Cornell University
Investigating and Modeling Hardness
Model hardness testing with a self-designed hardness test. Young scholars rate the hardness of different types of aspirin using the Vicker's Hardness scale. They then relate hardness to the solubility of each aspirin tablet.
University of North Carolina
Reading to Write
Silly journal and essay prompts may be fun to write, but they don't model the kind of writing needed for college papers and standardized tests. The 15th part in a series of 24 covers the concept of reading to write—during and after...
Curated OER
The Outsiders
Tenth graders complete a variety of activities related to the first two chapters of the book The Outsiders. They define metaphor, simile, idiom, and hyperbole, and take a vocabulary pre-quiz. In small groups, they write a character...
Curated OER
Come Fly with Me . . . Open a Book: Travels through Literature
This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...
Curated OER
"Your Son, Your Only One" - The Sacrifice of Isaac as a Motif in Holocaust Poetry
Class groups examine a series of poems that use Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as a motif in Holocaust poetry. Included are questions, notes to the teacher, and bibliographical information on each poem. The activities could be...
Cornell University
The Science of Snowflakes
Who can grow the best crystals? Challenge class members to develop strategies for enhancing growth in the crystals. Through a lab investigation, learners study the properties of crystals and test the effectiveness of different...
Curated OER
Urban Legends
Irony, hyperbole, and other rhetorical devices are at play in this presentation about urban legends. Several examples of urban legends help to clarify the analysis, making it valuable for those who have a hard time wrapping their mind...
Curated OER
Music from a Place Called Half Moon
Students read the novel, Music from a Place Called Half Moon. They are assigned chapters to analyze for literary elements and to assign titles to the book chapters.
Curated OER
Media Literacy Analyzed
Fourth and fifth graders define the term media literacy, then come up with examples that they share with the class. The types of media studied are auditory, visual, and written. Learners get together in pairs and perform a media...
Curated OER
Being an Educated Consumer of Statistics
Students examine kinds of data used to report statistics, and create their own statistical report based on any of the four sources of media information (Internet, newspaper, TV, magazine).
Curated OER
W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw" Theme
Students identify the theme of "The Monkey's Paw" and relate it to prior knowledge. In this "The Monkey's Paw" instructional activity, students discuss fate and coincidence and debate which one controls destiny. A test is...
Curated OER
Groundwater Pump Test
Students observe groundwater flowing to a pump, changes in groundwater table as a result of pumping, and the quantity and quality of water in the groundwater system. Students must graph and interpret their data, and quantify orders of...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
8th Grade Poetry: Assess
Eighth graders craft a Petrarchan sonnet and respond to a performance assessment to demonstrate what they have learned in this five-lesson poetry unit.
Curated OER
Folly or Fortune?
In this listening selection worksheet, 9th graders read and listen to the story 'Folly or Fortune' by Lois Miner Huey to improve their listening skills.
Curated OER
"Croak" Science Mystery
Solve the mystery of a declining frog population! Lead your junior ecologists on an investigation that simulates actual events concerning pollution, predation, poaching, and more. Investigators read a story online, then analyze survey...
Curated OER
Analyze This
Students gain practice in the analysis of various types of graphs common in daily life. These examples often use graphic images like charts, graphs, tables, and pictures to supplement learning.
Curated OER
Acid Rain Research
Students collect samples of rainfall, cloud condensation, and water that trickles through the soil. These samples are tested for pH, conductivity, and the presence of sulfates, nitrates, calcium, and magnesium.
Cornell University
What Happens When We Excite Atoms and Molecules?
Excited atoms lead to exciting lessons! Learners use heat and light to excite both atoms and molecules. They display their learning in the form of Bohr models depicting the excited state of the atoms.
Fluence Learning
Writing an Opinion: Is Pride Good or Bad?
Does pride really goeth before the fall, or can it be essential to one's development? Second graders read two of Aesop's fables that refer to pride in their morals, and write a short essay about whether pride is good or bad, based on...
Curated OER
Macbeth Madness
Students analyze Shakespeare's Macbeth. In this Macbeth lesson, students read Act Two Scene iv and Act Three Scenes i-vi in the play and complete the test from the given link.
Curated OER
The Breaking of Charity
The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets...
Curated OER
"The Wind" by James Reeves
Inntroduce primary learners to essential critical reading strategies with an activity based on James Reeves' poem, "The Wind." Learners listen as the poem is read, first as a riddle, and then re-read with the title visible. The...
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...
Curated OER
Symbol Beneath the Surface in "The Life You Save May Be Your Own"
Students identify the value of symbols in shorts stories and analyze Flannery O'Connor's use of symbolism. In this symbolism lesson, students complete a worksheet about symbols for cars. Students answer questions about Flannery...