Curated OER
Shakespeare and The Globe
A PowerPoint fill-in-the-blanks exam that tests learners knowledge of the life and times of William Shakespeare? Why not? The presentation could be used as a general review or as an introductory activity to assess prior knowledge.
Explore Learning
Student Exploration: Forest Ecosystem
In this ecosystem exploration worksheet, students complete 2 prior knowledge questions, then use "Forest Ecosystem Gizmo" to conduct several activities, completing short answer questions when finished.
Curated OER
How Can We Keep Our Forests Intact and Have Our Chocolate Too?
Fourth graders explore various methods of growing and harvesting rainforest foods in order to sustain its biodiversity. They discuss the various uses for trees from several viewpoints. Students research chocolate demand and land use...
Curated OER
Lesson 4: Text-to-World Connections
Making connections to the text you're reading may help build a deeper appreciation and understanding of the material. Second graders practice making text to self and text to life connections as they read two passages; one about Martin...
National Security Agency
Place Value for Primary Grades- A Place for Everything
Here is a phenomenal lesson on place value to the thousands place. Learners construct numbers and identify the value of each digit, investigate building numbers using craft sticks and paper plates, and complete other meaningful...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Historical Climate Cycles
What better way to make predictions about future weather and climate patterns than with actual climate data from the past? Young climatologists analyze data from 400,000 to 10,000 years ago to determine if climate has changed over...
Curated OER
Exploring Arizona's Biotic Communities Lesson 4: Which Team Are You On?
Who is not drawn to trading cards? In this lesson, junior ecologists create a trading card of an animal or plant from one of Arizona's biotic communities. Gorgeous sample cards are provided in the lesson plan as well as a plethora of...
Curated OER
Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly
Third graders access prior knowledge of the monarch butterfly and discuss what they would like to know. In this Monarch Butterfly instructional activity,students read Monarch Butterfly and discuss the life cycle of the butterfly....
Curated OER
World Cup 2010: WebQuest and Activities
Students discover the history of the World Cup and the current host country, South Africa. In this athletics lesson plan, students utilize the Internet to research and complete a WebQuest about South Africa. Students discuss...
Curated OER
Afghanistan: People, Places and Politics
Students discuss their prior knowledge of Afghanistan. They work together to complete a study guide about Afghanistan's people and places. They present their information to the class.
Curated OER
Heightening Awareness
Students review their prior knowledge about Haiti. They examine violence in Haiti by reading and discussing "HAITIAN FORCES BATTLING UPRISING REPORT RETAKING 3 TOWNS." In groups, students research specific time periods of Haitian history...
Curated OER
A Hard Sell on Stem Cells?
Young scholars examine their prior knowledge of cell regeneration and therapeutic use of stem cells. After reading an article, they discover new techniques for deriving embryonic stem cells. In groups, they research on the different...
Curated OER
Mission Makeover
Young scholars examine their prior knowledge of the space program. After reading an article, they explore the conclusions of the Columbia accident. In groups, they research various space programs and discover the scope of NASA. They...
Curated OER
A History of Journal Writing
Students articulate their prior knowledge concerning the purposes of journal writing. They explore what function journal writing has fulfilled for various cultures and peoples. Students read and analyze various journal entries by famous...
Curated OER
German Immigrants:Their Contributions to the Upper Midwest
Students study how contemporary lifestyles/cultures/traditions are influenced by the contributions of the settlers of that region; and use their prior knowledge of German to discuss photographs of people.
Curated OER
Explore Chapters 1 - 5
Students preview the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep, make connections between the novel previewed and their prior knowledge, other texts, and the world. They utilize graphic representations including charts, graphs, pictures, and...
Curated OER
Building a Mini-Park and Bird Sanctuary
Students build a list of gardening vocabulary from prior knowledge of gardens. For this gardening lesson, students understand the importance of gardens to humans and animals for food, shelter, and air. Students discuss the garden in...
Curated OER
Water Filtration Challenge
Students create an all-natural water filtration system. In this lesson plan on natural water filtration, students build upon prior knowledge to build a filtration unit made of plants, soils, sand, pebbles and rocks that can purify...
Curated OER
Poetry Analysis Lesson and Rubric
Analyzing poetry can be done using a variety of techniques that tap into student's prior knowledge.
Curated OER
Into the Fifties: Understanding the Context of Film Genres in the Fifties
Learners discuss prior knowledge of American culture during the 1950's. They complete KWL charts, participate in class discussions and view the documentary film Atomic Café. They record their observations from the film.
Curated OER
Seeing Art in Historical Context: An Activity to Promote Visual Literacy
Learners consider works of art in their historical context. In this art in historical context lesson plan, students are encouraged to think about and record their prior knowledge of the historical period and to make inferences about the...
Curated OER
The Identification of Bacteria
Students are given a two week period to put to use the knowledge they have gained while studying bacteria. As a culminating activity, students each receive three unknown bacteria to identify.
Curated OER
Nature's Superheroes
Students compare their prior knowledge about the relationship between sunlight and cancer with new findings. They research how different vitamins and minerals affect the human body.
Curated OER
Playing With Your Food
Students discover about the form and function of traditional musical instruments, then use this knowledge to create non-traditional instruments that replicate the sounds of traditional instruments. They use vegetables to create their...