Curated OER
Outstanding Women
Research the lives of famous women in this social studies lesson. Middle schoolers use various sources to research a famous woman and create a presentation about the accomplishments of the woman. They can find the central idea throughout...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 6
How can a screenplay create meaning and drama in ways that other forms of writing cannot? That is the question class members must answer as they compare the cantina scene of the screenplay for George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope...
Media Education Lab
Sponsored Content as Propaganda
What is sponsored content? Who produces sponsored content? Why? Is it fair or unfair? What are the privacy implications for consumers? To answer these questions, class members view a model screencast before crafting their own that...
Curated OER
Researching and Word Processing Unit: Wagons West
Help create confident and competent Internet users for research purposes. Middle schoolers conduct Internet research and compose a paper on the computer. They learn how to properly cite Internet references and explore net etiquette.
Curated OER
Documentary-Style Research Projects
Show your pupils how to use guiding questions to help them focus their research into a topic. Using the framework provided by these questions, researchers explore a topic, collect interesting facts, and prepare a PowerPoint presentation...
Curated OER
Synthesis of Information
Locating and synthesizing information is an essential part of the research process but can be overwhelming for many young writers. Eliminate some of the stress and confusion, this resource suggests, by separating these steps. To focus...
Curated OER
Statistics and Shopping
Explore how statistics are used in everyday life. Your soon-to-be savvy consumers use the Internet to find consumer-related statistical information and learn to make wise consumer decisions. Includes links to a practice sheet about data...
Curated OER
Weaving a Story
It's time to investigate patterns! First and second graders construct a paper weaving using a hundreds chart, then use the Ti-10 calculator to make patterns such as adding 3 each time. Learners remove multiples of three from the hundreds...
Curated OER
Getting the Word Out
Discuss and generate blogs in this technology lesson. Middle and high schoolers explore examples of blogs and create their own blogs. Use this lesson throughout the year to reinforce concepts from your language arts class (or any class)....
Virginia Department of Education
Writing Counterarguments
This activity is better utilized as a peer-editing exercise and not as an activity on how to write counterarguments. Writers take their argumentative rough drafts, peer edit in groups of four, and review the author on common essay...
Curated OER
Critical Consumerism
What are ads really selling? High schoolers examine persuasive techniques used by print and television advertisements. They generate a list of persuasive techniques they're familiar with, and review other types argumentation and...
Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX)
Lost in Space - A Solar System Study
Fourth graders study the planets of our Solar System collecting data on a worksheet. They use online tools to create a puzzle or other digital product using the information from their research.
National First Ladies' Library
Fashion Trends in the 1960s: Hippies, Flower Children, and Design
Middle schoolers use the Internet to research and examine clothing styles of 1960s, draw pictures of various clothing and accessories popular in that decade, trace images on top of foil tray or pan to design a stamp, and make...
Curated OER
Synonyms and Antonyms
Mix up your writing lessons by having kids look at recent newspaper articles instead of their own work. They work in pairs and rewrite sports news articles using synonyms and antonyms for a set number of words. Then they share their work...
Curated OER
Food, Glorious Food?
How are the reactions between American and European consumers different when it comes to genetically modified foods? Use the New York Times article "Consumers in Europe Resist Gene-Altered Foods" to inform your middle schoolers...
Curated OER
Famous Public Properties
What can a middle schooler do in 90 minutes? He can practice using the commutative, associative and distributive properties of addition and multiplication. He can also simplify expressions using the commutative, associative and...
Curated OER
Hip Hop and Political Activism
Young scholars identify and employ non violent methods/tactics to bring about social change as exemplified in hip hop culture. They examine hip hop as a form of political activism.
Curated OER
Cooking With Geography
Sstudents use desktop publishing to create "real world" documents from information received from collaborating classes. They create an electronic presentation from Internet research. They experience foods from different states and regions.
Curated OER
Kernels of Wisdom: Investigating Natural Variations in Corn
Here is a brain-popper! Corn, or more appropriately, maize, was intentionally domesticated by humans around 9,000 years ago and over a period of hundreds to thousands of years! Genetics and botany researchers have collaborated to find...
Media Smarts
Media Smarts: Stay on the Path Lesson One: Searching for Treasure
This four-lesson plan unit on search skills and critical thinking teaches students how to target and specify their online searches to avoid unwanted results, how to judge whether a link, search result, or website is legitimate or phony...
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: How to Get the Most Out of Google Search
Technology based lesson for a High School English class on how to accurately and efficiently research information on the internet using Google Search. Learners conduct Web searches on open-ended questions, and draw on their experiences...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Star Search: How Do I Find the Books I Need?
Lesson which outlines the STAR process for finding resources in a library. Learners are taught to select appropriate search tools, subject headings, and resources.
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: In Search of Globe Data
Learners use GLOBE search tools to locate and display data from schools, and then use the data to answer questions regarding weather and climate.
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media: Education: Crawling the Web: Grades 6 8
Faced with a large and ever-changing array of options about how to find information they need, students learn to make informed choices about which search sites to use for different purposes. They also learn to use multiple search tools...