Curated OER
A Call for Change
"Come gather round people, wherever you roam..." Bring the voice of Bob Dylan to your class with this lesson plan, which takes Dylan's song "The Times They Are A-Changing" and analyzes both the message and voice in the lyrics. Your class...
Santa Ana Unified School District
Early American Poets
The poems of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson are the focus of a unit that asks readers to consider how an artist's life and changes in society influences his or her work. After careful study of Whitman's and Dickinson's perspectives on...
Take the challenge
Connecting with Natural/Open Spaces
Get your class outside, away from the television, and maybe even learning something about nature while they're at it. Individuals will chose an open, natural space to spend time in for several days. Each day they will complete a page in...
Curated OER
Where is the Science?: Design as an Introduction to the Scientific Method
Students work to create a design that will protect an egg from being dropped from a one story floor. They test their prototype after it is completed. They write clear instructions and link aspects of the design process to the scientific...
Curated OER
Northwest Native American
Third graders describe and come to the understanding the American Indians in this locations and their customs. They explain that the region and its natural resources affected how Native Americans developed their cultural practices.
Levin Institute
Unit on Culture and Globalization
Students explore the concept of cultural globalization. In this global issues lesson plan, students read and discuss the linked Web articles about world cultural issues and the dominance of the American market.
Curated OER
Gary Paulsen's Canyons: Question the Author (QtA) Strategy
Gary Paulsen’s Canyons is the focus of an exercise that models how to read closely using a Questioning the Author (QtA) strategy. Complete directions for the strategy, which can be used with any text, are included in the richly-detailed...
Curated OER
Maniac Magee: Fishbowl Discussion
Split the class into two groups for a fishbowl discussion using of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee. The first group initiates the conversation by reviewing the important points of Chapter thirteen while group two members are listening,...
Pulitzer Center
China's Rising Labor Movement
Young historians will explore the complex causes and effects of industrialization in China by perusing the numerous articles included in this webpage. Throughout the resource, there are many writing and discussion prompts to help direct...
Stanford University
Prohibition
Prohibition banned the selling of alcohol in America—but why? Designed for high school pupils, the lesson explores the causes of Prohibition including the Temperance Movement. The lesson pairs a PowerPoint presentation with worksheets...
Curated OER
All's Well That Ends Well
Students examine and discuss the parts of a speech and how to organize them. They read sample speeches, then write a short presentation to read to the class, identifying the beginning, middle, and ending of their speech.
Curated OER
Elaborate It
Students read writing samples and discuss the differences between the writing with and without anecdotal examples. They write expository essays that include personal anecdotes.
Curated OER
Research Report
Students review research skills and discuss types of information, e.g. fact/opinion, examples/evidence then research and gather information to answer a given set of research questions. They write a multi paragraph report using the...
Curated OER
Create Your Island Paradise
Sixth graders create a descriptive essay and map describing their island paradise. They try to evoke the reader's senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. They revise their paragraphs using their partner's feedback.
Curated OER
Great Books: Kafka's Metamorphosis
Students discuss the central image of Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and use a strong symbol in a piece of writing. In this Metamorphosis lesson plan, students focus on the central image of the novel in a class discussion. Students create a...
Curated OER
Words in the News
Young scholars observe and demonstrate how read and comprehend a short news report. They read an article about AIDS and HIV testing, define key vocabulary terms, and complete a skimming activity. Students then take a quiz and complete...
Curated OER
Harriet Tubman In The News
Students investigate the history of Harriet Tubman. They use newspaper articles from history and modern times in order to gather information. They use a graphic organizer in order to categorize information. They distinguish the readings...
Curated OER
Why Thank You!
Fifth graders listen to a read aloud of Patricia Polacco's, Thank You, Mr. Falker! students examine the use of voice in the book, discuss the writing and theme ideas. They write a thank you not to their hero.
Curated OER
What Temperature Is It?
Students use the internet to research information on the average maximum and minimum temperature for a city in their state. They create spreadsheets and enter data to analyze the information, focusing on averages, maximums, minimums and...
Curated OER
Mean and Median
Students define mean and median. In this "average" lesson, students calculate the mean and median for a list of given numbers.
Curated OER
Summarizing
Third graders examine how to summarize the most important details in a reading passage in order to increase their comprehension. They design a story web using the summarization skills. Before class, they complete a reading assignment...
Curated OER
Main Idea- Fiction
Eighth graders investigate the concept of main idea and supporting details, and how they are used in the genre of fiction. In this literacy lesson, 8th graders listen to a fictional passage and take notes on the characters, setting,...
Curated OER
Retelling Stella Louella's Runaway Book: Point of View
Stella Louella’s Runaway Book launches a study of point of view and storytelling. After reading the tale, class members retell the story from the point of view of another character. The scripted plan, developed by a teacher candidate,...
Curated OER
Chocolate Fever
Students study plants in the rainforest. They complete a variety of activities surrounding the subject of chocolate. They create new candy bars, invent learning games and write poetry--all focusing on chocolate.