Science Matters
Mighty Microorganisms
How can you tell if a microorganism is helpful or detrimental to an ecosystem? Learners inspect slides or pictures of microorganisms and record their observations to identify those that are beneficial or harmful. They then pretend to...
Science 4 Inquiry
The Ins and Outs of Photosynthesis
The most important chemical process on Earth is photosynthesis. Scholars explore the changes in the gases in our atmosphere as life on Earth developed. They create a model of photosynthesis and consider simple questions.
Social Media Toolbox
Reporting with Social Media
What does it take to create news stories that are both informative and objective? Aspiring journalists walk the line between engagement and activism with lesson plan 15 of a 16-part series titled The Social Media Toolbox. Grouped pupils...
California Department of Education
What Are My Options?
Where do I go from here? Start sophomores off on the right path using an activity designed with the future in mind. The final lesson in a five-part career readiness series helps individuals decide what's important to them before they...
California Department of Education
What Occupation Interests Me?
Is the secret to success turning an interest into a career? Eleventh graders explore the occupation-interest connection in a career education lesson plan. Individuals first take an interest inventory and then create a presentation about...
California Education Partners
Summer Olympics
Quickly get to the decimal point. The last assessment in a nine-part series requires scholars to work with decimals. Pupils compare the race times of several athletes and calculate how much they have improved over time. During the second...
Purdue University
The Represented World: Recreational STEM
How are forces and motion important to a swing set? Scholars explore the concepts of force and motion using swing sets. In preparation for their own STEM design project, individuals take surveys and data from peers, complete labs on...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Spotlight Cards
Not all heroes wear capes—or cleats. Class members identify unsung heroes in their schools or towns for interviews, then create trading cards. A celebration including presentations or trading of cards completes their investigation of...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Finding the Positive
To instill the importance of a positive classroom community small groups create a collage out of magazine clippings that highlight three characteristics of self-awareness. Written examples accompany the finished product. Groups turn in...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Respect for All Kinds of People Inside and Outside the School
Why is it important to embrace diversity? Scholars explore the topic by learning about the CARE acronym: Collaboration, Acceptance, Respect, Empathy. They also complete a diversity puzzle worksheet and play a collaborative game that...
C-SPAN
Middle School Checks and Balances
Seven video clips reveal how the checks and balances built into the constitutional framework of the United states' government are designed to keep any one branch from becoming too powerful. After watching each clip, groups identify the...
C-SPAN
Foreign Interference in U.S. Elections
With election security looming large for 2020, pupils decide what should be done to protect them from foreign interference. A series of videos, including interviews with national security officials, elected representatives, and experts...
Curated OER
Important Contributions to American Culture
Fifth graders explore the contributions of different cultures to the American landscape. Students work in groups and use a variety of resources to create a presentation about a group that emigrated to America.
Curated OER
Why is a salt marsh important?
Students discuss the salt marsh. They define the following terms: habitat, water, land and air. Students work in small groups. They are asked why are they going to a salt marsh? Students discuss whose habitat is it at the salt marsh.
Curated OER
Retell And Summarize Text
Help your learners read a text and summarize it using their own words. The main idea and important details of an article are discussed before individuals write their summaries. To support discernment about what to include in a summary,...
Curated OER
"Hello, I Am Deborah Sampson"
Fifth graders learn the role played by individuals during the American Revolutionary War.
Curated OER
Geo Jammin By Design: The Important Thing
Students brainstorm what they know about geometric terms and patterns. They identify symmetry, shapes and congruency. They create a book of symmetry.
Curated OER
Individual Rights -- Freedom of Speech at School
Students examine their individual rights at a public school. In groups, they identify the most common ways of expressing themselves and why they should limit their speech in public. They compare and contrast two cases in which they...
Curated OER
Assigning Roles: Becoming Advisors to Individual Nations and Assembling Country Profiles
Middle schoolers role play the role of advisors to countries on the issue of global warming. In their groups, they identify the main issues affecting their country along with any opposing viewpoints. They use the internet to research...
Curated OER
Roaring Twenties
Tenth graders reconstruct the typical elements in life during the Roaring Twenties in the United States including youth culture, mass entertainment, religion, and prohibition. They experience a related role play activity
Curated OER
IEP Meetings Aren't Just for the Special Education Department
All parties involved benefit when general education teachers attend and contribute to IEP meetings.
Penn State
The 4 A’S of Dealing with Stress
Stress is rampant in today's society, and it is important that we equip young learners with the tools to cope with stress in a way that promotes lifelong health, wellness, and productivity. Discover the four A's of dealing with stress —...
Judicial Learning Center
The Players in the Courtroom
Courtrooms are complicated. In addition to the many rules, there are a number of people whose jobs are not very clear to the casual courtroom observer. With the resource, individuals identify some of these roles and review more...
Health Smart Virginia
Building Self-Esteem and Self-Image
The ninth activity in the Health Smart series is designed to get high schoolers to understand the factors that make them feel the way they do about themselves, their bodies, and their self-worth. Pupils watch a video about teens and body...