Curated OER
Quilt Squares-Literature Reporting
Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: Personal Phrenology Chart During Reading Activity
Phrenology, the belief that parts of your brain control certain aspects of your personality, is described in Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. While we now know much more about the brain, learners use this idea...
Concord Consortium
School Bus Routes
Plan the way to school. Given a map of a school district, class members portray a transportation consultant hired to develop a bus transportation plan that will pick up the eligible riders and get them to school. The plan must contain...
Curated OER
Ecosystems and Symbiotic Relationships
Students are told to create a community using words or pictures. They walk outside to an area in front of the school which has a strip of grass, ditch, and corn field. Students discuss the difference between an ecosystem and a...
Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association
A Research Project: A Discussion of the Recreating and Populating of a Colonial Village
Primary source research, secondary source readings, and discussion provide the understanding necessary for students to create a colonial persona, and simulate a situation appropriate for this person, time, and place. While the lesson...
Curated OER
Our Town Store
Students purchase items in their classroom store. In this money instructional activity students create a classroom store. The students have a given amount of money and have to decide if they have enough to purchase the items that they...
Curated OER
Sense of Place: Our School
Students explore the concept of 'sense of place' through journaling and class discussion. In this community lesson, students discuss what makes them feel like they belong. Students give three speeches that develop the sense of place...
Curated OER
Navigating Your Community
Learners draw a map from memory describing the route between their classroom and the gym including a legend, a compass rose, a map scale, symbols, and a landmark at every change of direction. They then retrace their steps in their maps...
Curated OER
Effects of Urban Growth
Learners explore population growth in the United States and the impact it has had on society. First, they brainstorm the reasons for population growth and the results of these increases. Then, they design surveys, record results, and...
Curated OER
Celebrate May Day this Spring
Welcome spring as you explore various traditions for celebrating May Day.
Curated OER
National Mentoring Month
Celebrating and participating in National Mentoring Month supports the development of youth across the nation.
Attentance Work
Teaching Attendance: Everyday Strategies to Help Teachers Improve Attendance and Raise Achievement
Build a culture of attendance with the help of this 7-page toolkit loaded with suggestions for specific things you and parents can do to improve attendance, and in turn, raise the achievement of learners. Included are suggestions for...
Curated OER
The Power of a Project
How does PBL differ from a basic thematic unit? Discover the answer to this important question. A bulleted comparison is made between each type of teaching method, example projects are included, and a full "how to" is laid out in an easy...
Curated OER
Fly High with Flag Day
Wave goodbye to the school year with these lesson ideas on how to teach about the significance of the US flag.
Buck Institute for Education
Project Template for Letter to Parents
What better way to elicit the support of parents and guardians in project-based learning than with a letter directed to them that details the project, the activities involved, and suggestions for how they can support their learner. The...
Curated OER
Building a School Model: An Academic Challenge
First and second graders explore aspects of design. They discuss and design the ideal classroom building complete with window and door placement. Additionally, students observe and note features found in neighboring classrooms as...
Curated OER
Basket Making
Students create a basket. For this basket making lesson, students explore the Ojibway culture and discover the history of basket making. Students design and construct a basket.
Curated OER
Elementary School Health and Wellness Fair
This is a nice idea for high school students to organize and present a Health and Wellness Fair at a local elementary school. It looks like it would take a lot of organization, but would certainly build community relationships. There are...
Special Olympics
SO…What’s the Challenge?
What does it feel like to be the victim of intolerance? Class members engage in activities, watch a video, and reflect on their own experiences with intolerance or discrimination before creating a project designed to combat intolerance...
Curated OER
Sharing is Caring
By engaging in an arts-based activity, 2nd graders explore peace in the classroom. They listen to the story The Rainbow Fish, then create their own fish to hang in the classroom. They write three things that make them happy on their...
VH1
Lesson 2: Moulin Rouge
The pop movie Moulin Rouge was based on the opera La Boheme. Learners watch the last 30 minutes of each musical to compare and contrast social opposites. They'll first discuss the social differences of the main characters and how those...
Curated OER
Fur Trading
Students take on a role such as a farming community, hunting community or a trading post. They decide which products they focus on and then trade with the other groups.
Curated OER
Imagine That!
Enter the fantastical world of "Dungeons and Dragons" and other role-playing games with this lesson from The New York Times. Middle schoolers create the outline for a role-playing game based on their own community. Then, they write a...
Curated OER
Promoting Self-Esteem Through Positive Interaction
Use a strong student/teacher relationship to foster a trusting environment.