Berkshire Museum
Adopt a Schoolyard Tree
Help young scientists connect with nature and learn about trees with a fun life science lesson. Heading out into the school yard, children choose a tree to adopt, taking measurements, writing descriptions, and drawing sketches of it in...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Core Analysis Frame: Fiction
Dig into any piece of fiction with a series of analysis questions. There are two levels of questions provided: basic and in-depth. The basic questions can be copied double-sided onto a single piece of paper, while the in-depth questions...
Virginia Department of Education
Grade 8 Writing Prompts
Imagine four pages of writing prompts. Although designed specifically for eighth graders, the topics could be used for upper-elementary and high school writers as well.
Poetry4kids
Creativity Exercise - Describe the Sky
Scholars stretch their writing muscles with an exercise that asks them to describe the sky using similes and metaphors.
Curated OER
Wild Horses of the Outer Banks
Students explore animal habitats. In this cross curriculum animal survival and writing lesson, students view a website about wild horses on Shackelford Island and discuss ways in which the horses have changed to this environment. ...
Speak Truth to Power
Harry Wu: Forced Labor
Over the course of two class periods, young historians explore human rights issues; specifically, forced labor in China. This resource provides everything you need, including relevant vocabulary, an anticipatory activity, and a...
Curated OER
The Railroads and Settlement of the Great Plains
Enhance your American literature unit with this resource, in which readers access the Nebraska Studies website and read about "Railroads and Settlement." They search for a photograph of some aspect of the railroad from the Prairie...
Curated OER
A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
The Nashua River serves as the focal point of an investigation of the treatment of and care for natural resources. A reading of A River Rand Wild: An Environmental History by Lynne Cherry, launches the study and class members consider...
Curated OER
Language Arts- Word Origins
Sixth graders locate, access, and select appropriate information from a variety of resources, including electronic sources. They analyze the audience and purpose of the task to make decisions about content and format.
Curated OER
Manuscript Letter Writing Eliminating Reversals
Students practice their writing by writing their name. They complete a timing exercise everyday on the letters they are having trouble with. They correct any mistakes they made each day.
Curated OER
Fortune Cookie Activity Cards
Learners are given a pre-made fortune cookie at the beginning of class. Individually, they open up the cookie and read their fortune and complete the exercise on the paper. They exchange fortunes and exercises with their classmates when...
Curated OER
Historical Fiction: A Wealth of Interpretations
Students read a book from the Dear America series and contrast different points of view. They respond to the book either by participating in a literature circle or completing a journal entry. They compare and contrast two books or a...
Curated OER
Bear Hunt
Students are introduced to the technique of pantomime. In groups, they take a story and create a pantomime for it to perform in front of the class. They also practice ways to change their body posture and facial expressions to...
Curated OER
Crayon Resist Fall Leaves
Students study and explore the season of fall and investigate why fall leaves change color. Students explore the crayon resist technique and discuss other events of the fall season.
Curated OER
It's All in the Spice
Students explore different spices that come from all over the world. Students discover names of certain spices they might not have been aware of. Students learn where certain spices originated and they discuss what the world would be...
Curated OER
Sight-Reading Practice
Students practice sight-reading skills in order to become more comfortable with them for future purposes. They review and drill on basic procedures for sight-reading for future competitions. Each student also analyzes advanced rhythms,...
Curated OER
Covering the Campaign Trail: Technological Progress or Temporary Chaos?
Learners study the changes in reporting and journalism techniques that have evolved due to advances in technology by reading an online transcript. They debate whether the technological advances are positive or negative in the reporting...
Curated OER
Musical Instruments - Woodwinds
Students assemble and examine typical European orchestral woodwind instruments, determine how the instruments change pitch, identify common orchestral woodwind instruments by sound, and research a non-Euro-centric woodwind instrument in...
Curated OER
Free Form Stencil Drawing
Pupils investigate the use of patterns and how they are used with stencils in order to create personal works of art. They write the story that is created with the repeating of a pattern. The final composition must be made from 3...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust 2
Learners, after reading the novel, Out of the Dust, describe the language used in the novel. They cite examples of words or phrases that are from that time period. Then they are given sentences and must rewrite them in modern-day language.
Curated OER
Dedication Page
Fourth graders practice using technology to create a dedication page. They use the software of Microsoft Word in order to format and save the document. The teachers provides time for independent practice. The document is then saved and...
Curated OER
Self Portraits
Students study themselves in a mirror paying close attention to every attribute on their face. For this self portrait lesson students create a self portrait the same way as Rembrandt has done many times. Students also ask themselves a...
Curated OER
Over the Rivers and Through the Woods
Sixth graders examine the purpose of the keelboat used by the Corps of Discovery on the Lewis and Clark expedition. They assess its strengths and weaknesses for navigating different rivers, and describe its overall purpose for the...
Curated OER
The Human Form, Egyptian Style
Students analyze traditional ancient Egyptian depictions of the human body.