Curated OER
Ho'opiha - Growing in Knowledge: Terrarium Project
Students explore environmental protection by conducting a research experiment in class. In this botany lesson, students identify the necessities for growing a plant indoors and create a small terrarium for their plant. Students observe...
Curated OER
Pen Pal Project
Second graders write letters to a pen pal in proper letter form. In this writing lesson, 2nd graders discuss why they would write to a pen pal, brainstorm the elements that should appear in their letters, then write the letters. To close...
Curated OER
Sticking to a Budget
Set scholars up for financial success by throwing them into the hypothetical real world.
Happy Housewife
Homemade Christmas Gifts
Running low on money? Out of ideas for gifts? Feeling crafty? Whatever the reason may be, homemade gifts are perfect for the creative person or the person trying to save a dollar here and there. Packed with hands-on crafts for kids, the...
Curated OER
Pioneering Principles: Why Character Matters
What does it mean to "be of good character"? What are the qualities that define such a person? The 1825 Colonization Law of Coahuila y Texas required that all new immigrants into Mexican Texas present documentation that they were of good...
British Council
Unit 1: Email addresses
E-mail is a communication sensation! Young job seekers discover the essential knowledge required to thrive in an online world in the first of a nine-part series of career education and skills lessons. The resource covers e-mail address...
Curated OER
Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book Lesson
Dr. Seuss's ABC Book is used to help young readers distinguish between the letters of the alphabet and their letter sounds. After a discussion reviewing the letters that are vowels and consonants, the book is read to the class. Then, the...
Curated OER
Ant Bodies
Students name the three parts that comprise an insect body. In this ant lesson, students make connections regarding the curiosity of insects as it touches upon the students' personal perspectives. Students then observe ants in class and...
Curated OER
An Author Report on Beverly Cleary
Students examine Beverly Cleary as a reader and an author. They write a letter to Beverly Cleary that details their personal journey as readers and writers after reading her work and keeping a reading journal.
Curated OER
"In God We Trust": The Camden Man Who Put the Missing Motto on the Dollar Bill
Here is a fascintating lesson which relates how the motto "In God We Trust" came to appear on all US currency. It turns out that a man from Arkansas came up with the idea and petioned his congressman and President Eisenhower himself to...
Balanced Assessment
Confetti Crush
In the first part of a middle school assessment task, learners analyze a given statement about the amount of confetti revelers throw at Times Square on New Year's Eve. The second part of the task requires learners to identify objects...
National Park Service
Fitting In
Birds help other birds find food? Scholars are placed into one of five groups of different birds. Each group then "feeds" on letters of paper in a field and gather five pieces per person. As each group plays, more food is exposed,...
US Institute of Peace
Becoming a Peacebuilder
"Be the change you wish to see in the world!" The 15th and final lesson in a peacebuilding series uses this quote from Gandhi to prepare pupils for their own action projects. Individuals research a global issue, then brainstorm a method...
Curated OER
Persuasive Journal Prompts
Need a journal topic? Whether you use these prompts as part of a persuasive writing unit, or reproduce the download as a one-page handout for your class members, the suggested topics make a great addition to your curriculum library. In...
Curated OER
9/11: The Flight That Fought Back
Who is the al Qaeda and what happened on September 11? Older students will explore the political objectives of al Qaeda and possible reasons for the September 11 terrorist attacks by watching a video program and working through evidence...
University of Pennsylvania
Decoding Propaganda: J’Accuse…! vs. J’Accuse…!
Reading snail mail is a great way to go back into history and to understand others' points of view. The resource, the second in a five-part unit, covers the Dreyfus Affair. Scholars, working in two different groups, read one letter and...
Curated OER
Oral History: Park City Museum
Bring U.S. history to your language arts class with this activity. Middle schoolers complete an interview for an oral history project, and discuss the importance of oral histories - and how they embellish written accounts. They write...
Civil War Trust
Genealogy
The Civil War is undoubtedly a part of America's history, but could it be part of your pupils' history as well? Middle schoolers conduct research to discover a connection between their ancestors and the American Civil War. Whether they...
Computer Science Unplugged
Conversations with Computers—The Turing Test
Will the real computer please stand up? The premise of this activity is for the class to ask questions to a human and to a computer and to determine which is which. The class asks a given set of questions, and the person playing the role...
Peace Corps
Community
What is a community? Find out with a lesson that sheds light onto the different types of communities—school, local, and global. Scholars read informational text detailing the life of a young girl from Cape Verde and take part in a...
Urbana School District
Waves
What is a physicist's favorite part of sports? Doing the wave. The presentation covers longitudinal, transverse, surface, and standing waves. It includes in-depth information on frequency, wavelength, period, amplitude, reflection,...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
7th Grade Poetry: Assess
To assess what scholars have learned throughout a five-lesson poetry unit, seventh graders first craft a Shakespearean sonnet based on a poem they have studied. In part two of the assessment, scholars complete a four-texts performance task.
Curated OER
The Life of a Veteran
Students interview a veteran or he/her family to gather information about the person's life. They produce an iMovie that describes the veteran's military experience.
Curated OER
Career Development: Interviewing
Prepping pupils for the real world is a vital part of our job. This activity focuses on getting upper graders ready for their first post-collegiate job interview. They will prepare a resume, research a potential company to work for, and...