listening habits as well as the...
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You Bleed, You Learn?
Jump back into the 90s with Alannis Morissette's song "You Learn." After hearing the song, small groups analyze the lyrics and write an essay about a mistake they've learned from. Use the example sentences to identify the denotative and...
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Travel to Europe
Students work in small groups to plan an imaginary trip to Europe, including Germany. They research travel routes, prices and popular sights of each destination. Students assemble a booklet describing their itinerary, budget, packing...
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Ask a Librarian
Discuss how asking questions is a vital part of not only the research process, but the lifelong process of information literacy. Middle schoolers work in small groups and practice the skill of asking questions. Afterward, they complete...
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Comprehending Through Questioning
Elementary schoolers observe and apply a variety of reading comprehension strategies. They silently read a passage out of their science textbook, and discuss answering the who, what, where, when, and how of the text. In small groups they...
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100 Years War and Joan of Ark
What events led up to the Hundred Years War? In small groups or pairs the class discusses several critical thinking questions and then writes a fictional dialogue that depicts both an English and a French point of view.
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When Something's Missing: Diagnosing Vitamin Deficiencies
The New York Times "Education" section posts an extensive activity on vitamin and mineral deficiencies. It involves class discussion, examination of food packaging labels, and the reading of a blog post about Vitamin D. The highlight of...
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Animal Farm: Symbolism and Theme
If you want some help with teaching themes and symbols in Animal Farm, this may be beneficial. After a class discussion about possible themes, class members write a paragraph explaining which they believe is the most important. Next,...
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Puffin Patrol
Bird diversity and the majestic puffin are the topics of today's lesson. Children discuss and look at images of puffins, and then they use felt to put a puffin body together. After that they talk about what and how puffins eat. They get...
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Guided Reading Lesson Plan
The young scholars will be invoived in a guided reading exercise. The lesson is performed in a small group setting. The monitoring of reading is done by the teacher and scaffolding can also be provided as necessary.