Curated OER
The Greatest Generation: Capturing Their Stories with Digital Images
Young scholars interview a family member of a different generation. After brainstorming story topic ideas, they choose a topic about which to write focused interview questions. Using their notes from the interviews, students write and...
Curated OER
Meeting a Member of a Youth Advisory Committee
Students attend a meeting with a Youth Advisory Committee. They explain the purpose of the committee and participate in a class discussion. They develop a list of the duties of the committee and how it could benefit their class.
Curated OER
Who's In, Who's Out?
Students identify feelings they have when being included or excluded in a group. They develop a survey to give to different groups who feel excluded. They present the information they gather from the survey to the class.
Curated OER
When were you selfless today?
Middle schoolers, after reading and analyzing the poem, Selflessness of Mind, by Joe Gurknecht, brainstorm and discuss specific recent student acts of selflessness. They develop strategies to tie those acts of selflessness to themselves...
Curated OER
Oral Presentation of Chosen Career
Learners research career information and write out index cards. They are introduced to software Inspiration to develop their oral presentation skills.
Curated OER
Don't Laugh at Me
Students describe how discrimination can grow within a school climate. They examine the work of Peter Yarrow for his work to help others end discrimination. They develop their own plan for decreasing the amount of discrimination in their...
Curated OER
Poem Movies
Pupils create iMovie presentations that represent favorite poems chosen by the students in this language arts lesson for the upper-elementary classroom. The lesson includes resource links to find poetry and requires computers and movie...
Curated OER
A Classroom Coin
Students examine coins and find symbols that were selected for the country. They discuss the eagle as a symbol of the United States. They develop a list of characteristics of their class and design a coin that embodies these qualities.
Curated OER
Wash Your Hands...they are icky sticky!
Learners engage in an emergent literacy lesson that focuses on phonemic awareness and they practice corresponding the letter "i" to its long or short sound. This type of recognition has been found to be essential to reading development.
Curated OER
Water Plan for Dryville
Students use the internet to read about the water plan for Dryville. They work in small groups to develop a picture representation of each phase of the story. Students assemble their illustrations to create an entire illustrated edition...
Curated OER
Scrambled Paragraphs
Students examine the structure of paragraphs. In this writing skills lesson, students examine a scrambled paragraph with no formatting or punctuation. Students rearrange the text to create a well-developed paragraph.
What So Proudly We Hail
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Lesson on the Declaration of Independence
What does it mean to say that a right is unalienable? How did the founding fathers convey this revolutionary concept in the Declaration of Independence? Engage in a close reading and analysis of the Declaration of Independence, and...
EngageNY
Construct an Equilateral Triangle (part 1)
Drawing circles isn't the only thing compasses are good for. In this first installment of a 36-part series, high schoolers learn how to draw equilateral triangles by investigating real-world situations, such as finding the location of a...
C-SPAN
The Electoral College and the Constitution
What is the purpose of the Electoral College? Is it antiquated, or does it have a place in today's political climate? High schoolers view a series of video clips as they analyze the parts of the United States Constitution that address...
Media Smarts
The Broadcast Project
As part of a unit on media studies, kids are asked to chart their viewing habits, observe the advertising that sponsors their favorite shows, and then to imagine what they would broadcast if given a block of airtime.
Global Oneness Project
Clowning Around
Being a clown is hard work — no joke! Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's Laugh Clown Laugh, a short film about German clown Reinhard "Filou" Harstkotte, asks viewers to consider the various roles played by clowns and to consider the...
Curated OER
My Brother Sam is Dead: A study of the Revolutionary War
Fifth graders complete an analysis of the Revolutionary War through literature. After "My Brother Sam Is Dead," students create a time capsule containing items that would be relevant during the Revolutionary War. They identify key...
Curated OER
Charlotte's Web
Fourth graders focus on fluency by reading the book Charlotte's Web. In this reading strategies lesson, 4th graders partner read, do guided reading, and independent reading to increase fluency. Students use Venn Diagrams, discuss...
Curated OER
Genre Study - Grade Three
Third graders learn to identify different types of literature genres. In this genre lesson, 3rd graders complete pre and post- assessment, conduct a genre research activity, and complete the associated worksheets.
Curated OER
Poems Put to Use
Students listen to sample poetry recitations. They discuss times when poetry might be used in real-life situations to move/motivate other people or audiences. They identify particularly moving passages and then quote them effectively to...
Curated OER
Mental Images in Reading Comprehension
Students use textual clues to create mental images and interpret characters moods and actions. They visualize the setting, characters and events.
Curated OER
ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES: CAN'T WE ALL GET ALONG?
Students reflect and explore their feelings and reactions to a segregation experiment through poetry. They discuss acceptable behavior during the experiment and the next day write journal entries reflecting their experiences.
Curated OER
Rights and Responsibilities: Making the Connection
Students examine the Bill of Rights. In this philanthropy lesson, students identify the responsibilities that accompany the 5 basic guaranteed rights in the Bill of Rights. Students interview a community member regarding basic rights.
Curated OER
Writing an Original Fable
Students discover how to write fables. In this writing skill lesson, students review the literary elements of fables and take all of the steps in the writing process to create their own fables.