University of North Carolina
Brainstorming
Did you just hear thunder? Nope, you heard the sound of another kind of storm—a brainstorm! A handout teaches writers about different kinds of brainstorming and provides options for them to try when beginning to write their own papers....
Curated OER
Scientific Method Experiment: Factors Affecting How Ice Melts
Students demonstrate the scientific method by conducting an ice cube melting experiment. They make predictions and observations, and conclude what factors make ice melt more slowly or quickly than normal.
Curated OER
BrainStorming
Young scholars, through modeling and independent practice, are introduced to the different methods of brainstorming. They explore and engage in these different approaches individually, in pairs, and as a group.
Curated OER
Brainstorming
Do your learners really understand brainstorming? Here’s a presentation that covers the ground rules, procedures, and phases of this thought-provoking design tool.
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Eighth graders practice pre-writing skills using brainstorming methods. Using music and meditation, they examine the difference between directed and undirected free-writing, as well as how and when to apply them to the pre-writing process.
Curated OER
Two Beets Or Not Two Beets—What Is Your Question?
Students use the scientific method to test an idea regarding the structures of a plant as it supports the biological evidence for life. In this growing roots lesson, students use organizing sheets to record their findings. Students...
Curated OER
Scientific Method Goes to the Fair
Learners use scientific process skills to solve a problem. In this scientific investigation lesson, students investigate a scientific problem, work through the scientific method to form a conclusion. They share their work and findings...
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Analyze the free-writing method of brainstorming to explore how to write an essay. Middle schoolers plan their writing from the beginning after reading two samples of free-writing, then creating their own. The lesson includes extension...
Curated OER
Class Memorial
What is a memorial and what should it look like? Learners will choose what they believe is important to remember about September 11 and how it should be displayed. They work in groups and brainstorm details about the memorial and present...
EngageNY
Methods for Selecting a Random Sample
Random sampling is as easy as choosing numbers. Teams use random numbers to create a sample of book lengths from a population of 150 books. The groups continue by developing a technique to create samples to compare from two populations...
Scholastic
Lesson Two: The Earth, Introductory Activities
Determine what young pupils already know about earth science with a brainstorming activity. After class members work together to complete a KWL chart about the Earth, they craft an acrostic poem to demonstrate their understanding.
University of Wisconsin
BEAM: Background, Exhibit, Argument, Method
Thinking of assigning a research paper? Get writers off on the right foot with a instructional activity that introduces the BEAM research model. Writers brainstorm the background of their topic, explicate the aspects of their topic,...
Curated OER
Will It Grow?
Fifth graders conduct experiments involving plants. In this science instructional activity, 5th graders design an experiment involving plants. Students use the scientific method to design their experiments.
Computer Science Unplugged
Lightest and Heaviest—Sorting Algorithms
How do computers sort data lists? Using eight unknown weights and a balance scale, groups determine the order of the weights from lightest to heaviest. A second worksheet provides the groups with other methods to order the weights. The...
Curated OER
Directed and Undirected Free-writing: An Activity in Brainstorming
Let your writers take a break from formal writing and experiment with undirected freewriting. First they'll discuss the difference between directed and undirected freewriting. Then they'll put their knowledge to work and create some...
Teach Engineering
Designing Bridges
Introduces your class to the types of loads experienced by a bridge. Groups calculate the ultimate load combinations to determine the maximum load requirement. Using this information, builders then determine the amount of material they...
Radford University
Green Cravings
Build up a bag of green. Pupils determine the number of green Skittles in a snack bag and come up with a way to determine how many snack bags it would take to create one bag of only green Skittles. Classmates share their methods and...
Curated OER
Solar Cooker Challenge
Students use the scientific method to design a slow cooker. In this experimental method lesson students measure temperatures and conversions of the solar cooker that they create.
US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Mediation
What happens when two parties can't come to agreement? Scholars explore the role of a mediator through part 10 of a 15-part series of peacebuilding lessons. Through individual work and role play, pupils brainstorm solutions until they...
Beyond Benign
Synthesis and Analysis of Biodiesel
Fossil fuels are non-renewable resources and have become crucial to the livelihood of countless individuals. Young chemists investigate an alternative method of generating energy by performing a series of activities that lead to the...
EngageNY
Dividing the King’s Foot into 12 Equal Pieces
Apply, apply, apply! A measurement lesson applies a number of concepts to help learn a new construction. Scholars learn to divide a segment into n equal parts using a method that uses the Side Splitter Theorem and a method that applies...
EngageNY
Applications of Systems of Equations and Inequalities
Is the application of systems of equations giving your class headaches? Use this resource to build on your pupils' logic to lead them to building equations and using algebraic methods. The instructional activity begins with an...
US Institute of Peace
The Process of Negotiation
What does it take to be a great negotiator? Learners discover the factors that affect the negotiation process through group discussion and brainstorming. An installment in a series of peacebuilding activities compares the needs and wants...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Caution: Thin Ice!
Sixth graders listen to a story titled "Thin Ice!" then partake in a whole-class discussion asking and answering questions about what was read. Scholars brainstorm risky behaviors in preparation for a game of RISKO—a game similar to...