Curated OER
How Do Adjectives Improve Writing?
Using adjectives to create vivid descriptions is the focus of exercises in this resource. A cloze reading activity asks class members to add missing adjectives to passages from Mark Teague's The Lost and Found. They then read Teague's...
Curated OER
I'm a Changed Pig
Introduce your class to fairy tales with this lesson. After reading the fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," third, fourth, and fifth graders write a personal narrative as a response to the fairy tale....
Curated OER
How Do Authors Use Imagery to Shape Their Writing?
Esther Forbes' award-winning Revolutionary War novel, Johnny Tremain and excerpts from Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine are used to model how imagery brings alive the setting of a story. The young writers then craft their own...
National Science Teachers Association
Hop into Action
Young scientists find out what makes amphibians such unique and interesting animals in this simple life science activity. After looking at pictures and discussing the characteristics of amphibians, learners complete a series of three...
US Institute of Peace
Responding to Conflict: Negotiation—Identifying Wants and Needs
Let's make a deal! Are real negotiations as simple as they are in the game show? Scholars learn the art of negotiation during the 8th lesson in a series of 15. The activity kicks off with a fun group negotiation, then explores the topic...
Curated OER
Connect the Spheres: Earth Systems Interactions
Is everything really connected? Take your class on a walk outside, where they will make observations and write them down on a worksheet. Once they are back in the classroom, learners will work to determine if and how things like birds,...
TESCCC
Place Value to 999,999
Master place value with a series of lessons that use math journals, manipulatives, and place value mats. Kids follow the instructions to represent numbers of all sizes with base ten blocks and recording sheets.
Aquarium of the Pacific
Lego Molecules
Young scientists construct an understanding of molecular compounds in this hands-on science lesson plan. Using LEGO® to model the atoms of different elements, students build molecules based on the chemical formulas of common compounds.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
Wrap-up a unit on global climate change with a lesson that examines the causes and effects of climate change. Learners fill out a chart that represents what they think causes climate change—natural and human-based—and what they think...
Curated OER
Our Classroom Constitution
Develop a system of classroom rules created by the kids, for the kids with this three-part instructional activity series on the US Constitution. After learning about the structure of the Constitution and the government it established,...
Institute for Teaching through Technology and Innovative Practices
The Right Number of Elephants
How can you tell if a number of items is reasonable? Combine math and language arts with a fun lesson based on Jeff Shepard's The Right Number of Elephants. After reading the book, kids discuss amounts of other items and create minibooks...
TryEngineering
Recursion: Smaller Sibling Pyramids
Get siblings to do your work. Scholars learn how to perform summations of arithmetic sequences in an innovative lesson. They use iterations, smaller siblings (tail-end recursion), and the divide-and-conquer approach.
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
You know climate change is happening when you see a bee take off its yellow jacket. Part four in a series of five lessons explores all factors affecting climate change: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and carbon dioxide. By...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Evaluating Online Sources
All sources are pretty much the same, right? If this is how your class views the sources they use for writing or research projects, present them with a media literacy lesson on smart source evaluation. Groups examine several articles,...
Facing History and Ourselves
Stereotypes and “Single Stories”
Help bring subconscious stereotypes to the surface to stop it in its tracks. Pupils first read an excerpt describing the experience of prejudice and analyze how this process connects to World War II. Then, they write a creative story...
Virginia Department of Education
Rational Expressions
Demonstrate the progression of operations with rational expressions through a multi-day lesson, equipped with worksheets for each day. High schoolers develop the concepts needed to perform operations with rational expressions. They learn...
Curated OER
Story Pyramids
Young writers generate descriptive words. They use pictures of various landscapes (from books, magazines, or the Internet) and complete a story pyramid. The pyramid (included here) asks to describe the main character, the setting, and...
EngageNY
Planning for When to Include Dialogue: Showing Characters’ Thoughts and Feelings
Young writers examine dialogue conventions, including indentation, quotation marks, and expressing thoughts and feelings through a fictional text. By noticing where and when authors use dialogue, they decide how to incorporate dialogue...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Self-Concept: Self-Esteem
Most teenagers struggle with self-image and self-esteem. Guide them through these stormy waters with a series of activities focused on positive messages, true friendship and support, and self-concept.
Code.org
Algorithms Detour - Minimum Spanning Tree
This optional lesson introduces the class to the idea of a minimum spanning tree. The activity focuses on determining an algorithm that will find the most efficient path in a network to transfer data.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Ellis Island—The “Golden Door” to America
Are you one of the 100 million Americans whose ancestors passed through the doors of Ellis Island? Learn about the historic entry point for immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with an informative reading passage. After...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Causes and Effects of Climate Change
It's time for your class to literally show what they know! Pupils illustrate what they learned about the causes and effects of climate change by filling out a graphic organizer to complete the 5-part series of lessons. They discuss them...
EngageNY
Informational Essay Planning: Analyzing and Selecting Evidence
Class members look again at the end-of-unit essay prompt for A Mighty Long Way. After reviewing the requirements of the essay, they use their Gathering Evidence note-catchers and color-code the evidence that matches the two questions in...
EngageNY
Final Performance Task: Sharing Visual Representations of Position Papers
It's time to put down those pencils and celebrate! Scholars share the visual representations of their position papers with the class. They participate in a gallery walk to view each other's work, writing a piece of praise for their...