DePaul University
Settlement
Early settlers in the American Midwest experienced constant struggle. This reading passage describes for young learners the hardships of homesteaders as they journeyed west and sought to start a new life. When finished, students identify...
Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Sequence Important Events
After reading any short informational or fictional text, ask your class to analyze the important events. They note down three important events on a short timeline, describing the events with either words or drawings. After this, pupils...
Curated OER
But We Need More, Where Will It Come From?
Pupils write a persuasive letter and create a poster about pollution and conservation. In this pollution and conservation lesson plan, students learn how humans are the number 1 cause of pollution.
It's About Time
How Do Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmosphere Affect Global Climate?
Does carbon dioxide really affect temperatures across the world? This fifth installment in a six-part series investigates the relationship between carbon dioxide and global temperatures. Graphs created from genuine data help young...
Curated OER
The Declaration of Independence: From Rough Draft to Proclamation
Young scholars discover the purpose of the Declaration of Independence. In this colonial America lesson, students compare the original draft by Thomas Jefferson to the final draft of the Declaration of Independence.
Baylor College
Challenge: Microgravity
What a festive way to examine what happens to the heart in different gravitational situations! Small groups place a water-filled balloon in different locations (on a table top, in a tub of water, and held in a vertical position), drawing...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Analyzing the Inaugural Address
Get high school historians to step outside their own shoes by responding to JFK's inaugural address from the perspective of a civil rights activist, a soviet diplomat, or a Cuban exile. After a class discussion about the address, the...
National History Day
Helping Life and Aiding Death: Science, Technology, and Engineering at Work during World War I
Science, engineering, and United States history? Pupils research collections of artifacts from the Smithsonian to learn about historical scientific innovations. At the end of the lesson, they write an essay to discuss technology's...
Curated OER
Foreshadowing and Prediction: W.W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw"
W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" provides plenty of foreshadowing which readers use to make predictions in this tightly composed, sound instructional plan. Your class reads the story, recording predictions and checking for veracity...
Curated OER
When Court Cases Get Appealed
Students read and analyze two functional documents. They predict outcomes using prior knowledge and documents. Students draw conclusions about how court cases are appealed. They list the parts of a court case.
Channel Islands Film
Eminent Domain
After viewing the documentary The Last Roundup, a documentary about the transitioning of Santa Rosa from a privately own island to a National Park, class members debate the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment that permits the...
Curated OER
Investigating the Shapes of Covalent Molecules and Measuring their Respective Bond Lengths and Bond Angles
High schoolers will draw Lewis structures of common covalent compounds using a Chem 3D computer program. They will predict the shapes of the molecules, complete a data table, and formulate rules for predicting shapes of molecules. In the...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.2
The details in the new Common Core standard for producing informative/explanatory texts is different from what you have in your current curriculum, and now you are confused on what to do. Keep calm and carry on, because not only does...
Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They then...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.1
You want your class to meet all of the Common Core standards, and here is one way to tackle the first speaking and listening standard. Given a theme to focus on from "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy, small groups come up...
Curated OER
How Advertisers Persuade
This plan centers around the article "How Advertisers Persuade," although it is not included in the lesson itself. Get your class thinking about advertising, appeals, and techniques that companies use to get their products from the shelf...
Curated OER
Sequence, Predict, Infer: Pink and Say
Practice sequencing with your 2nd graders via Patricia Polacco's Civil War book Pink and Say. Begin with a blindfold and a bag of mystery items. Connect their use of clues to identify what they can't see with the skill of making...
Curated OER
Counting on Frank
Eighth graders read a book "Counting on Frank" with a partner. Using the text, they identify eight clues and use their mathematical reasoning in real-life situations. They participate in a game and turn in a notebook in which they write...
Curated OER
Main Events in Fiction
Students complete a literature analysis of fiction texts to study elements of fiction. In this fiction analysis activity, students read various fiction texts and examine them to learn about fiction elements. Students learn to draw...
Curated OER
Interpreting The Artist's Voice
Students view topical photographs to explore the concept of voice. They examine a series of photographs containing incomplete images. They draw conclusions about the images based on only the information provided. After viewing the...
Curated OER
The Roanoke Mystery
Fourth graders hypothesize about what happened on the island of Roanoke. In this South Carolina history lesson, 4th graders use primary documents to draw conclusions about what happened to the Lost Colony of Roanoke. This mini-unit of...
Curated OER
Geometers Sketchpad Practice
Students create polygons using geometers sketchpad. In this geometry instructional activity, students construct the interior angles of polygons and label the different points. They estimate and measure the different parts as they draw...
Curated OER
Learning Inference
Making inferences can be a tricky proposition for middle schoolers. In the lesson presented here, pupils practice the skill of drawing a conclusion and making a judgment - which are what making an inference is all about! There are five...
Super Teacher Worksheets
Inferences
Inferring text can be tricky, but practice makes proficient! Provide your scholars with the practice they need with this inferences worksheet in which learners read mini paragraphs and choose the best inference from four multiple choice...