Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Magic

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students assess the elements of J.K. Rowling's 'Harry Potter' series that have made it such a success. They incorporate these elements into a short film, incorporating such concepts as pop culture mythology, urban legend and archetypes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry of the City

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Learners explore Walt Whitman and about poetry. Most importantly, it teach them that poetry is something anyone can write and encourage them to tell the story of their own community in verse
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Campus Nitrogen Budget

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students are given guidelines to college level nitrogen budgeting. Students brainstorm the campus links to nitrogen budget. Students pick topics or subtopics for individual or group research. Students develop research plan, keep good...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is an American?

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students create a collage in groups that illustrates what it means to be an American. In this being American lesson plan, students compare different kinds of families and present their collage and describe what it means to be an American.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Jones Family Express

For Teachers 1st - 4th
Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Jones Family Express. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, answer short answer questions, have...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boston's Arnold Arboretum

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students examine how 19th-century urban conditions influenced the development of parks. They research local trees and shrubs, develop a display of trees and shrubs, plan a new park or arboretum, and write a report on a local park.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Columbus Park

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students complete activities that go along with the study of and possible fieldtrip to Columbus Park in Chicago, IL. They discover how urban conditions influenced the creation of city parks. They examine the preservation of historic...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boston Park System

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students complete a variety of activities that go along with the study of and possible fieldtrip to the Emerald Necklace park system in Boston, MA. They discover how urban conditions influenced the creation of city parks.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing a Mystery Story

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students examine the elements of mystery stories and read Rage in Harlem. In reciprocal teaching groups, they discuss the author's development of the story, and complete dialectical journals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

MOSAICS

For Teachers All
This instructional activity will teach the students about how Mosaics are made and how they have been used in the past history and in modern times. Students will construct their own paper mosaics.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sowing Seeds of Service

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders use metric measuring for model and actual plan in designing a roof garden. They photograph the process, record results in a journal, and plant seedlings in small containers. Finally, 3rd graders complete an acid rain...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

the Not Forgotten - Sharing History & Archaeology

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students create a catalog of gravestones in a cemetery that includes a burial ground from the Revolutionary War. They photograph and document the grave sites, research the Battle of Bunker hill and work with community members to create...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students identify and analyze the motivation behind the African-American students in organizing the sit-in if Greensboro and the formation of the SNCC. Students identify how the generational differences between members of SNCC and other...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Tour Down the Hudson River

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers discuss how the Hudson River is an ecosystem made up of both biotic and abiotic factors. They view the PowerPoint the Journal Down the Hudson River. Students become aware of where the Hudson River begins and ends, the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zebra Mussel Population Simulation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students are taught how to format and enter data into an Excel spreadsheet. They make a graph, and interpret graphed data. Students discuss the possible impacts of zebra mussels on the Hudson river. They graph zebra mussel data.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson on 'The Chimney Boy's Story' by Wes Magee

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed Standards
Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a activity that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Trying to Make Sense of the World

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students view video clips of September 11 and the assassination of John Kennedy. They discuss why these events hold such an importance to the United States. They also examine the role of coincidence and conspiracy in these types of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Community Forest

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders plant a tree. In this sustainable forestry lesson, 4th graders define community forest and brainstorm a location to plant a new tree on the school grounds. Students learn how to plant a tree and discuss choosing an...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Narrative Tenses

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders review narrative tenses. In this narrative tenses lesson, 8th graders read a story, answer comprehension questions, and complete a worksheet. This lesson is designed for students who are learning English as a second...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pulleys and Gears

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students analyze an engineering problem. They contrast paper and pencil mastery of concepts with hands-on mastery. They present their design and rationale behind it, whether it works or not.
Lesson Plan
University of California

Marble Rollercoasters

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Don't let your classes coast through school! Engage them in their learning as they build their own roller coasters to study potential and kinetic energy. Young scholars complete several challenges that require them to consider the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Environmental Awareness and Children's Literature

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Use an alternative setting for pregnant teens and young mothers, as well as special education children to examine environmental topics through literature. Included in this unit is a visit to neighborhood libraries to select children's...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Be a Building Detective!

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students participate in an in-depth study of a historic building in their community. They conduct a visual survey of the building, complete a worksheet, take a rubbing of the building, and research the history of the building.
Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

The Gift of Gatsby

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
A reading of “Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons a New Set of Strivers,” a New York Times article by Sara Rimer, triggers a discussion of the American Dream and what it means to strive for something. Following the discussion, class members...