Curated OER
Me, Myself, and I
Young scholars visually express their personalities using writing and PhotoShop. They manipulate imagery to illustrate their written description of themselves. Students display their creations.
Curated OER
Gravity Versus the Mighty Egg
Students design, revise and construct a method for protecting an egg from cracking when it is dropped from a height. They work in small groups to develop their protection method and then collect and analyze data as a class when each...
Curated OER
Preserving Our Barns
Students examine the different points of view when it comes to preserving barns. Using the internet, they work together to identify the risk involved in renovations and a barn in their local town that needs to be renovated. They create...
Curated OER
The Houdini Box: Compare and Contrast
How did Houdini do it? After reading a short passage about magicians and their tricks, readers are asked to compare and contrast some of the illusions these prestidigitators create.
Virginia Department of Education
The Writing Process for Expository Writing
Struggling on what steps to take in your expository essay lesson? Or confused on what to include for your scribes? This exercise in the process of expository writing provides concepts and structure for the educator on what the writers...
Curated OER
Researching Another Country's Holiday: Focusing and Gathering Information
Fifth graders brainstorm a list of holidays celebrated by a majority of people in the United States. They each select an American holiday from the list as well as another country that may have a holiday that is similar. Next, they...
Curated OER
Social Studies: A Quiet Protest
Students examine the protest by Gallaudet University students concerning the hiring of a new school president. They investigate laws related to protests and present their findings to the class in a multimedia show, oral report, or debate.
Curated OER
Can You Help A Friend?
Learners take on the role of a ten year old girl, "Jessica." Jessica's friend has moved away from the area and is texting people she doesn't know in chat rooms. Students work in groups to write a message for Jessica to send to her...
Curated OER
Art or Junk? Discovering the Triangle Inequality
Middle schoolers study the triangle inequality. They will identify, compare, and analyze attributes of two and three-dimensional shapes. Then they develop vocabulary to describe the attributes. They also use manipulatives to analyze the...
Curated OER
Introduction to Human Anatomy & Physiology
If the only support you are in search of is lists of vocabulary terms, this presentation may fit the bill. Slides simply list terminology. These categories are included: hierarchy of structural organization, cell functions, cell...
Curated OER
Crayon Etching (Scratch Art)
What to do at a time when we have a little extra time to fill and need an activity that won't take a lot of prep? This art project is simple and can be linked to various other subjects. Learners use crayons to color in their paper, then...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Vincent VanDuca
Students create art with the Manduca by placing gel on their body and letting them walk over colored paper. They discover what their footprints and movements are like. They create a piece of art by using the Manduca markings.
Curated OER
Comparing Works By The Same Author: Venn Diagram
A Venn diagram is a great tool. Middle schoolers research specific authors from different time periods, cultures, and genres. In groups, they create a Venn Diagram in order to compare and contrast two pieces of literature by the same...
Curated OER
Gathering, Evaluating,and Organizing Information for a Research Report
It's never too early to build research skills! Students locate information relevant to a subject they are doing a research project on. They take notes and sort the information under main topic headings. Through research, they gain an...
Curated OER
Length and Volume Exploration
Young scholars explore how to measure length and volume. They compare and order objects according to their measurable attributes and measure items using non-standard units. Students put 4 pencils in order from shortest to longest after...
Curated OER
Estimate, Solve, and Check
Young scholars estimate, solve, and check a series of addition and subtraction number and word problems. They write their estimates on a recording sheet, compute and write the answer in the next column, and check their answer with a...
Illinois State Board of Education
Is It Linear?
Math apprentices are introduced to the components of a linear relationship. In groups, they write story problems that incorporate this relationship and relates to the real world. They give their problem to the class for them to solve.
Curated OER
Mitosis & Cell Processes
Students research the process of mitosis and how it progresses to the finished result of cell division. They reflect upon how this causes organisms to grow larger and helps tissues to be renewed.
Curated OER
String 'Em Up
Students create different patterns using beads. They observe the teacher make patterns with different colored beads, identify the patterns, and create a necklace with colored beads, explaining what their pattern consists of to the class.
Curated OER
Typical Animal Characteristics
How is an animal formed? Scientists use a diagram to examine early post-fertilization stages, and the creation of the blastula. They look at a second diagram to observe the transition from the blastula to a gastrula. Three comprehension...
Curated OER
What's Up With the Water Cycle?
Students explore the water cycle. Students identify the stages in a water cycle and create a PowerPoint presentation based on their knowledge.
Curated OER
Active Viewing: Eyes on the Prize "Awakenings"
Dive deeper into the Montgomery Bus Boycott with this multi-stage lesson, centered on the essential question: Why did the boycott last so long? Historians investigate the Jim Crow south through a video clip (not included), then analyze...
Novelinks
Nightjohn: Anticipation Guide
Set the stage for Nightjohn, Gary Paulsen's young adult novel about slavery set shortly before the Civil War, by asking readers to indicate whether they agree or disagree with several statements that are connected to issues...