Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation
Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?
The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Weather or Not
What is the difference between weather and climate? This is the focus question of a lesson that takes a deeper look at how weather data helps determine climate in a region. Using weather and climate cards, students decide if a statement...
Curated OER
Mexico Field Trip
Explore how the library or Internet resources function as textual information. Young writers research a chosen topic then read and comprehend the collected information. They structure the information with texts and graphics for a...
Curated OER
Sorting
A lesson on classification and sorting is here for you. Elementary schoolers participate in an interactive computer game in which they sort books by theme. They take a trip to the library to observe and discuss how books are sorted, and...
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Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez
Learners identify productive resources that are important to migrant workers. In this lesson on resources, students give examples of natural resources, human resources and capital resources that apply to migrant workers. This lesson has...
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Let's Talk About Painting
Discuss art and read Matthew's Dream. In this visual arts lesson, learners recognize that there are different styles of art, each with its own techniques. Use simple techniques to understand art and work at stations to complete a style...
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The Color of My Words
Explore the story The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph using this resource. Learners answer comprehension questions, fill in graphic organizers, and write a poem.
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The Summer of the Swans
The Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars, is a 160-page chapter book about a family going through a difficult time. Complement your reading of Byars' book with this detailed outline of each chapter. Every section includes comprehension...
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The Jacket: Journal Templates Teacher's Guide
Explore this story involving prejudice and racism to enhance learners' comprehension skills. The story The Jacket by Andrew Clements involves an African American boy who is falsely accused of stealing someone's jacket. This teacher's...
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For the Birds
Second graders explore biology by creating birdhouses. For this bird identification lesson, 2nd graders discuss the different types of birds that live in their environment and what characteristics each type of bird has. Students create a...
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U.S. Geography: The Northeast
Learners investigate U.S. Geography by creating a map in class. In this natural resource lesson, students create a map of the United States and research the Northeast based on their resources and recyclable materials. Learners utilize...
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Fossil Fuels vs. Alternative Fueling Systems
Fourth graders brainstorm the differences between the fossil fuels that people use in their transportation now and what they could use to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. They use a variety of techniques from webquests to writing...
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Glossary, Index, and Table of Contents
Fourth graders use two separate sources to learn about index, glossary, and table of contents usage. In this library lesson plan, 4th graders use two books, Learning About Weather with Graphic Organizers, and The World Almanac for Kids,...
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The Pirates of the Caribbean
Third graders participate in a demonstration lesson that shows a map of the Caribbean Islands. They examine a natural resource that each island is known for. Next, they listen to a read aloud of Gail Gibbons, "Pirates: Robbers of the...
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Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins
Pupils identify and interpret the lifecycle and parts of the pumpkin. Students utitlize interactive ways to discover this process. Pupils create a big book of their own by researching further information about pumpkins and what makes a...
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Going Green
Students create an action plan to learn how to preserve natural resources for future generations. In this environmental conservation lesson, students research the topic of preserving the natural environment and write a definition for...
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Severe Weather
Fifth graders identify the causes and effects of several different kinds of
severe weather phenomenon. They read an excerpt from John Muir's book The Mountains of California and research one of the following severe
weather phenomena...
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Sense-itive Issues
Students consider the difficulties of adapting to the loss of different senses. They work in small groups, each developing a fictional superhero who experiences a loss of one of sense and must compensate for it with his or her other senses.
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Following the Leaders
Examine the historic election of Pope Benedict XVI and reflect on the challenges he faces as the new leader of the Catholic Church. This New York Times lesson investigates how other world leaders are chosen in different forms of...
Poetry Society
Simile and Metaphor
Young poets use word cards to prompt a metaphor poem comparing to very dissimilar items.
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Recurring Nightmares
Does history really repeat itself? Encourage your middle and high schoolers to answer this age-old question by reading the attached articles on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 and the Iraq Crisis of 2002. How similar or different are...
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Fighting for Control
Engage your class in a class discussion examining and defend different sides of an argument about whether the Environmental Protection Agency should have the legal authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. They will have to...
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Red Dirt Groundbreakers
Discover Oklahoma's first farmers. Read about 14 different agriculture workers and their contribution to Oklahoma's farming. After reading, have your class complete several activities such as researching an agriculturist, writing a...
Facing History and Ourselves
How Journalists Minimize Bias
Class members are challenged to write a neutral news story about the events they observe in a short video. After sharing their stories in groups and discussing the different perceptions, the class concludes with a video of journalists...