Curated OER
Critical Thinking About Government
Students research the Comox Band's system of government and report on what kind of government they think would work for them. In this government lesson plan, students decide between a hereditary system or an election system of...
Scholastic
Mathematics
Three word problems prompt young learners to review their test-taking skills. Each problem provides five possible answers, allowing kids to use the most efficient strategy when solving for the answer.
Curated OER
Back to School: Style Analysis
Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...
Wharton County Community College
Byron, Shelley, & Keats (Later Romantics) Presentation
Rock stars are cool, but not as cool as the ones from the nineteenth century Romantic Movement. Present critical biographical information on the big three, Byron, Shelly, and Keats, before you dive into analysis of their major poems. The...
NPR
Distracted by Everything - Being Wired at All Times
This multimedia activity challenges media-savvy learners to look at the critical issue concerning the inundation of technology and multitasking in the classroom, and its effects on the education of themselves and others. The tasks...
Tennessee Technical University
Carousel Brainstorm
A variation of the Walkabout Review process, carousel brainstorming directs groups to rotate through a series of stations posting ideas on the topic or question posted at each stop.
Curated OER
Non-Verbal Communication
Many developmentally disabled students struggle with accurately conveying messages and interpreting those of others around them, especially when they are non-verbal. This lesson contains fun activities and exercises, such as talking with...
Curated OER
Winter Wonderland: Internet Literature Project
Students, using the Internet, communicate with peers around the world about winter-themed books. They study authors, write book reviews, re-write endings, interview book characters, create scene dioramas, paint murals, and write...
Curated OER
Explorers in Kansas
Fourth graders read cards about the explorers: Coronado, Lewis, and Clark, Pike, and Long. In this influential expeditions lesson, 4th graders describe and observe explorers who came to Kansas. Students locate main reasons and details as...
The New York Times
Fiction or Nonfiction? Considering the Common Core's Emphasis on Informational Text
Nothing aids in comprehension more than an explanation and understanding of why things are done. Address why the Common Core requires the reading percentages that it established and analyze how this affects your readers. Learners read...
National Library of Medicine
Electricity, Frankenstein, and the Spark of Life
Shocking! After viewing a short clip from the 1931 movie, Frankenstein and reviewing electricity references in Mary Shelley's novel, class members examine Luigi Galvani's and Alessandro Volta's observations on electricity and muscle...
Cliffs Notes
Don Quixote: Study Help Essay Topics and Review Questions
In this literature learning exercise, students respond to 26 short answer and essay questions about Cervantes's Don Quixote. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
ReadWriteThink
What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose
Introduce middle schoolers to the different strategies used when reading prose versus poetry. Groups use a Venn diagram and a poetry analysis handout to compare the characteristics of an informational text and a poem on the same subject...
US Institute of Peace
Identifying Elements of Conflict
What lies at the heart of a conflict? Help pupils peel back the layers during an in-depth study of the elements of conflict. A lesson addressing peacekeeping and conflict management examines the historical, emotional, and societal...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Let’s Throw an Electric Science Party!
Are you looking for a shockingly good lesson? Check out one that has middle schoolers recreate four of Benjamin Franklin's experiments. Groups investigate, observe, and draw conclusions about static electricity and electrical current....
Novelinks
Where the Red Fern Grows: Question Answer Response Strategy
What makes a good question? Middle schoolers explore the use of questioning through QAR, the question answer response strategy, while reading Where the Red Fern Grows. They learn about the four types of questions: right there, think and...
Beyond Benign
Writing the Principles
What is the difference between chemistry and green chemistry? The first lesson of the 24-part green chemistry series introduces scholars to its 12 principles. The tendency is toward nontoxic materials and sustainability.
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: June 2014
Should companies track consumers' shopping preferences without their permission? Using the resource, scholars write source-based argumentative essays to answer the question. They also answer reading comprehension questions based on an...
College Board
1999 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
A released Advanced Placed exam provides scholars with an opportunity to practice their English language and composition skills. After reading two passages about Florida's Okefenokee Swamp, they write essays analyzing how the distinctive...
Nemours KidsHealth
Media Literacy and Health: Grades 9-12
An essential skill for 21st-century learners is to know how to find reliable sources of information. Two activities help high schoolers learn how to determine the reliability of health-related news from websites, TV, magazines, or...
National Park Service
The Battle of Stones River: A Contrast in Leadership Styles
US Commanding General William S. Rosecrans led the Union soldiers and Confederate Commanding General Braxton Bragg led the rebel army at the Battle of Stones River. Young historians compare how the leadership styles of these two...
Academy of American Poets
Teach This Poem: “As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days” by Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman's poem "As I Walk These Broad Majestic Days" offers scholars an opportunity to practice their noticing skills. They first examine a postcard of the Newport News Shipyard listing things they notice about the image and how...
Newseum
Propaganda Through History: Analyzing Historical Sources
Working in teams, pairs, or individually, scholars select one resource from a gallery of historical sources and consider which examples might be considered propaganda, the techniques used to persuade audiences, and evaluate how the...
Nebraska Department of Education
Resources and Barriers
The journey along the the road of life is filled with roadblocks and detours, but not every traveler is equipped with the same advantages. As part of a career study unit, high school freshmen analyze the resources used by someone they...