Curated OER
People Who "Think Different"
Students conduct Internet research on one famous person to explore his/her important contributions to society.
Curated OER
Discovering No Differences in Latin America and Latino Culture
Students explore the differences between American Spanish speaking countries and the United States. Students explore the history and culture of Spanish speaking countries. They examine Latino influences. Students create a presentation...
Curated OER
Alike and Different
Second graders listen to a book about how farms feed the world. They discuss elements of rural life. They listen to a story about the suburbs and discuss elements specific to a suburban community. They listen to a story about city...
Curated OER
Literature Circles
Literature circles let kids interact with each other and hear different perspectives. explore literature circles. Group your class into small reading groups, and then assign each class member a specific role to keep them focused. After...
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
We Are All Authors: Create a Book
Every child is an author with this engaging reading activity. First the class reviews the various parts of a book such as the title, author, dedication, and author-biography. Then each individual will choose a story of their own to...
Facing History and Ourselves
Us and Them: Confronting Labels and Lies
Stereotyping and discrimination based on religion catalyze many atrocities in the world. Explain the awful treatment of Jews and the lies Nazis spread by using an informative yet sensitive resource. Learners participate in a warm-up and...
Peace Corps
Community
What is a community? Find out with a lesson that sheds light onto the different types of communities—school, local, and global. Scholars read informational text detailing the life of a young girl from Cape Verde and take part in a...
Curated OER
Animal Report
Fourth graders explore the variety of resources available to them at the library. They utilize many of these resources to create an animal report with a set criterium.
Curated OER
A Different World?
Students share their opinions in a brainstorming session on the factors that contribute to their quality of life. They read the article "Life Is Better; It Isn't Better. Which Is It?," from the NY Times and discuss the article as a...
Curated OER
Philanthropy in History
Students understand the importance of books in past and present societies. In this philanthropic lesson, students compare Andrew Carnegie and Benjamin Franklin's perspective on the importance of everyone being able to read. Students...
Curated OER
The Thirteen Colonies in 1770
Students review the characteristics of the thirteen colonies. With a partner, they complete a worksheet describing the colonies within a specific amount of time. They review their responses and describe each region of colonies and note...
Curated OER
Searching in "Neat Stuff": Library Corner
Students explore collections of materials and pointers to other related materials to help them to quickly and easily find and retrieve information needed. This lesson was originally written for librarians with little or no net experiences.
Curated OER
Who's The Boss?
Upper elementary and middle schoolers research and analyze some different types of governments. Democracies, Monarchies, and Dictatorships are some of the types that are looked at. Learners use the Internet to gather information that...
Curated OER
Earth from Space Maps
Students use photo images from space to create a large map of the United States or the world, find where they live and label other places they know. They are exposed to a Web resource that allows them to view photo images of Earth taken...
National Geographic
Rescuing, Relocating, and Rehabilitating Wildlife
Bring up the Deepwater Horizon (BP) oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Display the colorful diagram of the coastal and marine organisms living in the area. Show a video about relocating the eggs of the Gulf's sea...
University of California
Roots of the Cold War
When and how did the Cold War begin? To answer this question, you will not find a better-organized, in-depth, activity- and inquiry-based resource than this! Executing best teaching practices throughout, each portion of this inquiry...
PBS
The Pursuit of Excellence
Who doesn’t love French pastries and the idea of hard work? Discover different philosophies on hard work, and the skills of French pastry chefs as the documentary concerning the “Best Craftsmen in France” or Meilleures Ouvriers de France...
Curated OER
Colonial Broadsides and the American Revolution
Middle schoolers access the Library of Congress's collection of Broadsides (printed material with news, entertainment, advertisements, etc.) and explore their impact on events leading up to the Revolutionary War. They create a timeline...
Growing Minds
Potato Exploration: Projects All About Potatoes!
How many potatoes tall are you? Unearth this rich resource! A reading of John Coy’s Two Old Potatoes begins a cross-curricular exploration of potatoes. Class members read, write, weigh, measure, and experiment with potatoes. Additional...
Curated OER
The Changing Meaning of "Due Process"
Students examine the United States Constitution and how the application for due process differs in two amendments. They research the changing definition of the term since the Civil War. They use the internet to research press coverage of...
Cornell University
Non-Newtonian Fluids—How Slow Can You Go?
Children enjoy playing with silly putty, but it provides more than just fun. Young scientists make their own silly putty using different recipes. After a bit of fun, they test and graph the viscosity of each.
Curated OER
Using the Internet to Do Punnett Squares
What a fun way to explore Mendelian Genetics! Using a computer connected to the Internet, beginning biologists construct and use Punnett squares of monohybrid crosses to explain how genetic traits are passed to offspring. Other websites...
Curated OER
Teaching Controversial Science Issues Through Law Related Education
Discuss the differences in dialogue and debate when considering a controversial topic. Your class can work in small groups to complete a guided discussion of this controversial topic and then participate in a simulation of the Scopes...