Curated OER
Methuselah Tree
Learners examine how scientists determine the age of living and non-living trees.  They simulate the role of a tree-ring scientist, crossdating tree-ring samples and determining which sample is the oldest and the age of the samples.
Curated OER
Tell About the South : The Story of Modern Southern Literature
Students, after viewing the video "Tell About the South," discuss and analyze Jean Toomer's mixed heritage and how it affected his artistic voice. They evaluate how the character Toomer was an excellent example of America's melting pot....
Curated OER
The Moon and The Stars
Students study the moon and the stars.  They explore the vocabulary associated with the moon and the stars and cultural references including the Chinese Moon Festival.  They participate in reciting poems, nursery rhymes and songs related...
Curated OER
Who Where They?
Students associate explorers with specific discoveries. They apply research skills to inquire about the explorers. Students switch roles with the instructor for the class to demonstrate what they have learned.
Curated OER
The Flight of the Bumble Bee
Students explore bumble bees. In this bee themed lesson plan, students listen to music inspired by bumble bees, create bee puppets, and complete a bumble bee coloring sheet.
Curated OER
Our Friends the Trees
Students explore trees and learn about their importance to the environment. In this tree study lesson, students work in groups to complete a tree survey, a map for the survey, and several worksheets about the tree topics. students make a...
Curated OER
The Demographics of Mortality
Students view the Dynamic POPClocks on the U.S. Census webpage and discuss their meaning.  They explore age-related death rates of the human population and collect information about the deaths of humans and organize them into a life table.
Curated OER
Exploring Explorers
Ninth graders illustrate the routes taken by different explorers on a world map.  They explain the need for the different exploration voyages.  Students explore the web for information that may contain different points of view or...
Curated OER
Using Radioactive Decay to Determine Geologic Age
Young scholars investigae using radioactive decay to determine geologic age.
Louisiana Department of Education
How to Write a Memoir
Who are we and what shapes our identities? Seventh graders work to answer this question as they learn how to write a memoir. Full of non-print resources and supplemental texts that range from fiction to non-fiction, scholars write their...
Curated OER
Stewart's Boxes
Learners collect memorabilia and create shadow boxes in the style of David Stewart. They also compose a poem and explain their identity in an oral presentation. This is a rare lesson that works quite well for a variety of age levels.
Curated OER
Harmony Day - Driven Out
Children explore what life might be like for refugees and people migrating to a different country. Each student lists the five most precious items he/she owns and is then given an extreme scenario to consider. By the end of the exercise,...
Active 770
Aesop and His Fables
Most people have heard of Aesop's Fables, but who was Aesop and when did the fables actually get recorded? Teach your class all about Aesop and fables in general with the presentation before inviting them to examine several fables and...
BioEd Online
Muscle Fibers
What better way to learn about muscle than by dissecting one? Using cow muscle (beef), learners compare bundles of yarn to muscle fibers as they explore each. The supplemental reading about astronauts losing muscle mass in space and what...
Carolina K-12
How Do I Pre-Register and Vote in North Carolina?
This practical activity helps young citizens learn about pre-registration to vote in elections, discuss the merits and flaws of the pre-registration process, and register themselves. The concluding activity has young voters creating...
Rain Bird Corporation
Rain Forest Teaching Curriculum
Take young naturalists on an exploration of the world's tropical rainforests with this extensive collection of lessons and activities. Whether its creating leaf and flower prints or investigating the absorption spectrum of...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Public Keys, One Way Functions and Hard Problems
Use paint to teach about cryptography. Scholars explore public key cryptography by attempting to mix a secret color using paint. After the activity, they investigate the Diffie-Hellman method using prime numbers, exponents, and modular...
Learning Games Lab
Nitrogen in Fertilizer
Nitrogen is an essential element for productive farming. An interactive lesson explores the chemical makeup of different fertilizers and their corresponding nitrogen content. The interactive challenges individuals to complete...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Working with Wind Energy
After reading about how wind turbines work to collect clean energy, groups brainstorm and design their own windmill. Within the provided financial and physical constraints, groups must build a working windmill using only the materials...
In Working Order
Life Skills Lesson Activities
Examine the proper procedures and guidelines of Occupational Health and Safety with activities designed for high schoolers. Job seekers learn how to identify and remedy common workplace hazards, and to mitigate risk when possible.
Hildegard Center for the Arts
Mardi Gras Masks
Laissez les bons temps rouler! Create your own festive Mardi Gras masks with a lesson that provides background information on the celebration and instructions about constructing the masks. 
Penguin Books
Addressing Text Complexity - Making Independent Reading Meaningful
Many English teachers dream of a classroom full of readers silently enjoying their books. A useful guide helps make that dream become a reality by providing book recommendations for a range of readers. Each suggestion includes the...
Teaching Tolerance
Identity Artifacts Museum
Who are you? It's a simple question, but younger learners have the opportunity to express their complex identities by making artifacts that represent parts of their identities. After engaging in the activity, they share who they are with...
National Security Agency
Fraction Fever
This unit on fractions allows for upper-aged elementary learners to explore ways to find the greatest common factor and least common multiple of two numbers. Ultimately, young mathematicians will be able to identify equivalent fractions,...