Curated OER
Utah Pioneers
Fourth graders investigate the hardships faced by the Utah pioneers. In small groups they calculate a budget using a determined amount of money, select a challenge for the group, and discuss how their group overcomes the challenges...
Curated OER
The Call of the Wild
Students read The Call of the Wild, noting its theme of survival. They investigate the book's concepts with word webs, spider maps, or graphic organizers. They conduct a panel discussion on dogs and wolves. They write a letter to the...
Curated OER
Ocean Habitats:
Students investigate the creatures of intertidal zones. They explore the adaptations species make to survive .
Curated OER
Earthquakes Rock!
Students study the main methods to measure earthquakes; the Richter Scale and Mercalli Scale. They make a model of a seismograph and investigate which structural designs are most likely to survive an earthquake.
Curated OER
The Gray Whale Obstacle Course Viewing Guide
Students complete a worksheet while watching a film about whales. They examine the human impact on whale migration and identify adaptations the whale has acquired in able to survive. They discover how global warming has effected the...
Curated OER
Biodiversity - Who Cares?
Students articulate some of the impacts of loss of biodiversity. They play a game that demonstrates why having a rich variety of life is important to the survival of ecosystems and how invasive species are threatening local biodiversity.
Curated OER
Home Away From Home
Students discover some of the threats to tigers in the wild and some of the challenges of keeping them in wildlife preserves and zoos. They then sketch and explain their designs for sensible tiger enclosures in zoos.
Curated OER
Hawaiian Natives Disappear
Students explore parts of the Hawaiian Islands to get a examine the exotic invasion, and see what challenges the natives face in reclaiming their territory. They identify the changes in the environment that have been the hardest on the...
Curated OER
World in the Balance
Learners make estimates on how many people they believe live on Earth. While watching a video, they take notes on the issues facing Kenya, Japan and India. In groups, they calculate how long it takes for a country to double in size. To...
Curated OER
State of the Planet's Wildlife
Learners view and discuss a video about the challenges facing wildlife on the planet Earth. They define key terms, watch the video, and answer discussion questions about the film.
Peace Corps
Starting Off the Day (and School Year) in Ukraine
Young scholars compare the first day of school in Ukraine with the first day of school in the United States, including the challenges students and teachers both face in each country. They respond in class, in their journals, to the...
Curated OER
Moving West!
Young scholars explore, explain and experience the importance of good character traits in everyday life by assessing the challenging journeys traveled on the Oregon Trail. They study the daily accounts of perseverance and courage along...
Curated OER
What Is A Community?
Learners engage in a instructional activity which introduces the definition of a community and challenges them to explore the characteristics of their own community. This instructional activity uses the true story of Humphrey the Lost...
Curated OER
How to Deal With Class Size Increases
While class size increases make it more challenging for teachers to meet students' needs, there are ways to make things a little easier.
Curated OER
It's (Not) Just a Bug: Simulating Invasive Insect Predation on a Plant Population
Students reflect on challenges that face farmers in cultivating crops, including insects. They then simulate how crops are affected by native and non-native insect populations and the options farmers have to protect their crops. Finally,...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Seasons of a Plant
The third in a series of six lessons is an engaging three-part activity defines that discusses phenology, focusing on the cyclic seasons of plants. Pupils then observe phenology outside before determining how climate change can...
Serendip
How Eyes Evolved – Analyzing the Evidence
Octopodes existed for hundreds of thousands of years before humans, yet our eyes share many similarities. Scholars analyze the evidence to determine if the evolution of eyes best fits a homology or analogy model. They discuss the issue...
ARKive
An Introduction to Endangered Species
Explore the world's endangered species with a presentation and bingo game activity. After viewing a presentation about the meaning of endangered species as it relates to specific animals, kids play a game of bingo with cards that...
Messenger Education
Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration
The propellant needed for space explorations runs in the thousands, while paying to get the craft into orbit costs millions! In the second installment of three, two activities explore laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Using...
University of Southern California
What's the Catch?
There must be a catch! A comprehensive lesson looks at ocean fishing concerns through a set of five hands-on activities. Learners become aware of the risks of seafood contamination and factors that have affected the ocean environment.
Global Oneness Project
Recording a Dying Langauge
Is there value in preserving indigenous languages that are almost extinct? That's the question posed to viewers of a short film about the attempt of one Native American woman who is creating a dictionary for Wakchumni, the language of...
Los Angeles Unified School District
River Systems
Scholars must react to the ecosystems of a river. They use inquiry-based learning along with maps and visuals to better understand the impact of rivers on everyday life. To finish, they create final written projects and presentations.
Curated OER
Earthquakes
Students discuss a natural disaster. In this earthquakes research lesson, students discover why earthquakes happen, what happens after an earthquake, and what to do during an earthquake. They discuss some information as a class and work...
Curated OER
Swimming Survivor Challenge - III
Students to learn the steps for administering CPR and practice with a partner.