Curated OER
We Like to Read with Enthusiasm
Students develop skills to become independent readers by telling a story with expression and enthusiasm. They read with expression and enthusiasm with a partner the books, "Duck on a Bike," and "David Goes to School," both by David Shannon.
Curated OER
You Are What You Wear
Students, after analyzing interactions between groups/societies, effects of causality/change over time, forms of imaginative writing and utilizing art media to conveying messages/meaning, examine the relationship between clothing and...
Curated OER
Expressing Our Thoughts Through Poetry
Young scholars create a poem on about spring. They read final version of their poem chorally. They write reflections of their experience in creating the poem.
San Francisco Symphony
Beethoven's Sixth Symphony and the Expression of Feeling through the Arts
Here is an activity used originally to finish off a unit on country life and nature. It requires learners to have a basic understanding of harvest, rural life, and autumn. They'll use what they know to construct dance movements showing...
Curated OER
Wandering Ink Drawings
Kids explore how they can go with the flow and be flexible when they encounter "happy accidents." They use ink and watercolor to create flowing and unplanned art pieces.
Curated OER
Tissue Paper Dye Painting
Use tissue paper squares to create collage art. Young artists discuss colors as they place and glue each piece of tissue on the paper. Tip: Cut out large basic shapes instead. Have the class create images using the tissue...
Curated OER
Creative Writing: Haiku
Haikus by Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki are used as models for a brief lecture on the importance of poetry in Japan's history and the structure of this poetic form. Students then go on a nature walk, record impressions, and return to the...
Curated OER
The Artist as Entrepreneur
Some kids know exactly what they want to be when they grow up. This careers lesson aids upper graders in considering who they are as artists and how they can profit from their art, making a career out of something they love. This is a...
Curated OER
Harmony and Expression in Writing Form
How do you write an interesting beginning, middle, and end of a story? With this lesson, young writers look to other stories as examples. Then, they use some of the attached graphic organizers to help them create their own story. Note:...
Curated OER
Creating a Life Map
Middle schoolers create their own life map in which they introduce themselves to each other by sharing what they are most proud of. They use a life map to expressive themselves creatively.
Curated OER
Play on Words Design
Students create a design of an image that combines two words to create an unusual visualization. They improve their drawing skills by completing a detailed, colored pencil rendering of the "Play on Words" they design. Using technology...
Curated OER
Language Arts: Telling a Painting's Story
Use art museum paintings as inspiration for your class's creative writing works. Observing the paintings closely, middle and high schoolers list details and write descriptions. Their completed stories are displayed on bulletin boards...
Shakespeare in American Life
Patriarchy in King Lear and As I Lay Dying
King Lear, “Papa Doc” Duvalier, Colonel Walter E. Kurtz and Anse Bundren? Imagine a unit that examines the tragic hero and patriarchy in King Lear, As I Lay Dying and Apocalypse Now. To liven the brew, learners are asked to include in...
EngageNY
Developing Reading Fluency: Criteria for Reading Aloud
Third graders develop their reading superpowers in a lesson plan on fluency. After first listening to an audio recording or teacher read aloud, the class works together identifying criteria for fluent reading, focusing on phrasing, rate,...
EngageNY
Developing Reading Fluency: Selecting a Text and Practicing Reading Aloud
Young readers continue to strengthen their fluency skills with a text of their choosing. The teacher first engages the class with an audio recording or read-aloud of a short poem, modeling for children how to read fluently. Next it's...
Curated OER
Facing the Ghosts of Our Past
A reading of a New York Times review of the movie Beloved launches research into how the Civil War affected the lives of people living during this period. Creative thinkers select a person from an included list of historical figures and...
Curated OER
Molded Clay Faces
Artists create clay masks using pre-formed molds, clay, glitter, feathers, gems, and paint. The expressive qualities of clay are perfect for creating many different types of face masks, from Mardi Gras glitter to Japanese Kabuki to...
Curated OER
Rational and Irrational Numbers 1
You'll need scissors, glue sticks, and mini whiteboards for this activity on rational and irrational numbers. Learners work in groups to classify a variety of expressions as rational or irrational. They are also given a mock discussion...
Perkins School for the Blind
Tactile quilts that tell a story
Learners with multiple disabilities need to engage in projects that push them to know their full potential. They need to be able to express themselves in a variety of ways, and this very thoughtful lesson does just that. They make a...
Curated OER
Laws of Motion
Do you need some new ideas for teaching Newton's Laws of Motion? This series of activities will spring your curriculum to life! Choose from five activities to demonstrate or have your science stars perform. As a result, they...
Curated OER
Law of Conservation of Momentum
A suggested sequence of events lays out five hands-on activities and four creative assessments on the conservation of momentum. Using spring scales and mail scales, junior physicists examine Newton's Third Law. After you have taught the...
Curated OER
Learning Sequence Item: Mitosis and Meiosis
Investigate the ins and outs of cell division with this comprehensive set of activities. Detailed instructions for six different activities and your choice of eight different creative assessments can be found within this resource. By...
Curated OER
Carnival of the Animals and Aquarium and Magic Fish
Engage little learners in this moderately developed three-lesson unit on the composer Camille Saint-Saens and his piece "The Carnival of Animals." Each lesson includes a listening, discussion, and an art project to engage your class in...
Global Oneness Project
A Day in the Life
We often see other countries depicted in movies, but getting a close look at a typical day in the life of a young person from another country isn't as common. Give your pupils such a look with a resource that helps class members...