Curated OER
Science Giants
Fifth graders research about the work and accomplishments of their chosen scientist. In this life science lesson, 5th graders explore how to become one. They prepare a presentation and share it with the class.
Curated OER
The Spirits of Toys Past, Present and Future
Students explore the evolution of toys and explore how the toy industry has adapted their products in response to advances in technology and changing customer expectations.
Curated OER
Seasoning the School Year
Students observe the changes a class tree goes through as the seasons change and record observations in journals. They investigate changes in the weather, changes in the length of the day, and how that affects people. They create...
Curated OER
What Is Energy? Short Demos
Students engage in three short, hands-on, in-class demos which expand students' understand of energy. First, using peanuts and heat, students see how the human body burns food to make energy. Then, they create paper snake mobiles to...
Curated OER
Shapes and Colors All Around
Students tour their school in a scavenger hunt to find primary colors and two and three-dimensional shapes. Students take digital pictures of the colors and shapes they find and create a class book of the pictures.
Curated OER
The Important Thing About Technology
Students assess the advantages of modern technology tools by creating a page in a class book utilizing pattern writing as well as the writing process. They organize and develop a composition on a selected topic after going through the...
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The World in Our Food
Students explore the history of ingredients in one of the recipes they prepare in class. They examine where each ingredient is produced and under what conditions. In addition, they brainstorm alternatives that are environmentally...
Curated OER
What's Under My Feet?
Students choose one rock from a collection of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. They use multiple resources to create an informational brochure highlighting their rock. The brochures are combined into a class rock museum to be...
Curated OER
Reading and Thinking About Evolution
Students are given a science reading assignment outside the text followed by a discussion on the content. The reading is augmented with a series of thought questions for students to consider prior to class discussion. They direst the...
Curated OER
Rocks, Minerals, and Erosion
Fourth graders describe the difference between minerals (composed of the same substance throughout) and rocks (composed of two or more minerals). They recognize that there are three classes of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
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Specialty Crop Production/Orchids
Twelfth graders explore the fascinating world of orchid production including propagation, care, culture, and finishing. They complete market research and design a production schedule for an orchid crop of their choice. They write a short...
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All About Me!
Students write about themselves. In this descriptive writing lesson, students view a PowerPoint for examples of descriptive writing and then write sentences describing themselves. Students use a computer program to type their sentences...
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First Nations in the Media
Students analyze the portrayal of Aboriginal people in the media. In this stereotype identification lesson, students investigate the ways the media represents Aboriginal culture. Students use the Internet to research, and present their...
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Family History
Students discover their family history. In this genealogy lesson, students participate in a discussion about family history and why it is important. Students create a family tree and present the family tree to the class. Students write a...
Curated OER
Social Studies--Important People/Groups of the Holocaust
Students take the personas of eight different groups of people involved in the Holocaust. In this lesson about the Holocaust, students view "The Rise and Fall of Adolph Hitler" students view and discuss the video, focusing on Hitler's...
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My Worst Best Sleepover Party
Students read the book The Best Worst Sleepover Party and discuss their feelings about bullying. In this bullying lesson, students discuss anxiety bullying, and what qualities a friend should have. Students design classroom expectations...
Curated OER
What Does Time Have to Do with it?
Learners investigate time. In this investigative lesson, students run through an obstacle course using standard timers. They record the time and apply this knowledge to problems in math. Learners record their predictions, and graph...
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Larger-Than-Life Lara
Students explore child psychology by reading a children's book in class. In this bullying instructional activity, students read the book Larger Than Life Lara and discuss the characters and how they treat each other. Students answer...
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The Spectrum of a Star
Tenth graders identify stars based on their line spectra. In this astronomy lesson, 10th graders analyze spectrograph and determine the elements present in the star. They explain the relationship between temperature and star classes.
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Bouncing off the Walls
Third graders compare the bouncing height of different types of balls. In this science lesson, 3rd graders explain the importance of repeated experimentation in science. They record their result and share them with the class.
Curated OER
Dot-Commerce
Students analyze the impact that e-commerce has in their community, as well as in small traditional communities that one might not expect to be part of the dot-com marketplace. They develop business plans for imagined businesses.
Curated OER
Newberry Award Reading Project
Fifth graders complete a project for a Newberry Award winning book. This ambitious lesson outlines the expectations for students regarding their project. Included is a list of possible books and a variety of writing, art, music and...
Curated OER
What Happened to the Water? Designing Ways to Get and Clean Water
Students design ways to clean a water source or find a new water source depending on various hypothetical family scenarios. They draw and write about how to provide water to a community facing a water crisis, and present their solutions...
Michigan Sea Grant
Fish Identification
Using a dichotomous key, pupils identify characteristics of fish who live in the Great Lakes and explain how these features help them survive. In small groups, class members discover what features scientists consider important and...