Consortium for Ocean Science Exploration and Engagement (COSEE)
Plankton to Penguins: Antarctic Food Web
A well-written lesson plan, second in a series of four, gets high schoolers exploring how the Antarctic food web is impacted by climate change and the associated melting of polar ice sheets. It begins with a PowerPoint presentation about...
National History Day
Uncovering a World at War
Has media always had an influence on public policy? After researching and reading news articles written during World War I, learners understand the influence of communication and media. They discuss articles in small groups and as a...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Harriet Tubman and the End of Slavery
Harriet Tubman saved hundreds from slavery through what was called the Underground Railroad. Teach learners about her amazing accomplishments through the article that uses effective direct instruction. After reading, scholars break into...
Anti-Defamation League
Impact of the U.S. Expansion on Indigenous People and Stereotypes About Native American People
The 2004 U.S. bicentennial sparks a discussion about its meaning and importance to United States history. Readings, maps, tables, and reflective writing prompt small groups to explore the westward expansion, Lewis and Clark, and how...
Virginia Department of Education
Persuasive Writing
Grab a debatable (or controversial) moment from your current reading, and use this task to progress the persuasive writing skills of your high school scholars. Divide your learners into four small groups and let them collaborate, debate,...
Curated OER
Create a Word
Brainstorm new words for a class dictionary. In small groups, young learners read and discuss an article about how words get into dictionaries. They then develop a new word, use it in a sentence, and share their creations with their peers.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.1
Translate the first speaking and listening standard for yourself and your ninth and tenth graders! Learners can focus on communicating in small groups with the two activities presented here. Both activities center around group creation...
Virginia Department of Education
Box-and-Whisker Plots
The teacher demonstrates how to use a graphing calculator to create box-and-whisker plots and identify critical points. Small groups then create their own plots and analyze them and finish by comparing different sets of data using box...
Curated OER
Listen to Me Tell You the Story
Read a familiar story with repetitive lines that the class can remember. Afterward, make puppets and retell the story in small groups with an adult volunteer or an older child.
Curated OER
Planning to Parent: Am I Qualified?
In small groups, teens take on different roles to discuss the qualifications for parenthood. An instruction sheet for group discussion is provided, as well as homework worksheets. Throughout these exercises, young adults take the time to...
Curated OER
Finding Equal Groups
Build counting fluency in your kindergartners with this counting and grouping timed learning game. Provide various groups of objects to count such as a clear plastic bag filled with 7 beans or a cup with 5 pennies. There are many other...
Newseum
Decoding an Editorial Cartoon
What advantages do political cartoons have over written editorials? Scholars discuss the topic by exploring editorial cartoons. Working in small groups, pupils analyze an Uncle Sam cartoon and complete a worksheet. As a fun extension,...
Curated OER
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Day 2: HIV/AIDS - Understanding the Disease
One instructional activity in a series on sexually transmitted diseases, this activity is a good review about HIV/AIDS. Five main points in this instructional activity direct small groups of learners to read and present their...
Curated OER
How Far Can You Jump?
Students estimate the distance of student's broad jumps. This activity can take place in the block center with a small group of students. They are explained that they are going to jump from a starting point (marked with the masking...
University of Colorado
Looking Inside Planets
All of the gas giant's atmospheres consist of hydrogen and helium, the same gases that make up all stars. The third in a series of 22, the activity challenges pupils to make scale models of the interiors of planets in order to...
Curated OER
Puberty Changes- Lesson 1
It may take a few clicks to find this lesson on the Alberta Health Services website, but it's well worth it. This is Lesson 1 in a series of six lessons. After setting up the ground rules, discuss puberty and the changes that affect your...
Curated OER
Conventions - Punctuation Research
Study unusual punctuation marks in this punctuation lesson. Young grammarians work in small groups to research one of the unusual punctuation marks (semi-colon, colon, dash, comma, ellipses, or quotation marks) and discuss how the mark...
Curated OER
Iran Hostage Crisis: Reading Primary Documents
Following brief instruction about the Iran Hostage Crisis during Jimmy Carter's presidency, small groups read three-page sections from the diary of hostage Robert C. Ode. They write editorials from the perspective of either U.S. citizens...
Curated OER
George's Place
Here is another in the interesting series of lessons that uses money as a learning tool. This one is especially clever! During the lesson, pupils pretend they are eating at "George's Place" diner. Small groups are given one bag of play...
Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi
Find the Most Spectacular Volcanoes in the World!
Heat things up in your earth science class with this collaborative lesson on volcanoes. After first being introduced to the different types of volcanoes and how they are formed, young geologists work in small groups to research the...
Newseum
E.S.C.A.P.E. Junk News
Fair, balanced, and reputable information? There's an acronym for that! Scholars learn the E.S.C.A.P.E. method for evaluating news sources. Then, pupils work in small groups to read and analyze a news story and discuss the activity to...
Scholastic
Voyage on the Mayflower for Grades 3-5
Following an online activity, scholars complete a Grafitti Wall in which small groups write words and phrases on chart paper pertaining to Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and Thanksgiving. Pupils perform a close reading then answer a series of...
California Academy of Science
Be Prepared for an Earthquake
Earthquakes can be frightening and dangerous, but being prepared can make a world of difference. Perform an earthquake simulation during which the class practices how to drop, cover, and hold on as you read a script describing what might...
Virginia Department of Education
The Pythagorean Relationship
Add up areas of squares to discover the pythagorean relationship. Small groups create right triangles with squares along each side. They calculate the areas of each square and notice the relationship. Groups construct other types of...