National Endowment for the Humanities
Using Historic Digital Newspapers for National History Day
Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement and passage of the Thirteenth...
Prince William Network
Migration Math Madness
A great way to incorporate math into life science, this lesson has learners measure migratory routes on a map and calculate the actual distance that shorebirds on the routes would cover. Learners compute the distance covered in both...
Curated OER
Map Coordinates: Monkey Map
Here's an engaging, meaningful, and clever lesson on map skills for elementary schoolers. Pupils combine story writing with mapping skills to create an original piece of work. They utilize a worksheet embedded in the plan to guide them...
Curated OER
Flight Dreams - Folding into Flight
Combine measurement, following directions, physics, and art with one fun activity. Learners read a set of instruction to create three different kinds of paper airplanes. They measure, fold, and fly the planes, and record data and answer...
Asian Art Museum
Defining "Home"
Open-ended dialogue and guiding questions lead children through a discussion about the relationship between physical objects and personal identity. They analyze the work of two contemporary Japanese artists who have use their mediums to...
Asian Art Museum
Community Identity?
To better understand the contemporary arts movement in Japan, learners engage in a guided discussion. They view several photograms by the artist Kunie Sugirua, then discuss the elements of art and techniques used to create each piece....
Physics Classroom
Action at a Distance Lab
The concepts involved with static electricity are typically taught in upper elementary physical science units. The lab described in this resource has pupils examine the behavior of small pieces of paper and a balloon when a charged piece...
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Fred Seibel, the Times-Dispatch, and Massive Resistance
A lesson plan challenges scholars to analyze editorial cartoons created by Fred Seibel, illustrator for the Times-Dispatch, during the Massive Resistance. A class discussion looking at today's editorial pages and Jim Crow Laws leads the...
Curated OER
Dictionary Dig
Students practice their alphabetizing through practice with a dictionary. They use alphabetizing skills to place words with proper guide words and to look up words in a dictionary.
Curated OER
Haunting of Third Grade
Third graders discuss the meaning of the word "haunted." They watch as the teacher demonstrates using a sticky note to mark words that they find interesting in their reading. Students read chorally, then break into groups for a...
Curated OER
Science Summaries are the Bomb!
Fifth graders read a dissection article and complete close reading activities for the text. For this reading skills lesson, 5th graders read an interactive frog dissection article in teams. Student teams complete a KWL chart and write a...
Curated OER
Predictable Chart/Sentence Building with "Goodnight Moon"
First graders work on a series of modeled reading and writing lessons based on "Goodnight Moon." students work on pages of a predictable class book.
Curated OER
Trash! How Cities Work: Dealing with Garbage in the US and India
Students identify how different cultures deal with the challenge of trash. Read an excerpt from a chapter book based on real life written from the Southern Indian perspective. Describe the life of a street child in Southern India....
Curated OER
"Swamp Monsters" by Mary Blount Christian
Using the book Swamp Monsters by Mary Blount Christian, young readers discuss key vocabulary terms and make predictions about swamp monsters. They complete a Cloze activity, explore past-tense verbs, and categorize vocabulary words.
PE Central
Food Groups and the Food Guide Pyramid
Students read and explain food labels and decide in which part of the food guide pyramid selected food items belong.
Curated OER
Well-behaved Women [and Men] Seldom Make History
Students examine historical context. In this historical perspectives lesson, students read and discuss instructor-selected picture book biographies. Students then complete graphic organizers based on the challenges the main characters...
Curated OER
The Three Billy Goats Gruff
First graders read key sentences from the story on sentence strips. They read the story with a partner and act out the story, taking turns acting the parts of the various characters.
Curated OER
Journey to Topaz, a Literature Based Approach
Students view a video clip of the experiences of Japanese-Americans during World War II. They read parts of a book in which a child tells her story about living in the internment camps. They participate in a simulation activity as well.
Curated OER
Summarization Superstars
How do you read when you know you're going to be summarizing a text? Summarize a nonfiction text with your upper elementary schoolers. Your pupils independently read a nonfiction article and write a summary paragraph using the six-step...
Curated OER
Mosetsana
Students read and discuss a poem about the issues of gender, education, and family written by a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in South Africa. In this poetry lesson, students read the poem 'Moetsana' and discuss the issues South Africa...
Curated OER
The Shape of Me and Other Stuff, by Dr. Seuss: A Class Mural
A cut and paste mural activity is a fun activity to complete after reading a Dr. Seuss book. In this shape recognition and art lesson, students read the book The Shape of Me and Other Stuff and discuss the main idea. A class mural can be...
Curated OER
Welcome Back to the Computer Lab: Starting a New School Year
Get kids re-oriented to the computer lab for back-to-school. The constructivist approach in this session allows children to exert ownership of their behavior in the computer lab. Read aloud a few books about good and poor manners, as...
Curated OER
Persuasive Writers
Use the power of the pen to persuade others to get involved in community issues! Individuals reflect on personal service learning activities and the writing process. They compose essays regarding service to others. While designed for...
Curated OER
When Disaster Strikes: Flooding in Pakistan
Students complete various activities after reading about flooding in Pakistan. In this lesson on humanitarian efforts, students read about flooding that occurred in Pakistan, discuss what they have read, and synthesize the information...