Curated OER
Looking for Trouble - Using the Internet to Research Structured Controversy
Discuss controversial issues with your charges. More importantly, discuss how you have to research both sides of a controversy before taking a stance. In groups, middle schoolers research the controversial issue of dog sled racing. They...
Curated OER
A Visit to China
Sixth graders study the history of China. They explore the Chinese people, the Great Wall of China, religions, government and Dynasties. In groups, 6th graders collect information on China. They write a report on their findings and...
American Institutes for Research
Digital Smiles
Explore metric measurement, recording data, and creating an electronic spreadsheet displaying results with your math class. Scholars will measure the length of their smiles, record the measurements, and represent the results on an...
Curated OER
Water, Water Everywhere
Young scholars devise a system for watering classroom plants during school year and summer breaks. In this watering system lesson, students work in teams to investigate water needs of plants and develop systems that will keep the plants...
Center for History and New Media
Slavery and Free Negroes, 1800 to 1860
What was life like for enslaved and free black people before the American Civil War? Explore the building tension between states and the freedom of individuals with a thorough social studies lesson. Learners of all ages explore primary...
Curated OER
How Weather Affects Our Lives
English learners practice basic weather terms from listening to two books. They keep a daily weather record for two weeks to record the type of weather, as well as the high and low temperatures for each day. Next, they complete a simple...
Curated OER
Designing the Future of Technology
Conduct research focused on improving a current technology by having students work in groups to investigate improvements that could be made to a particular piece of technology. They list the current problems and attempt to develop...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
A College Student's Perspective on WWI
Some things remain the same, such as the world being on the brink of war, or college attendees writing home requesting money. As part of their research into events that led up to President Wilson's declaration of war on Germany, class...
Curated OER
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Christmas Bells
Students read and analyze the anti-slavery poem, "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. They discuss the content and form of the poem, write an essay, write an original poem, examine how this anti-slavery poem was converted...
Dream of a Nation
Big6 Research Project
Do research projects at your school look like a class of eighth graders staring at a blank screen? Use the Big 6 research method to guide middle schoolers through the process of finding a topic, searching for and evaluating sources,...
Curated OER
Owls: Top of a Food Chain
Although written for middle schoolers, there is no reason that a 3rd, 4th, or 5th grader could not also learn about food chains through the dissection of owl pellets. After you introduce the topic, learners complete an owl research...
Curated OER
Shakespeare Was A Black Woman
"I all alone beweep my outcast state." After a discussion of the "Shakespeare in American Life" segment in which Maya Angelou's relates her reaction to Sonnet 29, class groups create and perform a scene about an outcast that includes the...
Curated OER
Making a Chiminea
A chiminea is an outdoor fireplace usually made from terracotta. Your class will make miniature versions of this useful heating device to practice specific sculpting techniques. This instructional activity spans four days. It includes...
University of Minnesota
Beautiful Brain: Brain Inspiration
"Neuroscientists consider Cajal as important to their discipline as Einstein is to physics." The first of four lessons has scholars view Santiago Ramon y Cajal's drawings of neurons. They reflect and respond to the art through writing...
Curated OER
Literature Through Silent Movies
Young scholars watch Charlie Chaplin films and discuss film elements. They select a story written by Edgar Allen Poe to write and produce a movie of. They film scenes, edit, and create a final iMovie project.
Curated OER
Is That How it Happened?
Younsters are exposed to classic stories of Arkansas Folklore including The Arkansas Traveller, and Davy Crockett. They discuss if the stories they hear are examples of folklore, or some other kind of story. Then, each puil is required...
Quia
Charlotte’s Web Lesson Plan
Make your classroom into a place of kindness and compassion with E.B White's Charlotte's Web. The first four pages of the lesson plan guide you through several steps and projects, including discussions on Charlotte and Wilbur's...
Curated OER
What Did it Look Like When Europe Met America?
Students view the film 'Black Robe,' which further develop students' abilities to see an event or era of history from multiple perspectives. After the movie, they utilize worksheets imbedded in this plan to write about what they've seen.
Curated OER
Mystery Pen Pal
Learners investigate different cities and states in the USA, and practice their letter writing skills while corresponding with a pen pal.
Curated OER
Scene Writing
Eighth graders create an original scene or short one-act play within specified guidelines. Assessment is based upon the performance of student-created scenes during class time. Rubrics for assessment and connection to state standards...
BBC
Rights and Responsibilities
Middle and high schoolers engage in a lesson about rights and responsibilities, and the differences between them. After a class discussion, pupils break off into pairs and come up with mimes that respect or abuse a specific right such...
Curated OER
Addition
Explore the concept of number bonds with your young elementary students. They will become familiar with the number bonds to 10, 20, and 100, and then play games to practice these skills. This is a differentiated lesson which includes an...
Curated OER
Castle Blue Eagle
Sixth graders read the legend of King Arthur. They complete comprehension activities and research life in the Middle Ages. In groups, 6th graders complete several projects including making shields, crowns, and stained glass art designs.
Curated OER
Another Trip to the Nurse's Office
Students consider the role of the nurse at their school. Using Internet resources and archived articles, they gather information regarding relevant health topics. Students use their information to create pamphlets on health topics...