Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Al Capone Does My Shirts
It's hard to imagine that life on Alcatraz could be dull. A series of intriguing lessons take readers through the novel Al Capone Does my Shirts. Pre-reading questions introduce the text and a range of suggestions, from comic strips to...
Curated OER
Reptiles and Amphibians
Introduce your class to various reptiles and amphibians. They will meet and identify a representative from each of the four major reptile families, then learn about and discuss reptile characteristics. Next, they will identify and...
Curated OER
Go Fish For Blends and Digraphs
Youngsters practice using blends and digraphs. In this early reading lesson, students play a game of "Go Fish" using words that contain a blend or digraph. This allows them to practice recognizing the word and using it in a sentence.
Journey Through the Universe
How Far is Far?
The earth only revolves around one thing — and it's not any of your pupils. The lesson includes two activities dealing with the distance to the sun and the moon. First, scholars create a pin hole camera and use the rules of similar...
Education World
Use Boolean Search Terms to Shorten Web Searches
Have you ever conducted a Web search and received too many hits? Teach your class about Boolean search terms and provide them time to practice conducting efficient online searches. This lesson plan contains several fun activities which...
Curated OER
Same and Different Through Music and Art
This lesson is intended for a music class but would be a great way to teach compare and contrast to any class. Kindergarteners dance the Hokey Pokey to four different styles of music and examine two paintings of Humpty Dumpty, then...
Curated OER
Taking Age into Account
Have your class consider the issue of minors' accountability for their crimes. They discuss specific cases and the general issue of juvenile crime in round table discussions. Use this lesson to emphasize the rules and individual roles...
Curated OER
The Non-violence Grid
Students discuss violence. In this promotion for peace lesson, students share their opinions on different scenarios presented by the teacher. They discuss each scenario as a class to determine if various acts are too violent or just...
Sargent Art
Color Value Study
I love geometric art because it applies mathematical reasoning to an artistic endeavor. Creative kids use scale values to highlight their complex, repetitive, geometric designs. Symmetry, angles, and congruence are three concepts that...
Shodor Education Foundation
Whole Number Cruncher
Time to crunch the numbers! Young scholars use an interactive number cruncher to practice operations with whole numbers. They input a number and watch as the number cruncher produces the output and then use the data pairs to determine a...
Shodor Education Foundation
Racing Game with One Die
Pupils roll a die to figure out which car advances on a race track. They determine the rules for each car moving forward and, given the statistics of the winner, compare if it matches their predictions.
Curated OER
Immigration and Ancestors
We are all immigrants to this country and the study of immigration can help students connect to history in a personal way. Students will listen to audio clips from the Ellis Island web site, discuss the treatment of immigrants in the...
Curated OER
Researching African Americans Who Made a Difference
Celebrate Black History Month with this instructional activity, in which middle schoolers create an essay about a famous African-American. Writers conduct research online, take notes to write an essay in proper format, and use ideas,...
Arizona State University
They're, Their, and They're
Clear up the difference between they're, their, and there once and for all! A reference sheets outlines when your learners can use each word, and ten practice sentences encourage them to fill the appropriate word in the blank. Use this...
Geography 360°
Exponents
Don't let the rules overrule the lesson. Mental math steps in and helps learners understand exponent patterns. The material focuses on the introductory problems of exponents, such as simplifying expressions. Teacher guides are...
National Library of Medicine
Your Environment, Your Health: The Great Debate—Bottled Water vs. Tap Water in Our School
Should bottled water be sold in schools, or should they only provide tap water? The summative unit in the six-part series encourages scholars debating this topic. The lessons teach how to build an argument, how to gain background...
Shodor Education Foundation
Life
How does life evolve? The interactive provides a simulation based on the Game of Life invented by mathematician John Conway. Users can run the applet with the preset rules and settings or adjust them to view whether overpopulation or...
Shodor Education Foundation
Spread of Disease
Control the spread of a contagious disease. An applet allows pupils to run a simulation on the spread of a disease. Rules govern how the disease is spread and the length of time it takes to recover. Learners view the spread visually and...
Curated OER
Pledge of Excellence
First graders discuss their prior knowledge of The Golden Rule and compare it to their school's Pledge of Excellence. They discuss the five parts to the pledge and discuss how to be a caring friend, how to do their personal best, how to...
Curated OER
Commanding Performance
Students identify the many aspects of their daily lives that are guided by rules or laws.
Curated OER
Granny's Flower Pressing Adventure
Students review the rules of a classroom garden. In this gardening lesson, students review the rules of a classroom garden and are given the opportunity to pick a few flowers to keep. Students are taught how to press the flowers they...
Curated OER
Doing Our Jobs
First graders identify traits of good listeners and speakers and role-play these traits in pairs. They brainstorm acceptable and unacceptable behaviors for the classroom and identify what jobs are appropriate for first-graders to perform...
Curated OER
Summarizing
Students use their note-taking skills to write summaries of information. In this writing skills lesson, students use the notes they have taken in another lesson to write adventure stories by implementing the Rule-Based strategy.
Curated OER
We Are a Comm-un-it-y. I've Got All My Classmates with Me-Part I
Students investigate the meaning of community. In this community lesson, students look at the concepts of civic engagement, civic responsibility, and common good. They determine how a classroom is a community and the need for having...