Curated OER
Wet Pennies
Students conduct a simple test to determine how many drops of water, rubbing alcohol and vegetable oil can be placed on a penny before spilling over. They consider how varying surface tensions allow for different amounts of each liquid...
Curated OER
Child Care
Learners review child abuse, safety precautions, and participate in various activities that teach these concepts. They discover how to provide safety for children in their care and make a list of safety precautions they should follow...
Curated OER
A Way with Words or Say What?
Students explore the language of Shakespeare. In this literature lesson plan, students examine words invented by Shakespeare as they interpret their meanings in drawings. Students pantomime the meanings and then write a short story...
Curated OER
How Would You Feel?
Sixth graders put themselves in the shoes of aborigines who were displaced from their homes in the 1800s by Europeans who came in and took their land from them. They discuss the social injustices suffered by these people, and write...
Museum of Tolerance
Can It Happen in America?: Taking Social Action
Class members investigate the Jim Crow Laws, Executive Order 9066, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Indian Removal Act to gather information about not only the challenges encountered by diverse groups of Americans, but their...
Curated OER
Topical Discussions
Engaging in topical discussions can be a great way to teach kids how to build strong arguments and support their opinions with concrete evidence. High schoolers choose a controversial topic, build an argument for or against that topic,...
Curated OER
Pottery with Artist Kerry Moosman
After watching a video of Native American artist Maria Martinez create art out of clay, learners will create burnished coil pots similar to those made by artist, Kerry Moosman. This lesson plan includes a supply list, web links,...
Curated OER
Designing the Future of Technology
Conduct research focused on improving a current technology by having students work in groups to investigate improvements that could be made to a particular piece of technology. They list the current problems and attempt to develop...
David Elementary
Structural Elements of Drama
The world may indeed be a stage, and players certainly need to know drama vocabulary. This list of 16 terms (and their definitions) often found in scripts will prompt actors to perform their role.
Museum of Tolerance
Essential Vocabulary and Concepts
Genocide. Scapegoat. Propaganda. Words are powerful. Words carry the weight of history. To prepare for a visit to The Museum of Tolerance, class members consider the weight of meaning in words related to intolerance.
EngageNY
Final Performance Task: Fishbowl Discussion about Editorial Essay
Using the resource, learners share their essay revisions with a partner. Afterward, they participate in a Fishbowl discussion, receiving peer feedback about their editorial essays.
EngageNY
Speech Writing: Identifying Criteria for a High-Quality Introduction
Using a helpful resource, pupils watch a TED Talk of an opinion speech as they consider the criteria for a high-quality introduction. Scholars then engage in a shared writing process with the teacher to practice writing the introduction...
EngageNY
Speech Writing: Identifying Criteria for a High Quality Conclusion
Learning is never-ending. Scholars learn about effective conclusions as they continue watching a video of an opinion speech. After analyzing the speech's conclusion, they work in small groups to write an ending for their own speeches.
Curated OER
The Newspaper Article
Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I Have a Dream," is one of the most famous in United States history, but why was it so effective? Ask your class to determine the answer to this question. While the resource includes a description of...
Channel Islands Film
Cache: Lesson Plan 3 - Grades 4-5
Should the excavation of what is believed to be the cave of the Lone Woman of San Nicholas Island be allowed to continue? As a practice exercise designed to prepare pupils for a timed writing exam, individuals read two Los Angeles...
Curated OER
Do You Have Character?
Sixth graders read Katherine Paterson's novel, Bridge to Terabithia, and watch a video of Maurice Sendak's book, Where the Wild Things Are. They examine the characters in both stories that share similar characteristics. Students use the...
Curated OER
What Portraits Reveal
Students examine how portraits can tell us more about people of the past than just what they looked like. They compare three portraits of U.S. Presidents, analyze portraits of Americans from the Revolutionary War, and write a report on...
Curated OER
Story Totems
Students write and illustrate a story to describe the habitat and life cycle of a selected animal. They write and publish their story, and create a picture of the animal on a wooden board.
Curated OER
After Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
Students describe issues or problems facing African Americans following Reconstruction. They explain possible solutions to these problems suggested in the sources found and cite arguments for and against those solutions. Analyze primary...
Curated OER
Book: Cyprus
Students, after reading Chapter 1 in the book, "Cyprus," design and create a nature journal for an imaginary trip around Cyprus. They identify animals and plants that in their minds live in Cyprus as well as describe the landscape all...
Curated OER
Book: Germany
Students, after reading Chapter One in the book, "Germany," analyze and recreate the political boundaries as well as the physical features of the nation of Germany with the assistance of play-doh or salt dough. In groups, they create...
Curated OER
Where is the Science?: Design as an Introduction to the Scientific Method
Students work to create a design that will protect an egg from being dropped from a one story floor. They test their prototype after it is completed. They write clear instructions and link aspects of the design process to the scientific...
Curated OER
Debate over the Ratification of the Constitution
Twelfth graders discuss the creation of the United States, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution. Through a class debate, role-playing Federalists and Anti-federalists, they identify the reasons for and against ratification...