Institute for Humane Education
Where Are the People like Me?
Are some characteristics more desired than others?Scholars examine attributes of characters in books, models in catalogs, and articles in magazines. Discussion leads to identifying characteristics they see more often as well as...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
A Century of Plastics
After reading about polymer materials, engineer trainees examine how plastics have been integrated into everyday products. In groups, they compile a list of products made entirely without plastics and then, as a closing activity, try to...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Words in Context, Meaning Maker
Support children with finding meaning in unknown words using this graphic organizer. While reading a piece of writing, learners identify unfamiliar words, using context clues and reference materials to find and record definitions before...
Macmillan Education
Networking
"It's not what you know, it's who you know." Learners discuss and analyze this age-old adage by completing life skills worksheets, collaborative activities, and discussions regarding the nature of networking and how it may improve future...
Lakeshore Learning
Presidents' Day Poem
What a great way to combine English language arts with your celebration of Presidents' Day! Youngsters are guided through the reading of a poem sung to the tune of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" on the jobs of the president of the United States,...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 3, Unit 1, Lesson 1
Clear up the misconceptions about autism and individuals on the autism spectrum with an inquiry-based instructional activity. As ninth graders read the first four pages of Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of...
Curated OER
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Chapter 1 Reading Check
Good worksheets pinpoint key events and get readers thinking about the choices writers make when crafting a story. Here's a good worksheet. Designed to be used with the first chapter of Of Mice and Men, consider having your pupils...
Scholastic
Point of View
The point of view in a story can dramatically change the story itself. Focus on finding the points of view in various reading passages with a language arts packet, which includes fiction and nonfiction text.
Curated OER
Home Living / Daily Living: Dressing for the Weather
What to wear? Help your special needs class make independent choices about what they should wear during various weather conditions. They'll discuss weather-appropriate clothing, dress dolls for the weather outside, and even put on a...
Illustrative Mathematics
Running Around a Track II
On your mark, get set, GO! The class sprints toward the conclusions in a race analysis activity. The staggered start of the 400-m foot race is taken apart in detail, and then learners step back and develop some overall race strategy and...
Curated OER
Two Truths and a Lie: Internet Research Skills
It's tough for high schoolers to assess what is a credible resource and what is not. A helpful resource prompts class members to research a particular topic and record two facts—and create one lie—while documenting the sources. They then...
Illustrative Mathematics
Extensions, Bisections and Dissections in a Rectangle
Gaining practice in translating a verbal description into a diagram and then an equation is the real point of this similar triangles exercise. Once the diagram is drawn, multiple methods are provided to reach the conclusion. An effective...
Curated OER
Greed is Good?
From Mr. Merdle to Mr. Madoff? A viewing of the PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” launches an examination of greedy characters in literature and a study of greed, unfairness, and economic hardship today. The richly...
Illinois State Board of Education
Common Core Teaching and Learning Strategies
Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library, whether or not your school has adopted the Common Core. Designed for middle and high school language arts classes, the packet is packed with teaching tips, materials,...
Curated OER
Go for the Gold!
The options are vast with this Ancient Greece and Olympics research project! Using Scholastic online resources, historians have interactive and educational supports to guide them through researching and writing about the 2004 Olympics in...
Curated OER
Modern Minstrelsy: Exploring Racist Stereotypes in Literature and Life
Satires may be designed to expose a bias to ridicule but if misunderstood can they reinforce that bias? Langston Hughes poem, “Minstrel Man” opens a discussion of racist stereotypes, the minstrel tradition, and the musical, “The...
Media Smarts
Perceptions of Youth and Crime
Explore the potential for bias in the news and in scholars' own attitudes and opinions. Begin with a quiz on youth crime to see how learners perceive crime among their peers. After looking at the correct answers, put individuals in...
Curated OER
Straight to the Source
Research famous figures from history through the primary sources they created! Explore how these types of documents can enrich our study of the past with your middle and high school learners. They create picture books to illustrate...
Little Bit Studio
Bugs and Buttons 2
Playing with bugs and buttons has never been so much fun! Offering a variety of different activities, this is a great resource for developing basic skills in preschool and kindergarten-aged children.
Curated OER
Laughing Matters
Is laughter really the best medicine? Middle and high schoolers discuss the truth behind this adage by reading and discussing a New York Times article about Dr. Patch Adams. They participate in a round-table debate in response to...
Curated OER
Creature Seekers
Does it actually exist? Consider the sighting of a giant squid, much like the one that appears in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Middle and high schoolers read the article One Legend Found, Many Still to Go, and research other mysterious...
Curated OER
Denial on Trial
What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...
Curated OER
The War of the Words
“Who’s This Guy Dylan Who’s Borrowing Lines From Henry Timrod?” The basic question in this lesson from the New York Time’s Learning Network is whether artists and authors who use the words of others are stealing from that artist or...
Curated OER
Arti-Factual Evidence
Practice responding to controversial information with the New York Times lesson provided here. Middle schoolers watch a video interview with the director of The Lost Tomb of Jesus. After reading a companion article, they identify the...