Curated OER
Building Bridges for Young Learners -- Community
Learners compare and contrast communities.They explore factors that influence how people live, the roles of adults and children, and the interaction of people who live and work within a community. The lesson focuses on the country of...
Curated OER
Changing Planet: Fading Corals
Show the six-minute video, "Changing Planet: Fading Corals," and then demonstrate how calcium carbonate forms a precipitate in the presence of carbon dioxide. Separate your scientists into small groups to gather information about coral...
Curated OER
My Community
Learners identify how their school has changed. In this local community lesson, students listen to a brief history of their town and school and interview someone that graduated from their school. Learners then create a map of their...
Curated OER
Minnesota-China Connections:What Time Is It?
Students calculate the time difference between Beijing, China and their local community. They discuss how time difference affects intercultural communication.
Curated OER
Development Issues in the Northern Suburbs
Students demonstrate the ability to obtain geographic information from a variety of print and electronic sources. They use a variety of maps and data to identify and locate geographical features of Minnesota and Anoka County. in...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
You know global warming is real when your squirrel feeder is full of popped corn instead of kernels! Activity two in a series of five allows learners to explore climate change through the eyes of another. After briefly analyzing their...
Curated OER
LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI PAST AND PRESENT
Third graders explore the Mississippi River and the ways in which it is used by the communities it travels through.
Curated OER
Community Explorations
Young scholars identify the strengths and weakness in their community. They take a community walk and take pictures of people interacting with the environment and the "green spaces" in their community. They then write a persuasive essay...
Curated OER
Interactive Atlas
Second graders examine the different ways people move from place to place in a neighborhood. Using the interactive online atlas MapQuest, they identify the various ways people move around their own neighborhood by creating a map and...
Curated OER
Sense of Place
Young scholars identify the major folk regions of Louisiana and the relationship between folklife, geography, and ecology. They give deeper thought to what makes their own community unique, what their sense of place actually is. ...
Curated OER
Alaska
Fourth graders explore how humans adapt to variations in physical environment, compare how people in different communities adapt to or modify the physical environment and identify and compare the human characteristics of selected regions.
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: The Theory of Plate Tectonics
Find out if your class agrees with Ice Age: Continental Drift ... or if it's just a fun family movie! Class members research the theory of continental drift, examine evidence of plate tectonics, connect this information to engineering,...
Curated OER
Landforms
Students begin their examination of landforms. Using a map, they locate and identify the major landforms on Earth. They discuss how landforms affect the lifestyle of the community and determine which goods and services the community...
Curated OER
African Myths and What They Teach
Students identify and locate the continent of Africa on a globe or map. They locate on a classroom map of Africa the place of origin of the myths/stories being read in class.
They discover that the peoples of Africa and their stories are...
Curated OER
Where Are We?
Second graders identify the correct location of their city and state on a map. Through a matching activity, 2nd graders correctly identify their state on a shaped cookie map of the Unites States. They identify their city on a shaped...
Curated OER
Where in the World Am I?
Learners are introduced to geography skills. They answer questions on a worksheet using the internet and maps. They examine the area of Japan as well.
Curated OER
America the Beautiful
Young scholars listen to a read-aloud discussing the landmarks of the United States. In pairs, they use the internet to research a landmark of their choice. They create a visual aid to be given with a presentation sharing the...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
Sometimes, the best solution to a problem can be found by walking in someone else's shoes. Here, scholars use character cards to take on the roles of people around the world. They determine how their character's life affects our...
Curated OER
Landforms
Learners study how landforms affect all aspects of a community. Students work in groups to identify landforms from other works of art. In cooperative groups Learners select a work of art depicting a particular land form and create a poem.
Curated OER
Endangered Species: Not Only Animals
Students research endangered animals and plants. In this biology activity, students are read Will We Miss Them? Endangered Species by Alexandra Wright before they begin searching for information to complete an endangered species...
Curated OER
Finding Meaning in the Badge
Children who are three to five years old study two rank badges from the Qing dynasty to develop an understanding of social rank, language skills, and symbolism. The lesson is discussion-based and requires learners to compare and contrast...
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: Locating Earthquakes
There are patterns in nearly everything — even earthquakes. Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and minimum. Using...
Curated OER
Community, State, Country
First graders identify the town, county, state, and country in which they reside and the places where people work. They draw a picture of one of the places where people work.
Curated OER
Babushka's Doll
Third graders read the story Babushka's Doll and write a summary of the main events in the story. For this summaries lesson plan, 3rd graders discuss the country of Russia before they read.