Curated OER
Bringing Cultures Together
High schoolers research specific information for the United Nations and present them in a PowerPoint presentation. They connect with another student in in their country of research by emailing them. They create a blog of creative writing...
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Shakespeare: The Nature of Writing and the Writing of Nature
This lesson plan uses Shakespeare's writing as a model for elementary students, encouraging them use their imaginations to explore to the evocative powers of language. It gives them a manageable piece of text which they can master and...
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Carbon Trip Through the Cycle
Students, in any written format they choose, imagine themselves as a carbon atom and trace their journey through the carbon cycle returning themselves to the point of origin.
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From Foreground to Background
Students examine the composition of landscape paintings with an emphasis on foreground, middle ground, and background. They view and analyze a painting by Poussin, and create an original imagined landscape.
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Going...going...gone? Tropical Rainforests-How They Work, What They Do for Us, What's Being Done to Them...
Sixth graders explore the Tropical Rainforest and come to understand what it is and how it affects the ecosystem. In this rainforests lesson, 6th graders write about the Tropical Rainforest, imagine they are in the Tropical Rainforest,...
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Math Vocabulary
Fourth graders participate in a creative way to learn and remember important math vocabulary. This lesson incorporates music to help students remember the meaning of each math operation and the vocabulary associated with it. A very...
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Simple Machines and Modern Day Engineering Analogies
Learners apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and...
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The Great Apes
Students prepare experiment plans for a peer review session to test the intelligence level of gorillas. They view and discuss a Discovery Channel video on the wild behaviors of gorillas then create three experiments that could test the...
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Vanished Occupations: Life on an Iron Plantation
Learners analyze photographs to understand life on a plantation. For this vanished occupations lesson, learners examine why iron plantations were created and what natural resources were needed to make iron. Learners compare the duties,...
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Shape Shifters- Trees and the Environment
Students make a tree sculpture. In this trees and the environment lesson, students learn about the parts of a tree, discuss what a tree needs in order to grow, find images of trees in art and nature, use various materials to create a...
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Getting the Message Across
Students discover the emergence of e-mail as a popular communication tool and explore its impact on society. They consider the advantages and disadvantages of different types of communication tools in various creative contexts.
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Sea-ing More Clearly
Students explore historical importance of fish as food source, examine works of Robert Harris, create their own fish, and compose accompanying poetry. Students then explore dramatic tradition of Chorus inspired by Greek theatre,...
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Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Learners work in groups to imagine, research and simulate a dinner party involving an author, a fictional character, and a significant historical figure as dinner guests. The activity uses Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and the time...
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A Turkey's Last Plea-- Story Starter
In this writing worksheet, young scholars imagine that they are a turkey who must convince the people not to serve him for Thanksgiving dinner. Students read the story starter and finish the story.
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Child Soldier
Young scholars identify the exploitations of child soldiers. In this global issues lesson plan, students listen to a story that puts them in the shoes a 16 year old child soldier. Young scholars discuss the plight of the teenager and...
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Scripting the Past: Exploring Women's History Through Film
Explore women's history through films and filmmaking. An innovative research project prompts class members to create their own screenplay about a figure in women's history. After outlining their characters, settings, and plots, young...
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My Antonia: Guided Imagery
Willa Cather's novel My Antonia is full of vivid imagery. Encourage your pupils to visualize and translate images from the text into original writing with this guided imagery activity. Learners listen to an excerpt, take a moment to...
EngageNY
Writing and Revising Our Texts: Using Peer Critique to Improve First Drafts
Mail me a postcard. Individuals design a postcard to show what Meg Lowman from The Most Beautiful Roof in the
World might have written to her friends at home. They then continue to work on writing a science journal entry.
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Shizuko’s Daughter: Unsent Letter
Have you ever wanted to tell a character what you really thought of him or her? Use a lesson based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter to encourage learners to write a letter in response to a character's actions.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Space Travel Guide
Looking to take a trip? Why not go to space? Here, scholars take on the role as travel agent to create a guide to their favorite planet including travel tips and sightseeing recommendations.
Curated OER
How Does it End?
Young scholars listen to the first part of a story, use drawing software, such as Paint or AppleWorks, to draw, or write and draw, their own imaginary endings to the story. They practice their mouse and computer navigation skills. They...
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Creating a Cranimal
Students design their own mix and matched animals. They reinforce their literacy by working with pieces of animal names to invent a new animal. They use their drawing skill using a lesson framework that emphasizes transformation.
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The Merci Train
Middle schoolers investigate the Merci Train and conduct research in order to write a summary about its origination and purposes. They make a boxcar that is designed and made from construction paper and glue and wrapped around cardboard.
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An Imaginary Trip
Learners use their imaginations to write about an imaginary trip. In this creative writing instructional activity, students write about an imaginary trip. Learners brainstorm writing ideas as a class and use past tense words in their...