Curated OER
Methods of Teaching Evolution To Middle School Children
Young scholars study evolutionary thought. They examine how characteristics are inherited and that they are a source of variation. They illustrate the perpetuation, elimination, and variation made among members of a species. They...
Insurance Zebra
Insurance Curriculum for Middle and High School Teachers
Liability, deductible, premium ... what do these words mean, and how do they relate to insurance? Scholars complete a pre-test, matching vocabulary activity, and insurance timeline worksheet and become familiar with these terms. Next,...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—12th Grade
Two sample lessons from a curriculum unit on bullying provide high school seniors with an opportunity to assess their online and cell phone behavior and to consider how they can offer support to bullied students. Each plan includes an...
Bully Free Systems
Bully Free Lesson Plans—11th Grade
It takes courage to stand up to bullies. Two sample lessons from a complete Bully Free curriculum, "Courageous and Brave Bystanders" and "Assertiveness Skills for Bullied Students and Empowered Bystanders" provide participants with...
Curated OER
Rhythmic Expression
Learners discover movement and expression to music/sound through a series of teacher-led exercises and role plays. This lesson is ideal for the middle school drama class with possibilities for adaptation to any level of drama or general...
Curated OER
Tessellation Lesson Plan
Young scholars produce original tessellations, using equilateral triangles where three unique symmetrical faces rotate, use shape, pattern/repetition, and color to create a striking composition, and create "beasties" inspired by...
Baylor College
Microbes and Disease
Discuss how diseases have impacted human history. Divide your class into groups and assign each group one of the following: tuberculosis, malaria, plague, cholera, smallpox, and AIDS. They read up on, complete a concept map, and present...
National First Ladies' Library
Designing the Common School: The First Educational Reform
Middle schoolers perform preliminary research to explore education before public (common) education was in place. They design a public educational system of their own. Students construct a report outlining challenges and solutions for...
Curated OER
Folktales: Oral Traditions as a Basis for Instruction in our Schools
Pupils visit their school library to read a variety of folktales. While they read, they identify the trickster or hero in each and discuss how the character represents the chaos in the real world. In groups, they write their own...
PwC Financial Literacy
Buying a Home: Terms of a Mortgage
Buying a home, dealing with a lender, securing a mortgage; these are daunting tasks for many adults. Why not teach middle schoolers about this area of adulthood so they are better-prepared to make the leap into home ownership when they...
PwC Financial Literacy
Saving and Investing: Investing for the Future
A fine lesson on saving and investing is here for you and your middle schoolers. In it, learners explore the values of time and money, and discover how small amounts of money invested over time can grow into a large "pot of gold." They...
Curated OER
The Feudal System: Castles at War
Students study the feudal system of the Middle Ages. In this Middle Ages lesson, students watch "The Feudal System at War". Students listen to an instructor-delivered lecture regarding the roles of monarchs, nobles, knights, and...
Curated OER
Sun and Weather
How is the Earth's weather created? Middle schoolers will explain how the Sun's energy is transformed into different forms. They will perform mathematical calculations of volume, mass, and temperature. They they will explain the...
Curated OER
Using Poetry in Teaching Reading to Special Education Students
A series of well-written activities, these lessons prompt middle schoolers reading below grade level (at a second, third, or fourth grade level) to use poetry to practice basic reading skills. They rhyme, build words, make inferences,...
Curated OER
Teaching Reading Comprehension through Social Studies Readings
Examine how immigrants have changed the environment of the United States. Individually, middle schoolers will take a pre- and post-test to assess their reading comprehension. In groups, they compare and contrast the religions of...
Curated OER
Word Problems Dealing with Ratio and Proportion
Mindful middle-schoolers read and solve a number of word problems. Learners copy and discuss what they believe their strategies are in solving each problem. They also write their findings and share with the rest of the class.
Curated OER
Ecology Explorers
Students create accurate, detailed map showing physical features, plants and trees, and other details of three school sites.
Anti-Defamation League
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Civil Rights
How far have we come and how far do we still need to go to achieve equality and full civil rights in the United States? Include a packet of materials collected in your observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Beyond Benign
Real Cats Wear Pink
Does your cat sneak up on you in the middle of the night? Maybe it would help if he glowed in the dark like Mr. Green Genes, the first fluorescent cat in America. In a fun and engaging lesson about genetic engineering, high school...
Beyond Benign
Intended Occupants
Here's a lesson you can really build on! Middle schoolers describe the occupants of an imaginary house during a character-building lesson. They create a cast of characters who share living space and provide details about their attitudes,...
Curated OER
The Sands of Arabia
Sixth graders apply geographic information to the study of World History. In this Geography instructional activity, 6th graders create a political/physical map of the Middle East, develop questions and answers about the culture of the...
Curated OER
Tolerance and Genocide
Students investigate the causes of genocide. In this cultural diversity lesson, students discuss genocide incidents in Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. Students then write essays about what they would do if their cultural...
Curated OER
The Status Of Private Schools In Utah
Students investigate the status of private schools in Utah. This done by looking at the public school system and make comparisons. The question of private schools being better is not clear and many factors need to be considered in...
Curated OER
Basil Heatter, "The Long Night of the Little Boats"
“It was a miracle.” Basil Heatter’s “The Long Night of the Little Boats,” which details the miraculous rescue of the British army from the shores of Dunkirk in 1940, is featured in a series of exercises that ask class members to read,...