Curated OER
All About Me
This is an awesome resource for any elementary or middle school teacher about to start a new school year! This resource includes an extensive list of activities for introducing the members of your class to each other. Some of the ideas...
Curated OER
Back-to-school ESL Ideas
Learners share their countries and languages, flags, cultural identity, and pride in home culture.
Curated OER
The Creative Process
Students demonstrate the steps of the creative writing process. In this creative writing lesson, students brainstorm ways to come up with an initial idea and ways to express their ideas. Students write a description of their idea and a...
Curated OER
Writing About Winter
Students investigate the concept of winter as a season and they write an essay as a reflection upon the acquiring of new information. The class should have a list of vocabulary or a word wall available for observation to aid in the...
Curated OER
Where is Flat Stanley?
Students create a story map of the basic elements and significant events of the book Flat Stanley. Students brainstorm places they would like to visit if they had been flattened and then, write about an imagined experience. Students...
National Security Agency
Introducing Integers and Their Operations
There's nothing negative about this mini-unit on integers! Engaging young mathematicians in a series of hands-on activities and collaborative learning opportunities, this resource offers an excellent way to introduce your class...
National Math + Science Initative
Introduction to Decimals
Three activities make up an introductory lesson designed to create a strong foundation in comparing fractions to decimals and exploring and building decimal models. Pupils brainstorm and complete a Venn diagram to show how decimals and...
Curated OER
Sleep Today - No, Maybe Tomorrow
Students read and interpret handout about sleeping habits and disorders, and plan and create classroom bulletin board that displays causes, disorders and effects of sleep deprivation.
Curated OER
Ways to Set Up Creative Classroom Environments
Here are a few ideas to freshen up your classroom environment.
Curated OER
The Crittenden Conway Duel
Young scholars explore primary and secondary sources. In this primary and secondary source lesson, students investigate a crime scene. Young scholars search for evidence around the classroom and evaluate their findings. Students write a...
Curated OER
You Are Smarter Than The Ads
Fourth graders examine advertising techniques and create original designs for advertisements in this three day, 4th grade art/social studies lesson. The lesson includes assessment ideas, resource information, and learning objectives.
Curated OER
Vocabulary 1a: Life Science: Living Things
Life science vocabulary comes alive through repeated exposure. With the instructor, words are defined and posted in the classroom. Learners repeat the definitions in their own words and review them often. Extension ideas and links are...
Curated OER
The Game of Persuasion
Why is it so important to learn the art of persuasion? Being persuasive helps you acquire the things you want or the things you feel are necessary. Print out these scenarios and assign one to each group of high schoolers. As a team, they...
Curated OER
Clowning Around: Drawing
Kids create a clown out of shapes. They work to show emotions while practicing their drawing skills. Pupils use circles, triangles, squares, oil pastels, and their imagination to draw, color, and decorate a sad or happy clown. Tip: Have...
Curated OER
What's Outside the Window
What do your students see when they look outside the window? This project lets their imagination go wild, and lets you see what kind of daydreaming they do best. They each draw, paint, and color an image of what they imagine as they are...
Talking with Trees
Empathy
Strengthen the skill to empathize with others with a learning exercise that challenges scholars to match emotions—including happy, confused, sad—to one's body language.
Curated OER
Write Stations
Students participate in activities to help them with their writing. They travel from station to station to practice writing different letters. They practice following directions as well.
Center for Learning in Action
Introduction to Matter
Begin your states of matter lessons with a demonstration designed to introduce the concept that all matter has properties. Reinforce this concept through vocabulary exploration, and the creation of atom models; salt, water, and carbon...
Missouri Department of Elementary
I’m Thumbody!
Positive and negative thinking is the focus of a lesson that boost self-awareness. Beginning with a whole-class discussion, scholars brainstorm what positive thinking looks and sounds like then compares and contrast the two types of...
Teaching Tolerance
Consuming and Creating Political Art
A picture is worth a thousand words, but political art may be worth even more! After examining examples of political cartoons, murals, and other forms of public art, class members create their own pieces to reflect their ideals and...
Curated OER
Leaf People
Kids create leaf people out of sticks, glue, and leaves. They use their imagination to construct leaf people and then glue them onto construction paper. Tip: Extend this craft by incorporating writing. Have learners write a short story...
Curated OER
Mixing Colors with Corn Syrup and Food Coloring
Anyone who has worked with small children know that color identification and color mixing can be fun! This simple idea has a lot of potential. It suggests to mix food coloring with corn syrup to provide an opportunity for color mixing...
Curated OER
"Green Holiday Night" or "Green Family Night"
Students examine alternatives to wasteful, non-environmental holiday season and general gift-giving practices and discuss ideas for saving energy in holiday celebrations and day-to-day practices.
Curated OER
Prosecution or Persecution
Investigate the future of the presidency in the wake of the House of Representatives' vote to impeach President Clinton. The class brainstorms both sides of the argument, reads and discusses an article, then analyzes and writes a journal...