Curated OER
Story Impressions-Gary Paulsen's Canyons
What is a story impression? Learn about the strategy with the first page of this two-page resource. Before reaching chapters 21-24 in Canyons, readers use a list of words (taken from these chapters) to predict what is going to happen....
Curated OER
Setting Details in Of Mice and Men
After completing John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, groups are assigned a chapter to reread. Members list major conflicts and events and quote setting details. They then make observations about how the setting prepares the reader for the...
Curated OER
Bering Sea Buffet - A Foodweb Activity
Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The instructional activity starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the...
Curated OER
Coming to America
Through this set of three lessons about Ellis Island, class members will learn about why immigrants came to the United States, find out about the difficulties that went along with coming to America, become familiar with the immigration...
Dick Blick Art Materials
No-Fire Nouveau Tiles
Kiln-glazed ceramics not an option? Kids can create their own art nouveau tiles using ceramic bisque tiles. The packet includes a video to prepare and inspire your artists, as well as detailed directions for various age groups, a...
National Park Service
Civil War to Civil Rights: From Pea Ridge to Central High
Explore how the Civil War impacted the Civil Rights Movement. Class members complete a series of projects for a unit that uses a layered curriculum approach to learning.
PBS
Cardboard History
A PBS clip focused on collecting sports memorabilia launches this research project lesson. Class members then read Dan Gutman’s Honus and Me in which Wagner’s baseball card is used to time travel. The lesson ends with researchers...
Curated OER
Creating Bloggers
Blogs provide the motivation for this richly detailed writing lesson. After viewing blogs on various websites, class members pick topics, create a blog, and post an entry. Your bloggers then evaluate their work using evaluation sheets....
Curated OER
Endangered Marine Turtles
Young scholars work in groups and experience what it is like to be a hatchling marine turtle by playing a board game. In this endangered marine turtles lesson, students research the threats to marine turtle hatchlings. Young...
National Earth Science Teachers Association
The Earth Scientist Project
Pairs of learners choose an earth scientist from an extensive list. They collect information by researching online or in books about the childhood, education, and major contributions made by their chosen scientist. When they present...
Curated OER
We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution: The American Revolution
The contributions of African-Americans to the American Revolution are the focus of this Social Studies and language arts lesson. After reading and discussing Linda Crotta Brennan’s The Black Regiment of the American Revolution, class...
Curated OER
Making a desk organizer for students who are blind or visually impaired
Organization is of the utmost importance when teaching orientation and mobility to learners with visual impairments. To help keep everything in order and provide independence, use these instructions for making a desk organizer. The...
Fly Parsons
Crispin: Figurative Language Activity #1
As part of a study of figurative language Avi uses in his book, Crispin, individuals define the 10 terms listed on the worksheet and then locate severals examples of each in the text of the novel.
Novelinks
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Concept Analysis
Ready yourself for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with this analysis of the novel. Included here is a summary of the plot, a list of themes, notes on vocabulary and other issues, a brief analysis of plot elements, and project ideas...
Novelinks
The Color of Water: Concept Analysis
Considering using James McBride's autobiography/memoir The Color of Water with your class? Check out this seven-page informational packet that includes background information on McBride, the organization pattern of the book, and...
Novelinks
Walk Two Moons: Anticipation Guide
Before you begin a unit on Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, introduce class members to the literary themes of the book with an anticipation guide. As they read through ten sentences that address different aspects of the plot,...
J. Paul Getty Trust
Exhibiting Common Threads
Artists working in different media often explore the same themes—to model how these same themes weave their way through different forms of artistic expression, scholars analyze images by Dorothea Lange, identifying key themes in her...
Curated OER
Flower Dissection
Beginning biologists pull a flower apart and familiarize themselves with the different reproductive structures. Why have them learn only from just a book or diagram when they can examine real samples? There is no link to the referenced...
Agriculture in the Classroom
Understanding the Columbian Exchange Through Old World and New World Foods
If you're interested in teaching your class about the impact of the Columbian Exchange on contemporary society, this is worth a look. The plan begins with an introduction to the topic, which stems from a cell phone poll...
Curated OER
Digital Curation: Life and Times of Mark Twain
By digitally organizing research, your class leaves a legacy for future students on the life and times of Mark Twain. Before reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, scholars conduct group research projects on one of six (listed)...
Curated OER
Wildwood Dancing: K-W-H-L Reading Strategy On Prejudice
As part of a study of Juliet Marillier's Wildwood Dancing, class members create a KWHL chart listing what they know, what the want to know, how they will find information, and what they have learned about prejudice.
Curated OER
Animal Farm, Chapter 1 Discussion Notes
If you are just starting out with Animal Farm by George Orwell, consider this resource. Titled as discussion notes, you might use these questions in a variety of different ways. The questions and prompts start out simple and gradually...
BioEd Online
Bone Structure: Hollow vs. Solid
What is meant by the phrase "form follows function?" Allow your budding biologists to discover first-hand through two activities. In the first, groups work together to discover whether a solid cylinder or an empty cylinder can support...
Polk Bros Foundation
Answer the BIG Question with Cited Examples and Evidence
Close up your unit of study with an examination of one of the guiding or essential questions as it relates to what your class has studied and other research. Class members first write down the question. Then they note down information...