Curated OER
Identify Text Features in Nonfiction
What does a non-fiction text look like? Examine the text features of non-fiction. Middle and high schoolers read non-fiction passages provided by their instructor and analyze the texts for word choice, details, and organization.
Curated OER
Responses to Literature
Middle and high schoolers hone their writing skills by reading Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and the poem Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out. They fill out a graphic organizer (included here), and use the organizer to write an...
Curated OER
Using Details from Text to Identify Author's Purpose
Explore writing techniques by analyzing newspapers and magazines with middle schoolers. They will collaborate in small groups to read local news stories and identify the main ideas and author's intent. They also utilize an information...
Curated OER
Identify Intended Media Messages
How does media convey different messages? Use this lesson to explore media by identifying and analyzing selected images. Middle schoolers analyze a poster and discuss the intended meaning of the imagery and how it makes them feel. They...
Curated OER
Editing
Explore the writing process by reviewing previously written work. First, middle schoolers analyze a handout in which they must read the text and correct the mistakes with an editing checklist. They proofread their editing and share their...
Curated OER
Fact and Opinion Lesson Plan
How are fact and opinion different? Middle schoolers explore fact and opinion and write articles pertaining to a football match, eliminating all opinion statements in order to focus on the facts. Then they discuss bias in the media....
Curated OER
Conjunctions
Complete exercises for conjunctions in this conjunctions lesson. Middle schoolers work in pairs to combine sample sentences. They analyze the conjunctions and choose one to help them rewrite the sentences. Additionally, they may complete...
Curated OER
Discovering Math: Computation
Middle schoolers add, subtract, multiply, and divide rational numbers. They find the square and the cube of numbers. They create a game incorporating computation on rational numbers. Everyone works together to write and evaluate...
Curated OER
Discovering Math: Concepts in Geometry
Middle and high schoolers explore the concept of proving the Pythagorean Theorem. They research proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem. Pupils create posters of proofs, and research Greek mathematicians.
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast Zoo Animals
Young scholars explore similarities and differences between zoo animals through research on the Internet in this lesson for the middle school Science or Language Arts classroom. The lesson emphasizes the use of a T-chart or Venn Diagram.
Curated OER
Mathematical Jeopardy
Middle schoolers use the popular game of Jeopardy to explore different mathematical concepts. They are highly engaged with the use of technology for this lesson. They function using higher-order thinking skills in order to create their...
Elementary CORE Academy
Food Foldable
There's nothing as satisfying as a crunchy carrot or a juicy apple! Teach your middle and high schoolers about healthy eating habits with a set of nutrition activities. After analyzing the model of the food pyramid, learners apply the...
Wind Wise Education
What Causes Wind?
Through watching several classic air pressure demonstrations, middle schoolers determine that high pressure areas move toward lower pressure areas, heated air causes a drop in pressure, and forces exist when pressures are unequal. By...
Discovery Education
By the Foot: The History of Measurement
When is a foot not a foot? When you use the length of your own foot to measure distances, of course. To underscore the importance of standardized units of measurement, middle schoolers engage in a series of activities that ask them to...
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Factoring Quadratic Expressions
Factor in different strategies in a lesson for factoring quadratics. Young mathematicians first create tables and area models to factor quadratic trinomials into two binomials by guess and check. Learners then investigate how they can...
Curated OER
Kumeyaay Indians
Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...
Curated OER
Writing About Art: Subjective vs. Objective
Explore objective and subjective writing in this interdisciplinary instructional activity, which brings language arts and visual art together. Middle and high school learners examine the sculpture Head with Horns by Paul Gauguin. They...
Beyond Benign
Leave Only Footprints
You don't need to tip-toe around an enlightening resource. Young environmentalists learn about ecological footprints in the fourth instructional activity of 15. Answering a questionnaire helps them see how their own families and homes...
Beyond Benign
Decision Graphic Introduction
E is for economics, environment, and social equity. The fifth installment of a 15-part series has scholars first considering ecological impacts, such as determining how much water it takes to produce a can of soda. They then use decision...
Beyond Benign
Hit the Deck: Area and Perimeter Review
Designing a deck sure demands a lot of math. Future engineers and architects learn about the areas and perimeters of squares, rectangles, triangles, and composite figures. They apply their new knowledge to design a deck with a specified...
Beyond Benign
Water Waste
Explore the process of wastewater treatment. Scholars analyze different samples of water before drawing conclusions about the types of chemicals in the water that leaves our homes.
Beyond Benign
Drafting Bubbles
Let's start designing a house. Future architects create floor plans for a house given certain constraints. They calculate the area of each room in the house. This is the 11th lesson in a 15-part unit.
Curated OER
Arkansas State Mineral: Quartz Mineral
The quartz crystals found in the mountains of Arkansas are among the purest and clearest in the world! This lesson has middle schoolers focus on this state mineral of Arkansas as they study the state's geography. A fun game is...
Curated OER
How Much Does it Cost to Light Your School?
Students explore the cost of electricity used to light their classrooms. They compute the cost of electricity as well as the number of kilowatt hours of electricity used during the school year. Students compute the number of tons of coal...