Personal Genetics Education Project
Direct-to-consumer Genetic Testing
If you knew that you were likely to develop Alzheimer's disease in your future, how would it affect your life in the meantime? This and other similar thought-provoking questions are discussed in a lesson plan about the availability of...
Curated OER
5 Broken Cameras: How Storytellers Shape the Story
5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...
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Clever Contraptions
Students appraise the qualities of successful inventors and inventions, as well as examine the ways in which the Internet supports inventors, as a springboard for designing and 'patenting' inventions that would be helpful to them in...
Federal Reserve Bank
To Rent-to-Own or Not to Rent-to-Own?
Explore the key elements of a contract with your young adults, and delve into the features and unique benefits of a rent-to-own contract through discussion and worksheet practice.
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Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...
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I Am Special and You Are Special Too #6
We are All Alike…We Are All Different is the springboard for the creation of an illustrated book in which young writers record their impression of themselves, their families, and their interests. Sharing the completed books in circle...
Advocates for Human Rights
The Rights of the Child
Don't be fooled by the size of the resource: these few pages provide the blueprint for a substantial, thoughtful unit on children's rights and the different philosophies and approaches that the United States and other countries have...
Phantom of Opera
The Phantom of the Opera: Ideas for Research and Discussion
You could spend a full day discussing The Phantom of the Opera and not scratch the surface, but a set of lessons about the literary elements and themes of the musical production is a great start. Young thespians build upon the background...
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Curious Crossbreeds
Students discover the diverse roles of hybridization among animals. They research certain examples of animal hybrids as a springboard to analyzing a zoo's potential exhibit of animal hybrids.
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B-movies and Plot: Story Elements, Writing, Media
Young scholars use old "B-Movies" as a springboard to discuss and analyze traditional plot structures. They form groups and make their own 'movie' to demonstrate their knowledge.
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Please Turn Up the Lights!
Eighth graders discuss series and parallel circuits and design an investigation to test a hypothesis on total resistance of series and parallel circuits in combination. After discussion, groups design their experiments, run tests, and...
Midwest Institute for Native American Studies
Introduction to Pre-Columbian Lessons
Native peoples established civilizations all over Central and North America. Introduce native civilizations with a unit that promotes discussion, reinforces map skills, enhances reading comprehension, and exposes young historians to the...
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Amazing Birds
What's so amazing about birds? Find out just how amazing birds are with a physics of animal behavior unit created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Have learners explore and tap into their observational skills and notice how birds fly, what...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
What is Islam and What are the Root Causes of Muslim Anger with the West?
A video and magazine article provide the foundation for learning about Islam and why some Muslims are angry with Western society. In groups, students identify the causes of hostility and prepare a presentation that explains them. While...
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A Wanderer's Point of View
High schoolers write an imaginative story using a specific point of view. Students imagine what life along the Mississippi River is like and pretend they are there. High schoolers may use the scenario provided, or create their own for...
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Louisa May Alcott: The Candle and the Mirror
High schoolers discuss the life of Louisa May Alcott and create an outline of a biography of her life and times. In this Louisa May Alcott lesson, students explore the Transcendentalist involvement in the abolitionist movement, relating...
Curated OER
What's In Our Backyard?
Eighth graders investigate the importance of an ecosystem by studying their own backyards. In this environmental activity, 8th graders examine a schoolyard or backyard by marking quadrants and recording any animal or plant findings on...
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Drugs: Prevention Tips
Students use the Internet to examine ways they can prevent using drugs. They discover the dangers of these substances and complete online quizzes.
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Foods and Languages of the World
Students explore cultures around the world. In this cross-curriculum geography lesson, students listen to This is the Way We Go to School , a Book about Children around the World , and locate various countries on the globe and a map....
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Fossils
Students complete a unit on fossils. They read and discuss informational handouts, define key vocabulary terms, answer discussion questions, create a geologic timeline and a timeline of their own life, analyze bones, and create a fossil...
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Making Sense of the Reformation in 1 Day
Ninth graders explore the events of the Protestant Reformation. in this religious denominations lesson plan, 9th graders use the provided graphic organizer to take notes on a PowerPoint presentation about the different beliefs withing...
Curated OER
Competition/Cooperation Relationships
Students view the PowerPoint slide of a lynx and hare and discuss what would happen if all the lynxes were destroyed. They then take notes on the lesson and brainstorm about other competitive/cooperative relationships as well as discuss...
Curated OER
Female Bosses Less Likely to Cut Health Benefits
Students explore the concept of health costs. In this health costs lesson, students read an article discussing how female bosses are less likely to cut health benefits. Students discuss why companies are eliminating health care benefits....
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Famous Hoosiers: Madam C. J. Walker
High schoolers study Madam Walker's contribution to Indiana and US history. They study how important women have been in Indiana's history through this series of lessons.