Curated OER
How do people use ecosystems and their resources?
Learners examine how natural resources are reusable, renewable or nonrenewable. In this ecosystems lesson plan students see the effects humans have on ecosystems and complete an art lesson plan activity.
Social Media Toolbox
Social Media Usage
Is there a difference in the way organizations present news via social media and in print? The third in a series of 16 lessons from The Social Media Toolbox explores news outlets and their delivery methods. Groups follow a story for a...
PBS
Facts vs. Opinions vs. Informed Opinions and their Role in Journalism
Do reporters write about what they see, or what they think? Examine the differences between investigative writing and opinion writing with a lesson from PBS. Learners look over different examples of each kind of reporting, and convince...
Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Protesting Violence without Violence
The ultimate legacy of Emmett Till's violent death is its role in the non-violent roots of the Civil Rights Movement. A activity compares contemporaneous articles with the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "The Death of Emmett Till" and prompts...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...
Curated OER
Non-Fiction Texts
Third graders examine different types of non-fiction texts. In this non fiction lesson, 3rd graders use different types of texts to gather information. Students work in groups to analyze the texts for author's purpose, common...
Curated OER
The Art of Jewelry
Students discover Native American culture through jewelry. In this Native American culture instructional activity, students investigate several different Native American tribes and complete a word search activity. Students...
Curated OER
Fashion Sense and Dollar Wise
Students work in groups to show understanding of the relationship between fractions, decimals, percentages, and the application of ratios and proportions. In this decimals, fractions, and percents lesson, students use real life consumer...
Curated OER
Kindness Graffiti Wall
Young scholars discuss acts of kindness. For this character education lesson, students use a large sheet of poster paper, tempera paint, and markers to create a graffiti wall. Young scholars write down their ideas of kindness and share...
Curated OER
Inventions Change the World: The Enigma Machine
Third graders explore WWII by analyzing technological advances. In this invention lesson plan, 3rd graders discuss the use of the Enigma machine which decoded private German messages that communicated with U-boats. Students utilize a...
Curated OER
Painting Techniques- Impressionism
Learners investigate impressionist painting techniques. In this visual arts lesson, students view paintings by Monet and practice the dot and stroke technique. Learners use shades of green and gentle brush strokes to create grass in...
Curated OER
Second Sun
Explore the elements of newspaper from the view of the front page. Young analysts create a front page of a newspaper geared toward teen readers. They use their inference skills to determine why some front pages are more eye-catching than...
Curated OER
Don't Lose Your Way in the News
Students explore language arts by participating in a newspaper analysis activity. In this journalism instructional activity, students identify how newspapers present stories, who is writing them and how they can obtain...
Curated OER
Word Up!
Study the importance of word choice in informational text. Middle and high schoolers locate unfamiliar words and phrases in newspaper articles of their choosing, and use online word sites to explore the definitions and histories of each....
Curated OER
Loose Lips
Have your middle and high schoolers analyze instances of celebrities using racial slurs or making prejudiced comments in public. After reading an article, they consider the roots and effects of prejudice and bias. As a class, they...
Curated OER
Stars and Stripes Forever: Flag Facts for Flag Day
Students are introduced to the symbolism of the flag of the United States of American. They identify flag components, history, etiquette and lore. They also use constrution paper to make a flag and discuss the Pledge of Allegiance.
Curated OER
New York City Delights: The Taxi Cab
You set the rate! Step into the shoes of a taxi driver in New York City, and also pretend to be a person who uses taxis to get around town. The class will conduct collaborative research to learn about the history of taxis. Then, they...
Curated OER
Campaign Trailblazers
Explore the backgrounds, qualifications, and platforms of the presidential candidates for the 2000 election. Though the lesson is outdated, the activities within the informational text could be good practice for your young learners as...
Curated OER
Navajo Code Talkers
An engaging lesson focuses on the contributions of the Navajo people during World War II. Learners read the book Navajo Code Talkers by Andrew Santella, answer a series of comprehension questions about the text, and write a letter...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: A Miniature Game
Art inspires art, as children work to understand artistic forms that come from the imagination. They analyze the installation piece, Fox Games and then discuss the design process. They then use clay to create imaginative dioramas,...
Curated OER
Following the Leaders
Examine the historic election of Pope Benedict XVI and reflect on the challenges he faces as the new leader of the Catholic Church. This New York Times lesson investigates how other world leaders are chosen in different forms of...
Curated OER
Media Literacy in Presentations
Middle schoolers study the three types of mass media messages: visual media, written media, and audio media. After a class discussion which has them list examples of each, learners get into pairs and work on analyzing the "Four A's" in...
Curated OER
Cooperative Group Spelling Game
Partners or groups work together to practice the correct spelling of words. They speed-cut letters from print sources and arrange them into correctly spelled words from their lists. Newspapers are suggested, but magazines might result in...
Virginia Department of Education
Graphs
Examine different types of graphs as a means for analyzing data. Math scholars identify the type of graph from a series of data displays and then develop questions to match each one. Then, given a scatter plot of height versus age...