Curated OER
Eliminating Wordiness
Why use 50 words when 15 gets the same point across? Use an online interactive webpage to fine tune the writing skills of your middle schoolers. As they read 10 sentences, they eliminate as many words as possible...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: "Chalk Talk Strategy”
Hold a silent discussion about concepts related to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After reading chapter seven, learners participate in a whole-class written discussion based on guiding questions written on the board by the teacher.
Curated OER
Dance Cards
Let little dancers choreograph a dance using steps they have learned in the unit. Write the names of the dance steps that have been taught on sets of index cards. Make sure that each set of cards you create has a mix of the dance steps....
Curated OER
Acid Rain
Create a simulation of acid rain in your classroom with lemon juice and bean plants to help kids study the effects of pollution on plants. In addition, learners will listen to a story and write responses based on guiding questions.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Incredible Stories: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 3)
The materials in this 40-page packet are designed for learners who need extra support in order to understand the concepts in a thematic unit on fantasy and realism.
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: DR-TA
Guide class members through Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis with a series of questions designed for before, during, and after reading. Readers consider Gregor's situation and his options. In addition, they...
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Guided Imagery
What do you imagine when you think of the sea? Put on some ocean sounds, close your eyes, and listen to a guided meditation based on the imagery from The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. After class members listen to...
Beverly Hills High School
Evaluation of Events During the French Revolution
How would you grade the events of the French Revolution? History class members evaluate the positive and negative impacts of eight pivotal events, including the Reign of Terror, the Meeting of the Estates General, and the Coronation at...
Channel Islands Film
Dark Water: Lesson Plan 3 - Grades 6-12
After watching the documentary Dark Water about a traditional Chumash ceremony and reading a Chumash origin story, viewers are asked to create a coat of arms and to craft an essay that details a family tradition or their own origin story.
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: January 2018
Excerpts from classic novels make great material for standardized tests. A sample English language arts examination, part of a larger set of assessments, mixes excerpts from classic novels and more modern texts. The test includes three...
New York State Education Department
Global History and Geography Examination: January 2017
Global history and geography class members demonstrate their knowledge of and ability to analyze primary sources such as graphics, maps, political cartoons, and texts from important documents with an assessment that includes multiple...
Historical Thinking Matters
Social Security: 1 Day Lesson
Should the United States provide relief for those who are unemployed? Trace this question back to the Great Depression with your young historians, who will engage in careful reading of historical documents and classroom discussion...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust: DR-TA
Encourage good reading habits with an activity that asks class members to examine the title and cover of Out of the Dust, and then make predictions about the setting of and events in the tale.
Keep Your Children Safe
Fleeting Happiness
Shed light onto the subject of happiness with a activity that focuses on how the emotion—much like other emotions—does not last forever. Scholars read brief passages and answer nine short-answer questions that examine their personal...
Center for Civic Education
The Power of Nonviolence: Music Can Change the World
Here is a fantastic activity through which class members discover how music has the ability to influence others in a meaningful way. After reviewing selected pieces and modern-day protest songs, learners will research other songs that...
Illustrative Mathematics
Equal Area Triangles on the Same Base II
A deceptively simple question setup leads to a number of attack methods and a surprisingly sophisticated solution set in this open-ended problem. Young geometers of different strengths can go about defining the solutions graphically,...
PBS
Interviewing: The Art of Asking Questions
Interviewing skills are important, even outside of a news reporter's desk or employer's office. Take your class through the process of interviewing people they don't know with a set of case studies featuring journalists and various...
Reed Novel Studies
Hello Universe: Novel Study
Every neighborhood has its own unique cast of characters, and the crew in the novel Hello Universe is no exception. The characters in Erin Entrada Kelly's novel take center stage in a study guide based on the text....
Thoughtful Learning
Using Positive Self-Talk
Boost positive self-talk with a chart that turns negative feelings into happy ones. Scholars write down their negative emotions then rewrite them with a positive flair to aid in changing their outlook.
Curated OER
The Tempest: The K-W-H-L Strategy
What does your class want to know about William Shakespeare's The Tempest? Host a discussion about the questions high schoolers have about the play with a KWHL activity in which they write down their inquiries, what they...
Mama's Heels
First Day Interview
The first day of school can be a bit scary when so many new faces are around. Help kids get to know one another through an interview sheet that highlights personal information, things that excite them, their favorites, and...
College Board
Choices and Consequences
Paul Fisher, the main character in Tangerine, comes to see that it's the choices in life that lead to the consequences that make all the difference. A unit study of Bloor's young adult novel leads readers down this same path.
Curated OER
My Antonia: Bloom’s Taxonomy Questions
How well do your pupils know My Antonia by Willa Cather? Take some time to create questions about the text. After examining a teacher model, individuals write questions that match each level of Bloom's Taxonomy and draft answers to these...
Classrooms in Action
Common Core Sample Template for Multi-Day Lesson Plans or Units
Make sure you've covered all your bases when designing a Common Core unit. From essential questions and standards alignment to instructional supports and reflections, this template will guide you toward completing a comprehensive,...