Briscoe Center for American History
Mary Maverick and Texas History - Part 2
To conclude their investigation of the life of Mary Maverick and to demonstrate their ability to analyze primary source documents, groups use the SOAPS questioning method to examine Maverick's account of events in early Texas history.
Curated OER
Math: Designing a Playground
Sixth graders design and draw a model playground to scale. They configure the layout to include a sandbox, slide, baseball field and other equipment. Their design includes adaptations for students with disabilities. Their designs are...
Smithsonian Institution
Women's Role in the War Effort
Did you know that many women were Confederate spies during the Civil War? The resource focuses particularly on the important role women played for both the Union and Confederacy. It uses exercises such as a discussion, video, analyzing...
Curated OER
Jazz in America
Students participate in a class discussion about jazz music, compare improvisation with regular conversion, listen to various jazz musicians and compare and contrast their individual sounds.
Curated OER
Sounds Like Great Science!
A phenomenal lesson on sound is here for your third graders! In it, learners engage in hands-on activities, watch video, take part in Internet activities, and complete tasks in cooperative groups in order to explore the world of sound...
Curated OER
Using Poetry As Inspiration for Composition
A reading of Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" launches an interdisciplinary study of the connection between the meters of a poem and a melody. After identifying the number of beats in each line of the poem, young musicians use...
Curated OER
Life in a Hurricane Zone
Students research the effects of living in a hurricane zone. In this hurricane zone lesson, students research the impact of natural disasters on humans and the environment, and write a press release describing the devastation of...
NASA
Producers Make Their Own Food
During an inquiry-based lesson plan, scholars decide which variable to test and then design an experiment to determine the needs of producers. After two weeks, they complete a full analysis and research paper.
Towson University
Looking Into Lactase: Guided Inquiry
Milk does a body good ... unless, of course, someone is lactose intolerant. Pupils play the role of pharmaceutical scientists in a guided inquiry lab about lactase. Lab groups collaborate to learn more about lactose intolerance, how...
Science 4 Inquiry
Carbon and Climate
The carbon cycle is natural and has happened for millions of years, so can humans change it? Young scientists play the role of carbon as they travel through the carbon cycle. They complete two rounds, once before the industrial...
Curated OER
The Crittenden Conway Duel
Students explore primary and secondary sources. In this primary and secondary source lesson, students investigate a crime scene. Students search for evidence around the classroom and evaluate their findings. Students write a crime report...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the Motives of Evil
Students use an online search engine (or a printed concordance) to locate passages that highlight Macbeth's response to fear and his descent into evil. They analyze the motives of Macbeth's increasingly desperate and evil actions.
Curated OER
The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
High schoolers analyze documents, cartoons, speeches and articles about Joseph McCarthy and his crusade against "Un-American" activities. They guide their research with a worksheet and participate in class discussions about their findings.
Friends of Fort McHenry
Baltimore – Caught in the Middle
Choosing sides is no easy matter, and this was certainly true for the citizens of Baltimore in the beginning stages of the Civil War. Using video, group analysis of several primary sources, and discussion, this detailed and thorough...
Virginia Department of Education
Physical and Chemical Properties of Water
How can you effectively provide detailed concepts of water properties to your high school class in a way they find exciting and challenging at the same time? By letting them play, of course! Through a variety of...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Microarrays and Stem Cells
Background reading is available in the first two pages of this worksheet, along with reading comprehension questions and a laboratory activity in which students use mircroarray technology to identify genes used in cell differentiation....
Curated OER
The Antagonist's Point of View
Analyzing literary antagonists is a first step to creating memorable characters in student writing.
Curated OER
Lines From Behind the Lines
Fifth graders create a timeline of events in a soldiers life. In this World War I lesson, 5th graders learn about the Great Depression and World War I. Students watch video segments about World War I and examine primary...
Curated OER
Billions of Bubbles
Students conduct an experiment with bubbles. In this observation and comparison lesson, students read Bubbles, Bubbles, Everywhere and conduct an experiment where they test different kinds of liquids to see which is the best for a...
Curated OER
Art Show with the Masters
Students contribute to a classroom art show. In this art appreciation lesson, students research the lives and works of artists from different ages. Students write reports, recreate artwork of their researched artists, and participate in...
Curated OER
Brutal British
Students read and predict the outcome of a story set during the Civil War, then map the story. To prepare for the activity, students determine why it is important to look at historical events from all angles by using primary and...
Curated OER
Growing a Lawn
Students research plant growth. In this plant growth lesson, students explore the needs of plants. Students compare and contrast grass and broadleaf plants and grow a miniature lawn in a cup of soil. Resources are provided.
Curated OER
Survival of the Fittest – Battling Beetles
Young scholars explore natural selection. For this genetic adaptation lesson, students discover why certain traits continue and some traits disappear. Young scholars discover how species evolve and change. Resources are provided.
Curated OER
Statistics: Misleading or Accurate?
Students explore the concept of misleading statistics. In this misleading statistics instructional activity, students play a game of tag and graph the number of times each student gets tagged. Students use the graph to determine the...