Curated OER
Critical Thinking With Fables New and Old
Explore the fables of today along with Aesop's ancient fables. Learners will understand the structure of a fable, critically think about the fable's message, and create a lesson that they would like to teach through a fable. Suggested...
Vanderbilt University
Stories from the Panama Canal
The stories of the Silver People, the West Indies immigrants hired to work on the Panama Canal, come to life in a lesson about the building of the Panama Canal. Groups research why the canal was built, how it was build, the working...
Curated OER
Telling A Story
Students brainstorm all the possible scenarios that would help them tell a story in detail with the whole class and with partners. They create web outlines to create a name story and then illustrate it with creative grammar usage and...
Wish for the Future
Wish for the Future
What would be your class's ideal world 30 years in the future? What about 100 years? Use a series of activities to discuss globalization, sustainability, scientific contributions to society, and the global community of which your...
Curated OER
How Does the Air Get Polluted?
Students listen to or read a story that introduces awareness of environmental issues and in particular pollution.
National Museum of the American Indian
The Kwakwaka'Wakw: A Study of a North Pacific Coast People and the Potlatch
Discover the cultural practices and unique value systems of a group of native peoples from Canada called the Kwakwaka'wakw. Your young historians will discuss how conceptions of wealth can vary and how these native people utilized...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Keep Finding the Positive
Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...
Curated OER
Electricity and Magnetism
Make oral presentations electric and magnetic! As the conclusion of the study of electricity and magnetism, class members are assigned to bring to life items or people associated with these topics. Speaking as the person or object,...
Curated OER
Keep Finding the Positive
Fifth graders discuss how a positive self-image can improve their school community. In groups, they are given a set of card in which they examine the role of each. After being given the presenter card, they create a collage about their...
Curated OER
Fairy Tales Retold
Students use writing processes effectively to adapt and retell stories. They reread a favorite fairy tale, then adapt and retell in a PowerPoint or other multimedia presentation. They present their rewritten and edited presentations to...
Curated OER
Government
Second graders run for various offices. They dress up like a politician, pretend to be running for an office, and tell the students why they should vote for him/her. They explain why it is necessary for a community to have a government
Curated OER
West Virginia State Museum Lesson Plan
Young scholars explore historic West Virginia. In this US history lesson, students examine primary sources and political cartoons that depict the issues of statehood for West Virginia and the role that those played in the Civil War. This...
Curated OER
Literary Odyssey
Students read and compare excerpts from The Odyssey and The Adventures of Telemachus. They create an original story based on a secondary character from The Odyssey as well as a sketch of one of the pivotal scenes from the story.
Curated OER
What Makes You Scream?
Eighth graders study Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream." They produce their own scream using directional lines as Munch did. Line was used by Munch in a variety of directions(horizontal, vertical and diagonal.
Curated OER
Native American Legends
Young scholars work together in groups to research a Native American legend. They present the information they gathered in a format they chose. They write their own legend based on their research.
Curated OER
Exploring Film Genres for Telling Hero Stories: Experimental Shorts
Students design and create an experimental film to express a theme or concept regarding heroism. They establish shots of locations, write dialogue, create montages and subjective footage.
Curated OER
West Virginia State Museum Lesson Plan: West Virginia Music
Students compare and contrast music about West Virginia. For this West Virginia history lesson, students analyze popular music so that they may gain an understanding of the relationships between songs and history. Students then create...
Curated OER
Transforming Anansi Folktales Into Storyboards
Students work in small groups to illustrate a story board of a folktale. They develop the meaning of a trickster as a humor device in folktales by listening to several about Leprechauns and the Coyote of Native American tales. They then...
Curated OER
Story Writing
Students work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class. For this story writing lesson, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least two other...
Curated OER
Descriptive Character Analysis
Students visualize a character or event and personalize it through drawings.
Curated OER
Investigating the Earth-Moon-Sun System
Eighth graders research Native American legends involving the sun, moon, and stars and compare them to the origin of present day knowledge. They create a written report and make an oral presentation of their findings to the class.
Curated OER
Comprehension Skills: Picture, Question and Summarize Using Fiction Stories
Students build a variety of comprehension skills through the nine lessons of this unit. Picturing events, monitoring understanding during reading, forming questions, and summarizing stories form the core of the lessons being taught in...
Curated OER
Flamenco Music
Students explore flamenco music through research into the lives and movements of the Gypsies of Andalusia. They adopted th music of Spain and added their own strong rhythmic sense and drama.