Activity
Scouts

The Deadly Picnic: A Lab on Deductive Reasoning

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Whodunnit? Find out who killed Mr. Brooks through a logical examination of evidence. Class members fill out a couple of data tables to help them pin down the suspect. After they've figured out just who the culprit is, pupils compose...
Lesson Plan
New York State Education Department

TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 11

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
You'll C-E-R a difference in classroom achievement after using a helpful instructional activity. Designed for economics, civics, government, and US history classes, participants practice using the CER model to craft arguments about...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Thinking About Hate

For Teachers 8th - 10th
This lesson starts out with a guided discussion about the statement "Birds fly in the sky; airplanes fly in the sky; therefore, airplanes are birds" and goes on to cover logical fallacies and reliable sources, relating these to the topic...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Mystery State # 28

For Students 6th - 8th
Using clues is a great way to increase deductive and logical reasoning skills. Boost thinking skills while quizzing kids about us geography. They use five clues to determine which state is in question. 
Worksheet
Curated OER

Mystery State # 41

For Students 5th - 7th
Kids use their deductive reasoning skills, state knowledge, and five clues to determine mystery state #41. They'll follow the clues to locate the mystery state on a US map. Note: This is a warm-up activity, so it includes two short...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Geography A to Z: The Letter G

For Students 4th - 6th
Using clues to answer questions is a way to increase deductive reasoning skills. Kids answer seven geography clues with answers all starting with the letter G. A great way to test world geography or warm up the class.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Mystery State # 5

For Students 5th - 6th
Mystery state number five is none other than Utah! Quiz your kids on state knowledge while building deductive reasoning skills. They use each of the five clues to determine the name of the mystery state. A great warm up when studying...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Albert Sabin and Bioethics: Testing at the Chillicothe Federal Reformatory

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Do the ends justify the means? Getting a drug approved in the US is a long and involved process. But at some point out, it involves testing on humans. The ethics of such testing is the focus of a resource that uses Dr. Albert...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Economic Way of Thinking - About Everything

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students write their definitions of economics on index cards and revise them as the instructional activity continues. They discuss the principles of economic reasoning and after completing a quiz, use economic reasoning to solve "real...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 15

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What do a cheetah, Audi commercial, and air have in common? They're all topics of an engaging inquiry-based, hands-on workshop for educators about background knowledge, reading strategies, the CER model, and argumentative writing. The...
Lesson Plan
New York State Education Department

TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 5

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are video games sports? Pupils investigate this question as well as various nonfiction selections to learn more about claims and the support that defines them. All of the selections mimic the rigor on state tests and encourage close...
Lesson Plan
Anti-Defamation League

The Gender Wage Gap

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
"Equal pay for equal work!" may sound logical but it is not the reality. High schoolers begin a study of the gender wage gap with an activity that asks them to position themselves along a line that indicates whether they strongly agree...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Developing Thinking and Reasoning Skills in Primary Learners Using Detective Fiction

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars are introduced to the genre of detective fiction. Based on their reading level, they are given a different series of books to read. For each story, they are to make predictions and practice decoding messages. To end the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Discovering Japan Through Cooperative Research

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Explorers in Kansas

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read cards about the explorers: Coronado, Lewis, and Clark, Pike, and Long. In this influential expeditions instructional activity, 4th graders describe and observe explorers who came to Kansas. Students locate main...
Worksheet
Reading Through History

The Federalist Papers: Federalist Paper No. 10

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
James Madison, under the pen name “Publius,” justifies the need for an American Republic in Federalist Paper 10, which is perhaps one of the most influential contributions to the Federalist Papers. Readers examine his perspective with...
Lesson Plan
Skyscraper Museum

Changes in a City Over Time

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Investigate the growth and development of New York City with the final lesson in this four-part series on skyscrapers. Learners first explore the concept of urban growth by looking closely at a series of three paintings made of Wall...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Eloquent Words

For Teachers 9th
Logan’s Lament, a speech delivered by Mingo Chief Logan in 1774, provides pupils with an opportunity to not only study the historical events surrounding the battle between Native Americans and the Europeans for the West Virginia...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Dream Bag

For Teachers K
Students discover the functions of different types of bags. In this product design instructional activity, students discuss they types of bags that people use and then create their own bags for their own purposes.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Relating to Franklin's Age of Reason

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read a selection describing 13 virtues from "The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin." They keep track of their behavior and whether or not they can keep up with 5 chosen virtues. They write a 5 paragraph essay on their...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Do We Owe To Thoreau?

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students use this design as an electronic reading and writing guide to Henry David Thoreau's famous essay, "On Civil Disobedience." They use activities to familiarize students with the political issues of Thoreau's time. Comprehension...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Triumph of the Will

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students view the propaganda film, "Triumph of the Will". Identifying propaganda techniques used, they review any fallacies in logic or persuasive appeals. They discover elements in German culture and their meaning in 1934. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Checkmate

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students start identifying the cause and effect relationships in games of Chess. Using the internet, they research the history of the game and how the roles for each of the pieces. They develop a skit based on the roles and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Jamestown

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders read literature that explains several reasons the Virginia Company was established. In this history lesson, 5th graders use different learning styles; interpersonal, artistic, logical, visual, and auditory to understand all...