Curated OER
Dig This Dinosaur Relief Lesson
Students create low-fire ceramic relief sculptures of dinosaur bones. They incorporate art history, aesthetics, and criticism with hands on activity. Students work together to draw an enlarged skeleton on butcher paper. The Stegosaurus...
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Write a Caption!
Students examine different photographs from around the world. They write their own captions in the foreign language to the image. They share their captions with the class.
Curated OER
Our Universe: Designed or Evolved?
Students brainstorm and write arguments for Evolution and Intelligent Design. They research the history of each of these ideas. They also examine the controversy of teaching one or both ideas in schools.
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Design a Poet-T
Students gather poems they find of interest to them. They create a t-shrit with the poem and a design. They share their poems with the rest of the class.
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Breaking News English: Rio Carnival Says "No" To Violence
In this ESL reading comprehension learning exercise, students read or listen to the passage, then complete a wide variety of warm-up activities, as well as before listening/reading, while listening/reading, after listening/reading,...
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Animals
Students research and study animals. In this animals lesson, students draw pictures of animal movements and create animals books. This activity is meant to be a culminating activity for a unit on animals.
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Read-a-thon
Students gain an appreciation for books. They track and calculate the amount of money collected in a classroom or school-wide read-a-thon. The lesson encourages students to become better readers with the end result being an increase in...
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Wetlands in Danger
Fifth graders investigate the characteristics of wetlands. They conduct Internet research, complete a class KWL chart, and write a persuasive essay as a final project.
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Dig This
Fifth graders explore the work of paleontologists and the life of dinosaurs and create a sculpture of the bones of a Stegosaurus. The sculpture was then buried and used by other classes for a dig.
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Weather Plots
Young scholars investigate the relationship between temperature and humidity. The graphs of weather data gathered and plotted for for an assigned period of time are analyzed and the interpretations shared with the class.
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The Pony Express
Fourth graders reasearch the history of the Pony Express on the internet or they can use books from the school or public library. They write a one-page story which incorporates their research. They share their stories with the class by...
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Acting With Honesty
Students analyze stories to study the value of honesty. Songs and role playing are included in this lesson of character education. Activities include: brainstorming situations that would be easy to be dishonest, drawing pictures to...
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Commas
In these punctuation worksheets, students review the definition of a comma and its uses in series and direct address. Students then complete three pages of activities for commas.
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Web Trails: An Online Adventure
Students work together to complete a WebQuest. They research Iowa's parks and trails. They write a story about hiking through the parks. They share their story with the class.
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Narratives in the Simple Past
Students recognize the simple past forms in a folktale. They supply some of these forms when asked
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Native Americans ~ Biomes Web Quest/deserts
Students identify the biomes of each region: mountains, forests, plains, tundra, desert. They identify and describe features of North American desert (Mojave, Sonoron, Great Basin. Chihuahaun). They identify what we are doing today is...
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Camp Expedition
Students select an animal to research that lives in the camp environment. Students spend time using books and the Internet to research their animals, including size and appearance. Students create a mural to depict the environment and...
Positively Autism
Spring Break Social Skill Story
Changes in routines can prove to be difficult for all kids, but especially for autistic learners. Here's a story designed to prepare kids for the change in schedule brought on by spring break.
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Scribbleboy
Fifth graders are introduced to the text, SCRIBBLEBOY, discussing the cover page for clues to the genre. They discuss the ordinary surroundings contrasted by the graffiti and the words and phrases used to provide information about the...
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What Are Your Chocolate Eating Habits?
Learners design and conduct a survey as an investigation of chocolate eating habits. They pool and analyze their results and consider which companies are making the largest profits based on the information gathered from their surveys.
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"Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets"
Students examine the expressive and descriptive language used in the books "Dr. Xargle's Book of Earthlets" and "Planet of the Robots." In pairs they take notes about each other's physical appearance and conduct interviews, identify the...
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President Obama's Address to Students Across America
Students write about goals, responsibility, and persistence, and listen to President Obama's speech. In this President Obama instructional activity students create concept webs, listen with a purpose, and list the challenges of our...
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"Theseus and the Minotaur"
Young scholars analyze the features of myths and legends. They read the myths "Theseus and the Minotaur" and "Orpheus and Eurydice," identify the myth story elements, evaluate each story for the overall theme, describe the characters,...
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Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt
Students read and understand the book Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt. In this language lesson, students understand the Ebonics and colloquialisms of the book. Students discuss the events and vocabulary used. Students explain their...