Curated OER
Poet James Whitcomb Riley: Famous in His Own Day
An engaging biography of "Hoosier" poet James Whitcomb Riley serves as a springboard for study of his unique dialect-based verse. Several activities illuminate differences between spoken vernacular and formal language. Learners record...
Curated OER
How To...
Young scholars create "how to" presentations using speech skills, the Inpsiration educational software, digital cameras, and iMovie (or similar presentation software) in this technology-based Language Arts lesson. The lesson includes...
Curated OER
Stop Signs, Musical Notes, Letters & Logos: Designing Symbols
Learners develop an awareness of environmental print, such as signs, logos, brand names, and other print and non-print items that the children see and read in their neighborhood each day. They then engage in active problem solving as...
Curated OER
The Heart of the Matter
Upper elementary pupils learn about the blood transportation system and anatomy of the human heart. They fill in an outline of the human heart (not included) focusing on the flow of blood to and from the heart. Using stethoscopes, they...
Curated OER
Latinos in the United States of America
Pupils explore a website about Latinos in the U.S., and answer worksheet questions about information on the website. They create a puppet show, organize a press conference, or create a brochure regarding Latinos living in the U.S.
Curated OER
Images at War
Students examine American attitudes toward war as revealed in Civil War photographs and WWII homefront posters. They analyze and discuss photos, explore the National Archives website, and organize a statement of their findings.
Curated OER
Rewriting Shakespeare
Have your learners play around with Shakespeare's language. In this plan, small groups examine and rearrange soliloquies from Othello, noting how the language changes and morphs. All groups have a chance to change each soliloquy, making...
Curated OER
Your Tax Dollars at Work
In order to understand how tax dollars are spent, young economists use given data and graph it on a circle graph. Circle graphs are highly visual and can help individuals describe data. A class discussion follows the initial activity.
Curated OER
Breaking up a Poem
Seventh graders break down the barriers in reading, speaking, listening, writing and understanding poetry. As a whole group, they establish their own criteria for line breaks by discussing questions and taking notes on a PowerPoint...
Curated OER
Role Playing Free Speech
Students conduct research into looking at a free-speech issue. They role play the events surrounding a court case. The lesson includes guiding questions to help create context and determine areas of further study. The presentation...
Curated OER
The Effect of Temperature on Cricket Chirping
Learners examine the effect of temperature on how often crickets chirp. In groups, they complete the experiment and answer lab discussion questions. They create a graph of temperatures and the amount of chirps and discuss the results.
Curated OER
Pigs in a Pen
Kindergarteners explore numbers, counting, and one-to-one correspondence. Through demonstrations and hands on activities using math manipulatives, they discover several number concepts as well as practice counting throught rote...
Curated OER
High-end/Low-end: Exploring Price and Value in Design
Students analyze elements of design and compare/contrast elements of price and design. In this design lesson plan, students consider the differences between high-end and low-end design. After completing an analysis of design in small...
Curated OER
Lights, Camera, Campaign
Students employ their technology skills to produce campaign commercials. In this political campaign lesson, students discover the appropriate uses of video cameras and create fictitious campaign commercials.
Virginia Department of Education
Media Literacy and Persuasive Writing
Investigate ways to persuade by introducing learners to the three rhetorical appeals (Pathos, Logos, Ethos). Pupils receive a worksheet for their definition development of the terms and coinciding vocabulary words. The activity continues...
Carnegie Mellon University
Bathtub Model
Using a colorful infographic handout and a guide sheet, hold a class discussion about how a bathtub can serve as a model for the greenhouse effect created by Earth's atmosphere. Participants will understand that as energy or matter is...
Michigan State University
Interviewing
Do you have pests at your school? Find out through a series of interviews with school personnel. Scholars visit a variety of knowledgable individuals to ask them questions, record their answers, and present their findings to their peers.
Curated OER
Iggy the Penguin
Take your young word detectives on a hunt for the /i/ sound. Use the tongue twister about Iggy the penguin to help learners identify the target sound. Then learners are given several words, and they have to use their detective skills to...
Curated OER
I'm a Creature, You're a Creature, Wouldn't You Like to Be a Creature, Too?
Third graders demonstrate an understanding of the lifestyles and habits of the underwater life presented in the previous unit. They classify the various sea creatures according to the ecosystem and then use drama skills to present...
Curated OER
What is Good Use of Time?
Students analyze the best uses of time in other cultures. In this time use instructional activity, students read the poem 'Soccer Into Dusk' and 'The Meaning of Time' as analysis of time usage in other culttures. Students complete a...
Curated OER
House of the Spirits: Fun Trivia Quiz
This quiz about Isabel Allende's magic-realist novel, on the syllabus for many 10th graders, comes with well supported answers that could foster discussion, incite rereading, and enhance comprehension. If you have computer access in your...
Curated OER
The Gerund Phrase
Do your young grammarians need extra practice identifying gerund phrases? After reading a short definition and studying examples, learners underline the gerund phrases in 20 sentences. This worksheet could be used as the basis of a...
DePaul University
Breaking the Food Chain
Throughout history, the growth of big cities has resulted in the destruction of ecosystems. In the case of Chicago, IL, a grassland that was once home to bison, deer, wolves, and foxes quickly became a booming city of over three million...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Media Literacy with Focus of Strategies for Collaboration
Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.