Curated OER
What is a Seed?
First graders identify the parts of a seed. In this plant biology lesson, 1st graders are given a seed and identify each part of the seed by using a hand lens. Students plant a seed and graph the growth.
Discovery Education
Sonar & Echolocation
A well-designed, comprehensive, and attractive slide show supports direct instruction on how sonar and echolocation work. Contained within the slides are links to interactive websites and instructions for using apps on a mobile device to...
Curated OER
Assessing the Traits: What is Good Writing?
Young scholars examine samples of writing and discuss the score it received. They brainstorm what qualities make a good writer and stories.
Curated OER
Integrated Lesson Plan
An ambitious and engaging instructional activity on the Westward Movement for your young scholars to enjoy! Groups of learners rotate between learning tasks such as learning about the Chislom Trail, Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. A...
Curated OER
Information Shuffle
Gather some information, print it onto sentence strips, and then have your class physically shuffle the cards to better understand the importance of organizational patterns in writing. Middle school learners examine information for a...
Curated OER
My View's Write!
After researching issues involving panthers, middle schoolers practice writing persuasive letters. They become familiar with a controversial issue related to panthers and write their position on the issue. This lesson would be a good...
Curated OER
Exploring Arizona's Biotic Communities Lesson 4: Which Team Are You On?
Who is not drawn to trading cards? In this lesson, junior ecologists create a trading card of an animal or plant from one of Arizona's biotic communities. Gorgeous sample cards are provided in the lesson plan as well as a plethora of...
Curated OER
Magical Musical Tour: Using Music Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements
While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet. Although designed for gifted learners, the...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches by...
NTTI
Hey Good Lookin', Whatchya Got Cookin'?
What better way to explore working with fractions then by using them when cooking? In this instructional activity, students use video, the Internet, and real world, hands-on learning activities to enhance their understanding of...
Curated OER
European Explorer IMovie
Film is a wonderful way to communicate any concept or idea. Fifth graders will use IMovie and GarageBand software to create a IMovie about one of eight European explorers. They will chose an explorer, research his travels and life, then...
Curated OER
Noncombatancy and the Seventh day Adventist Church
Upper graders investigate how the Seventh Day Adventists are objectors to the practice of war. The lesson covers the Civil War and examines the church's position about the practice of war. The research extends to modern wars and learners...
Curated OER
Information Problem Solving
Students present information about an author of young adult literature using a HyperStudio stack.
Curated OER
Information Problem Solving
Middle schoolers locate the specific elements of text and illustrations that communicate setting, characterization, and plot in order to evaluate how the text and illustrations work together to communicate effectively.
Inside Mathematics
Quadratic (2006)
Most problems can be solved using more than one method. A worksheet includes just nine questions but many more ways to solve each. Scholars must graph, solve, and justify quadratic problems.
ReadWriteThink
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words: From Image to Detailed Narrative
A picture's worth a thousand words—and even more inspiration! A visual activity uses photographs to inspire writers. The process teaches aspects of narrative writing, such as point of view and characterization.
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Imaginary Creatures
Drama and movement are wonderful ways to cover story elements such as setting, character, and descriptive writing. Little ones listen to a poem about imaginary creatures. As they listen, they shape their bodies into what they think the...
Noyce Foundation
Boxes
Teach your class to think outside the box. Scholars use the concept of equality to solve a problem in the assessment task. They determine how to use a scale to identify the one box out of a set of nine boxes that is heavier than the others.
Curated OER
The Prince and the Pauper
Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version. This lesson includes several culminating project ideas for...
NOAA
Into the Deep
Take young scientists into the depths of the world's ocean with the second activity of this three-part earth science series. After first drawing pictures representing how they imagine the bottom of the ocean to appear, students...
Cornell University
Constructing and Visualizing Topographic Profiles
Militaries throughout history have used topography information to plan strategies, yet many pupils today don't understand it. Scholars use Legos and a contour gauge to understand how to construct and visualize topographic profiles. This...
Northeastern Educational Television of Ohio, Inc.
Feudalism Play
Using research notes on feudal roles in medieval Europe, learners work cooperatively to write a play about one day in the life of a boy or girl in the Middle Ages.
Curated OER
Back-in-Time Travel Brochure
Create Ancient Egypt travel brochures. Research the culture of Egypt through the Internet and create an artistic travel brochure of the civilization. The final product is published for dispersal.