Curated OER
The Apple Pie Tree
Students read The Apple Pie Tree and discuss the story and talk about what was living in the tree. For this life comprehension lesson, students write the main idea of the book in a few sentences.
Curated OER
Let Pharady Enjoy Her Childhood
A thought-provoking instructional activity which will provide your 5th graders with a world view. Pupils discuss children's rights here in the US and around the world, and do some comparisons. They watch a video, embedded in the plan,...
Curated OER
Embryology as Evidence of Evolution
Learners observe the two major developmental pathways (protostome and deuterostome). They analyze data regarding differences in nucleotide sequences and construct a phylogenetic tree. They observe the similar evolutionary history shared...
Shakespeare in American Life
Performing Modernized Shakespeare
“All the world’s a stage…” What do Leonardo DiCaprio, Heath Ledger, and Kenneth Branagh have in common? They have all starred in modern adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. After viewing a series clips from modern Shakespeare videos,...
Curated OER
Build Your Own Cell
In this building your own cell worksheet, learners identify cell vocabulary and facts, and create posters of a labeled plant cell and an animal cell. In this fill-n-the-blank and posters worksheet, students provide twenty-three answers.
Curated OER
Using Picture Books to Celebrate Diversity
Help young learners develop social awareness and tolerance by integrating these books into your lessons.
Curated OER
Turkey Bowl
Rolling three strikes in bowling is known as a turkey—but in a Thanksgiving-themed bowing game, every pin is a turkey! Young learners practice hand-eye coordination, ball rolling, and weight transfer with an engaging game of Turkey Bowl.
Curated OER
Lesson: Mathias Poledna: Crystal Palace
Film analysis takes critical thinking, connections, and context. Upper graders look at the film installation, Crystal Palace in terms of the film makers choices, presentation, and perspective of truth. After an analytical discussion...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 11: Beginnings
Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places...
Curated OER
What’s your Name?
Youngsters work to build empathy, cultural understanding, and a sense of self as they uncover the story behind their own names. They read the book, The Name Jar, discuss immigration and how it feels to be in a new place. Then, they...
Public Media for Northern California
An Educator’s Guide to Teaching Gun Control Issues | The Lowdown
The topic of gun control is vast, controversial, and difficult to introduce to students. This gem of a resource covers both sides of the issue and provides topic background, various multimedia and print resources, analysis questions, and...
Curated OER
Earth Day Number Sense
Elementary schoolers count and order objects using numbers 1-300. They bring recyclable items from home. Students group the items, skip count by 2's, 3's, and 5's, and arrange the items on a number line. Recyclable plastic bags are put...
Curated OER
Transportation and Environmental Sustainability
After listening to the book, We All Go Traveling By, 1st graders discuss different modes of transportation that they see out in the world, and the environmental impacts of each one. Kids work together to create a list of the types...
Curated OER
A Snapshot Of Fame
Young scholars debate the limits to celebrity privacy and to paparazzi rights after learning about some recent incidents. They imagine how their private lives might change if they became overnight celebrities.
Curated OER
I Wonder How the Manduca Life Cycle Compares To the Human Life Cycle...
Students study life cycles including developing their understanding of the human life cycle. They decide where they are in the human life cycle and provide reasons for that placement. They compare the human life cycle to that of the...
Desert Discoveries
Sonoran Desert Predators and Prey
Here is a fabulous lesson the animals found in the Sonoran Desert. Learners classify these animals as predators, prey, or both! They take a look at the many adaptations that these animals utilize to help them find food, and avoid...
Curated OER
Tic Tac Plant Parts
This plant biology PowerPoint introduces plant parts and their functions. This PowerPoint allows students to identify each plant part on a diagram, along with its' function. The slides contain a clear explanation of how each plant part...
Curated OER
Keiko, Killer Whale
Middle schoolers will create a children's book on Keiko, the killer whale, that was rehabilitated and returned to the wild after living in an aquarium. In small groups, they conduct internet research to find out the history and current...
Curated OER
Guided Reading with Elizabeti's Doll
Practice reading strategies using Elizabeti's Doll by Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen. Readers utilize decoding and comprehension strategies before, during, and after reading the story. A detailed list of text features, high frequency words,...
Curated OER
Open-Ended Problem Solving - Math
If you are looking for an end-of-the-year math assessment, then this lesson could be for you! Your mathematicians are assessed on their ability to solve difficult, multi-step word problems that take quite a bit of thought and...
Curated OER
Walter Reed's Yellow Fever Studies
Middle schoolers and high schoolers examine the ethics of using human test subjects in scientific research. They do a simulation which focuses on yellow fever and how human subjects were used to develop a treatment/cure for the disease...
Curated OER
Toothpick Triangles
Explore patterns, variables, and mathematical relationships when you examine patterns with toothpicks and determine the next sequence of figures. Your class writes and justifies a formula based on the sequence. An answer key is included.
Curated OER
Bog Child
You are destined for an engaged and happy class as they read Siobhan Dowd’s Bog Child because there is nothing missing from this study guide, seriously. This might be the easiest novel to teach because you don’t have to do a thing in...
The New York Times
Big Brother vs. Little Brother: Updating Orwell's 1984
Government surveillance is an enduring conflict that has become increasingly complex with our nation's use of technology. Add to the understanding of Orwell’s 1984 by using the resources here that display the contemporary actions of Big...