Curated OER
Ban That Book!
Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique high schoolers' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book,...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Representing Polynomials
Use this complete and very detailed lesson plan to assess your students' understanding of two important behaviors of polynomials. The first is the relationship between the zeros of a polynomial function and the function's graph, and the...
Mathematics Assessment Project
Generalizing Patterns: Table Tiles
As part of a study of geometric patterns, scholars complete an assessment task determining the number of tiles needed to cover a tabletop. They then evaluate provided sample responses to see different ways to solve the same...
Curated OER
The Lightning Thief: Directed Reading-Thinking Activity
Before diving into the engaging tale of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, conduct this directed reading and thinking activity. Assess your pupils' knowledge of Greek gods and mythology through a knowledge web,...
Novelinks
The Martian Chronicles: Response Writing
Follow the format of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with a journal-writing activity. Readers choose a character and examine the character's life and circumstances through brainstorming, research, and discussion before...
Leading Learner
Using Music to Tell a Story or Describe a Scene
Young composers demonstrate their understanding of the stylistic features of descriptive music, including pitch, tempo, dynamics, rhythm, and timbre, by developing a melody and countermelody for a main character in a story. As part of...
Curated OER
And Your Point Is . . .? Part II
After researching recent community or political issues, paired with a review of proper debate format, class members select a topic, adopt a side, and prepare for a debate. The value in this resource is the review of debate procedures,...
Curated OER
Nouns in a Story
Students, assessing a variety of formatting tools with Microsoft Word, utilize a bank of vocabulary words to make a personal dictionary of nouns. They classify nouns for people, places, things and ideas and separate them into common and...
Illustrative Mathematics
Checking a calculation of a decimal exponent
In a writing prompt, learners are asked to check the calculation of a decimal exponent without a calculator. Use as an opener or assessment after studying fractional exponents. Requires a strong understanding of exponents and roots to...
Curated OER
Welcome To Middle School Video
Students create questions to pose to adults working in Middle School. In groups, students create a video interviewing the Middle School staff. They edit the video and format present it as an introduction to Middle School for perspective...
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
Dante's Peak Movie Review
Middle or high school volcanologists watch the 1997 film, Dante's Peak. They make observations as they watch and then write a movie review, focusing on what was accurately represented. They also point out what facts were stretched by...
Curated OER
Peace in the Middle East
Students study a region. In this history activity, students discover how different people and events have affected the Middle East in its efforts to be a peaceful area. They work in small groups on an assigned topic and present their...
Curated OER
What Do You Think? Analyzing Points of View About an Issue
"How might multiple perspectives of standardized testing impact me as a student?" is an example of an essential question that a researcher might use as a basis for this lesson on how to research and present a written stance on a...
Curated OER
Modeling: Having Kittens
Cats can't add, but they do multiply! Determine the number of descendants of a single cat given specific facts about cats and kittens. The lesson focuses on developing strategies for problem solving using both individual and group work....
Curated OER
The Game is Afoot - A Study of Sherlock Holmes
Mystery is an exciting genre for young readers to investigate. The plots are so intriguing! Here is a series of lessons featuring Sherlock Holmes stories that invite learners to enter the world of the mystery genre. Based on what...
Curated OER
Writing a Newspaper-Style Article
Help your secondary reader/writers assess texts by studying press releases from Statistics Canada and drafting articles based on them. They then compare the press release, their own articles, and actual news stories they find online. I'd...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 5: Level 10
Whether used as a reading comprehension assessment, as the basis of a mini-lesson on reading strategies, or as extra practice, this exercise will prove to be valuable because of the answers and explanation key that accompanies the...
Gourmet Curriculum Press
James and the Giant Peach
Here is a 19-page sample lesson that uses an interesting format. It starts with an appetizer or activity to make reading the book James and the Giant Peach fun. Then it dives into the main course or core content instruction which...
Science NetLinks
Green Roof Design
Green roofs aren't just eco-friendly — they are literally green with trees. Groups learn about the concept of green roofs in order to be able to design one. The groups design a 5,000-square-foot green roof for a fictional apartment row...
NOAA
Mid-Ocean Ridges Interactive
Your class will be on top of their game when it comes to mid-ocean ridges! The second installment in a 13-part series focuses on the 65,000-km underwater ridge system that spans our globe. Junior oceanographers practice placing the...
Prestwick House
Oedipus Rex
Who killed Laius? How is Creon connected to Jocasta? Where does the Oracle dwell? Get the details of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex straight with a crossword puzzle activity.
Royal Society of Chemistry
Some Reactions of Carbon Dioxide—Microscale Chemistry
Precipitation reactions are always interesting. How about one that forms a precipitate using a gas? Chemists of any age will enjoy this twist on a standard solubility lab. Partners observe the lack of interaction between sodium...
Digital Writing and Research Lab's – Lesson Plans
Teaching Close Reading through Short Composition/Revision
This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...