Smithsonian Institution
Barn Again! Celebrating an American Icon
How do barns serve as a window to a community's past? Here are a series of lessons on the symbolism and historical context of barns throughout American history. Topics include community-building, in-depth primary and secondary source...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to Counting by 7s
Everyone takes a different journey through grief. A series of lesson plans for the novel Counting by 7s introduces readers to the main character who loses her parents in a car crash. Discussion questions and writing prompts combine...
Berkshire Museum
Meet a Naturalist: Researching, Writing, Interviewing
Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...
TryEngineering
Networks
Ever wonder how the Internet works? The instructional activity teaches scholars the basics of graph theory and how it applies to the Internet. They perform simulations to see how information is sent on the Internet.
Practical Action
Climate Change - Who's In Control?
How can both individuals and governments respond to climate change and take responsibility to reduce its effects on our environment? Here you will find three lessons filled with discussion, debate, and role-playing...
Province of Manitoba
The Outdoors Camping and Survival Skills
Equip young campers with the tips and strategies for a safe trip to the outdoors with a series of lessons. They learn how to start fires with and without firewood, keep warm in snowy weather, and purify water to make it safe for drinking.
Smithsonian Institution
Latino Expression
How much of your daily life is influenced by Latin American music? Take a listen—the answer may surprise you! High schoolers keep a journal to note any instances they see Latino culture represented, including the media, their school, and...
K5 Learning
A Response to 9-1-1
When you get hurt, who are the people who help you? Learn about first responders, support services, and public health with a reading passage. Kids read the informational text and answer reading comprehension questions about the...
K20 LEARN
Barbie™: Blessing Or Curse? Style, Format, And Genre
How does a writer's choice of genre, style, and format impact the effectiveness of an argument about a social issue? After reading a poem and an essay about Barbie dolls, class members choose a social issue important to them, select a...
Curated OER
This Life Stinks
Chemosynthetic communities of cold seep areas are considered in this lesson. Working in collaborative groups, marine biology or oceanography learners research and prepare a report about oxidation-reduction reactions involved with...
Curated OER
Volunteers in the Community
Students discuss volunteerism and identify volunteer positions in their community. They choose and carry out a volunteer project in the school or local community.
Curated OER
Closer To the Ground Lesson 1: Sharing the Wealth
Learners examine the meaning of philanthropy. They look at specific needs and determine the process of requesting grants from various foundations. They determine a need within the school community and write a grant application or...
Curated OER
Health Services in the Community
The young scholars will learn about and do research on health care workers. In this lesson students learn about community health care workers through doing research. Their final work is then collated to make a class book.
Curated OER
My Favorite Place
Students identify important buildings in their community. They discuss the variety of places and services available in their local community. Indivually, students write a paragraph describing their favorite place(s) in the community....
Curated OER
Service Projects in the Dominican Republic
High schoolers read primary source documents and identify several kinds of service projects conducted by Peace Corps Volunteers; young scholars identify criteria used by the Peace Corps for conducting service projects for the common good.
Curated OER
Digging It - A Garden That Is
Students plan, design, and create a school/community garden. In this planning, designing, and creating a school/community garden lesson, students research materials needed to start a garden. Students determine the cost of starting a...
Curated OER
Applied Science- Built environment Lab (Trains)
Learners examine transportation. In this train design lesson, students study how trains work and how to efficiently design a track by working with an electric train set. As a class they compare various types of trains and work...
Curated OER
Rebuild Your Community
Students explore the Gulf Coast disaster and what it took to rebuild the community surrounding it. In this economic development lesson, students watch a video from the Nightly Business Report and explore what all it takes to make up a...
Curated OER
How Do They Do That?
Third graders explore different careers by discussing which community helpers might be considered local heroes. In this career exploration lesson, 3rd graders work in small groups to discuss why certain people are considered...
Curated OER
Responsibility and Jobs
Students identify community helpers. In this philanthropy lesson, students read Strega Nona and identify different characters' responsibilities in the story. Students use character traits to describe the main characters and make a list...
Curated OER
Veterinarians (Community Helpers)
Students color animal pictures and make a class web chart about veterinarians to explore what a veterinarian does on a daily basis.
Curated OER
Where There's Smoke
Students view photographs to help them see how people live in rural Nepal. In groups, they imagine what it would be like to grow up in this type of community with little food and identify the problems associated with the Nepalise homes....
Curated OER
One Survivor Remembers: A Call to Action
Students participate in service learning projects within their community. For this community service lesson, students study the action steps for a hunger service learning project and discuss the project. Students use the model to help...
Curated OER
Wetlands in a Pan
Fifth graders explore the wetlands to discover its benefits in removing pollutants in the water. In this wetlands activity, 5th graders discuss how stormwater wetlands are created to purify water. Students test the water.