Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Curated OER
Take It To the Bank
Examine how the economics of a school store relate to real world economics. Elementary students explore various websites, complete a Venn diagram, create a schedule of wages for the students, read the book "A Chair For My Mother" and...
US Holocaust Museum
Defying Genocide
Defying death. Defying those who want to do harm. Defying genocide. Pupils research the events in Rwanda to gain an understanding of what it takes to survive a horrific event like a holocaust. They use video, time lines, and Holocaust...
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Back-in-Time Travel Brochure
Create Ancient Egypt travel brochures. Research the culture of Egypt through the Internet and create an artistic travel brochure of the civilization. The final product is published for dispersal.
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Are Your Favorite Rockstars Poets?
Tenth graders decide if the song lyrics that they listen to, could be considered a sonnet or a poem. They are invited to explore lyrics and their meaning. Students write a persuading argument on whatever they decide, but it must be...
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A Listening Doll: Create Traditional Native American Storyteller Dolls
In this wonderful cross-curricular lesson, your youngsters will learn about Pueblo Indian storyteller dolls by creating their own! They discuss the tradition of story telling, especially in reference to Native Americans. Consider ending...
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Does 1 + 1 always = 2
What a great way to explore the scientific process! Learners conduct an experiment in which they use sugar and water to illustrate the concept of solutes and solvents. With this hands on approach, they are bound to remember what they...
Workforce Solutions
Discover Your Interests
For many high schoolers, what they want to be when they grow up can be very intimidating. Here's an activity that gets them thinking about their interests and how they might connect these interests to future jobs. After watching a short...
Curated OER
Puppet Show
Students create a puppet show for a play. They choose the puppet characters they wish to enact the play and develop scenarios.
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Rounding and Subtracting
Common Core is all about getting your learners to open their minds and think about the why and how. This problem has them thinking about unknown numbers and their relationship with one another when we round and...
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Looking for Trouble - Using the Internet to Research Structured Controversy
Discuss controversial issues with your charges. More importantly, discuss how you have to research both sides of a controversy before taking a stance. In groups, middle schoolers research the controversial issue of dog sled racing. They...
Curated OER
How Smart Growth Can Reshape Communities
Middle schoolers explore the concept of smart growth development. They create a class list highlighting the benefits of smart growth and then research, discuss, and present their findings on the benefits of smart growth and how it...
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Welcome to the World of Color Web Quest
Students research a specific color and create either a PowerPoint presentation, color brochure, or a movie about the research they found. Through research, they examine the meaning of color around the world and discover hos to choose a...
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Nellie Bly's Newspaper Club: Introducing the Art of Writing
Students use video and the Internet to research the life of Nellie Bly, a famous female reporter from the 19th century. They research a writer and present their information to the class in the style of a news reporter.
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Looking at Portraits: Literary Monuments
Examine artwork, research literature, and create art pieces for a monument to a literary figure. Young scholars analyze the sculpture Model for a Monument to Alexandre Dumas père and compare it to other well-known monuments. They...
Curated OER
Narrow It Down
Ever played 20 Questions? A similar game helps young learners practice asking and answering yes-or-no questions. Spread out several objects, preferably all similar with slight variations (buttons or coins would work well). A leader...
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Problematic Situation: Romeo and Juliet
Is it ok to be mad at someone who comes to your party uninvited? What about someone who interrupts you? For this prereading strategy, your class members must decide whether or not they'd get angry in the 10 situations provided. Then,...
PBS
Finding Story Ideas
Pitch your best news story to your news team, or the peers in your journalism class, with a lesson about finding, reporting, and presenting a story. After watching clips of different examples, as well as strategies for finding...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Alabama Tenant Farmers and Sharecroppers, 1865 to Present
The tenant farming and sharecropping systems that developed in the South after the Civil War, the reasons for their development, and the eventual decline of these systems are the focus of this two-day plan.
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Brainstorming for Consensus
Students practice brainstorming ideas about different topics. They discover how to come to a consensus about a given situation, by evaluating their brainstorming ideas.
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Confederation II : the Sequel
High schoolers examine the dynamics and challenges of creating a system of government that meet the needs of a changing, diverse population, for a new country. This is a nice simulation/role play of the formation of government.
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At What Price the Truth?
High schoolers read President Kennedy's speech to the nation on October 22, 1962. Using the text, they identify the deception by the Soviets. In groups, they create a comip strip showing what they believe might have happened had there...
Curated OER
Technology: Rating Inventions
Third graders brainstorm a list of inventions used daily. They use Kidspiration to create a web with inventions in the middle. Students choose three inventions from the web and rank them according to interest.
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What's Safe?
Students identify safe and unsafe activities. They identify what is allowed when their parents are home and when they are not. They complete a worksheet and discuss the different activities.