Curated OER
Sim's Cities
Students investigate city management and government by creating a fictional city in groups. In this civics lesson, students create rules and a mascot for their fictitious city which they create from poster board cubes....
Curated OER
Safe In the City
Learners read a report about the most dangerous cities in America. Using the internet, they research their own community in regards to how safe it is. They interview local law enforcement and determine the degree of local danger. They...
Curated OER
A City Council Meeting
Here is an interesting plan for introducing your pupils to the workings of the local city council. The teacher must go videotape a city council meeting in it's entirety. Learners watch the tape, and discuss what they observed from the...
Curated OER
Adapting the Game Concentration
I love classroom games, and this plan deftly describes how you can use the game Concentration across the curriculum to reinforce skills. I wish I would have thought of this when I was teaching this age level. These kinds of games are...
Curated OER
City People, City Stories
Students create fictional inhabitants to scale for a place called 'Box City'. They develop stories and personalities to go with the created people, share the stories with the class and write a newspaper for their city.
Curated OER
Sunderland: Discovering Cities
Scholars investigate a local city (Sunderland) by participating in a discussion. They explore the different elements of the UK city by identifying the industrial and economic aspects. They also read an interview of two people speaking...
Virginia Department of Education
Analyzing and Planning Persuasive Writing
Young writers work backward to analyze persuasive techniques. As a class, work through the provided persuasive letter: a plea to an imaginary city council to lift a city-wide ban on fast food restaurants and discount stores. Start by...
Virginia Department of Education
Developing a Research Strategy - Define Your Topic
Your budding scholars spent the day in the library looking for a topic for their research essay, and now they are all in tears because there is too much information available on their topics. Wipe those tears away with the ideas and...
New York Public Library
What's for Lunch?: New York City Restaurant Menus
Do you remember the days when a cup of coffee cost five cents? At A.W. Dennett restaurant in 1894, you could buy a five-cent cup of coffee and as well as a five-cent slice of pie to accompany it. The menu from that year is a primary...
Social Studies Coalition of Delaware
Urban Mouse Rural Mouse
Explore rural and urban environments over the course of four days. Each day offers a new look into how both environment compare and contrast. Activities include the observation and analyzation of images, a read aloud and grand discussion...
Curated OER
Study of New York City
Fourth graders read A Cricket in Times Square and examine the essence of living in New York City. They examine subway maps and other resources concerning NYC and then complete several writing activities about the city. They also create...
Curated OER
Jim Murphy, The Great Fire - Grade 6
The Great Fire by Jim Murphy provides the text for a study of the Chicago fire of 1871. The plan is designed as a close reading activity so that all learners have the same background information require for writing. Richly detailed, the...
Curated OER
Poem in Your Pocket Day: Ideas for Celebrating
First instituted in New York City in 2002 and recognized nationwide in 2009, "Poem in Your Pocket Day" is part of National Poetry Month (April) and celebrates poetry in everyday life. A brief news story includes 9 ideas about how to...
Curated OER
Akron: This City Reads
Students write their thoughts about the value of reading and of Akron launching a city wide reading campaign. Students also research literacy in their own community, finding out how it compares to Akron's statistics where it has been...
Curated OER
When the Wind Blows Lesson Plan
Learners read a book and observe the wind and how it affects the environment. They explore what wind does by looking at pictures, reading a book, and by completing an experiment. They will use their own knowledge of the wind and compare...
Curated OER
Things to do in a city at night
Students read about things to do in a city at night and answer short questions about it. In this reading lesson plan, students also discuss what to wear, how to be safe, and how to act at a party.
Curated OER
Newspaper Unit: Reading Lesson Plan
Work on identifying the different parts of a newspaper with your English learners. After reviewing newspaper terminology, pupils pair up and complete a scavenger hunt, looking for specific things in the newspaper and recording their...
Curated OER
Sobering Plans
Students explore the rights they give up while in school and then learn about plans to use breath analyzer tests during school hours. They then debate the issues surrounding this topic and write letters to the principal advocating or...
Curated OER
Take a Look at Nature With Landscape Lesson Plans
Let local nature inspire original art with these landscape lesson plans.
Global Oneness Project
Documenting Architectural Heritage
Imagine going from being one of the richest, most important cities in the world to one of the poorest. Imagine the history captured in the architecture of such a city. Imagine these same now abandoned buildings being destroyed. How would...
Association for Library Service to Children
Summer Reading List Grades 6-8
What better activity is there for summer than reading? Provide your pupils with 25 book ideas for their summer reading pursuits. A variety of different genres are represented on this list, and each book is paired with publication...
Rockefeller Archive Center
Understanding Mass Media News
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted...
Curated OER
Creating a Virtual Tour of Oregon City
Fifth graders research a famous person or building associated with Oregon City. In this local history lesson, 5th graders work in groups to research and create a poster board about a famous person or building found in Oregon City.
Curated OER
Our Town
Students read and discuss an online article as they consider what makes a center of activity in a city or town. They produce a documentary film of the hub of activity in their school.