Curated OER
People Behind the Parks
Explore U.S. geography with your class by viewing a documentary. Show a portion of the Ken Burns documentary "The National Parks," and identify the individuals responsible for keeping the parks in order. Elementary and middle schoolers...
Curated OER
Guess That Sequence!
Students explore number sense by completing problems in class. In this patterns lesson plan, students examine a group of numbers and identify what the pattern is and how it should correctly continue. Students practice utilizing number...
Curated OER
The Daily Idiom
What is an idiom? Learners identify and read common idioms. They discuss what idioms are, and are given a black line master embedded in the plan that has 100 common idioms. Next, they complete "The Daily Idiom" worksheet, which is...
Curated OER
Sunny Symbols
After listening to a series of stories about signs and symbols associated with the United States, pupils discuss the importance of the sun in Native American legends and as a representation of New Mexico. As part of this exploration,...
Curated OER
Massive Migrations
Here is an exciting exploration of a fascinating topic for your emerging ecologists: bird migration! They begin by visiting the US Fish & Wildlife Service website to discover which Arctic birds come to their areas. They are assigned...
Curated OER
Tallying Local Species to Learn About Diversity
Using this thoroughly-written plan, you can have your junior ecologists exploring local biodiversity. They take a journal outdoors to tally the species that they see. An article is included along with comprehension questions. The author...
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Two: Why is Biodiversity Important?
Explore soil, genetic traits, natural resources, and pollution in a series of lessons that focus on biodiversity. Kids complete experiments to learn more about the importance of varied genes and organisms in an ecosystem.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Section Three: What's the Status of Biodiversity?
Biodiversity is essential for every habitat, but many species are at risk due to pollution and other factors. Explore several different species native to Illinois in a gallery walk with posters that learners have created after research...
Curated OER
The Giver: K-W-H-L Strategy
Explore the theme of release and death in Lois Lowry's The Giver with a K-W-H-L chart. After noting what they already know, kids come up with a list of questions about topics that they would like to know about, as well as how they will...
Curated OER
Everyone's a Critic: Analyzing Sitcoms as Cultural Texts
Start by defining the word sitcom with the goal of launching a discussion. What exactly is a sitcom? How is a sitcom different from sketch comedy, drama, and reality television? Class members give examples, remember storylines they've...
Curated OER
Newspapers in the Digital Age
Is journalism more or less reliable with the influx of Internet sources? Learners investigate the issues of freedom of speech, journalistic ethics, and social responsibility in the age of Twitter and Facebook. After examining the...
Curated OER
Identifying Career Interests in the Volunteer and Government Sectors
Here is a great way to give your class a real-life job experience, while also serving the community. They explore a variety of volunteer opportunities to build career interests, gain work experience, and help their community grow. This...
Curated OER
How to Make a College Plan
Log on and create learner accounts on the Big Future website, then let the lesson begin! Pupils log onto the website to explore college options. They use the tools provided to create a step-by-step college plan. This will help relieve...
University of Chicago
Comparing Modern and Ancient Ideas of Ethnicity and Identity
Explore ethnicity and identity with a research and writing assignment. Class members conduct online research, looking in particular at images and carefully noting down their sources on notecards. They read about identity and compose...
Forest Foundation
Fire Investigation and Experimentation
Assess the probability of a wildfire with several lessons about fire danger ratings and risk factors. After experimenting with fuel moisture, learners explore the various elements that could contribute to a wildfire, such as wind speed,...
Curated OER
Locating Information Quickly in a Variety of Resources
Here is a lesson which may be best suited for a library science teacher, or one that can be done by a regular teacher when in the library. In it, learners explore the best ways to use print and electronic resources to find information...
San Francisco Symphony
Music and Early Man
Creative projects are great ways to increase interest in topical research. Middle schoolers learning about primitive life styles in the Americas explore the importance of music to hunter gatherers. They research and create musical...
Minnesota State University
Media Portrayal of the Vietnam War
History classes can explore two different depictions of the Vietnam War experience with this engaging resource. While watching clips of Platoon and reading excerpts from the comic, The 'Nam, students take notes for use in completing a...
Curated OER
Bering Sea Buffet - A Foodweb Activity
Life in the Bering Sea, food webs, and the ocean ecosystem are introduced with a map activity. The lesson starts as kids explore maps and images of the Bering Sea, then it kicks into high gear as they start to discuss the types of...
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: FAQs about P Waves, S Waves and More
Let's talk about earthquakes .... Using the Internet, pupils research what causes earthquakes, how scientists measure them, their locations, and their effects. The resource is not only informative, but it also builds crucial research...
Curated OER
Water Down the Drain
Did you know that leaky faucets waste $10 million worth of water? Conservationists perform an experiment and draw best-fit lines to explore how the US Geological Society determined this value.
EngageNY
The Concept of a Function
Explore functions with non-constant rates of change. The first installment of a 12-part module teaches young mathematicians about the concept of a function. They investigate instances where functions do not have a constant rate of change.
Discovery Education
Drive it Green
Explore and brainstorm innovations for cars with a STEM lesson that asks scholars to weigh different options when considering when buying a car. They research the fuel efficiency and carbon emissions for various options, and then design...
NPR
Progressive Era Lesson Plan
The women working for equal rights in the early 20th century weren't a part of one large group; rather, they were members of dozens of small groups focused on social reform. Explore the ways groups in the Progressive Era like National...