Student Achievement Partners
Laura Hillenbrand's "Unbroken" and Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston's "Farewell to Manzanar"
Passages from Unbroken and Farewell to Manzanar provide the context for a study of the historical themes of experiencing war, resilience during war, and understanding the lasting trauma of war. Appendices include extension activities,...
Curated OER
Create Learning Experiences with The Polar Express
Center content-integrated lessons around the timeless holiday book, The Polar Express.
Curated OER
But I'm Not a Writing Teacher!
How teaching writing skills in the science classroom will benefit your students as they transition to Common Core.
The Kennedy Center
Fairy Tale Variations
Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and song....
Curated OER
Reporting from the Front Lines
Students examine the battle of Gettysburg as they write news articles. In this Battle of Gettysburg lesson, students become familiar with the job of the news reporter as they report on the events of the Battle of Gettysburg as they write...
Curated OER
A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words
Students explore the power of images through political cartoons, particularly in light of the Danish caricatures of Muhammad that have incited violence around the world. They create their own original artwork to submit to an appropriate...
Curated OER
Designing a Real Life Ecosystem!
Students research abiotic and biotic factors concerning the concept of an ecosystem. Record and analyze data collected. Write a lab report in proper and scientific format with thinking and analytical skills. Work as a cooperative team.
Curated OER
Welcome to the Blogosphere
Create a blog spot for your classroom and promote online discussions. There are several blogging websites listed here, and you can create one specific to each class or one collective site. Teach your learners how to post on the blog, and...
Curated OER
Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Kidspiration
Second graders view a video about butterflies and recall its life cycle. They will also complete a Kidspiration slide show to illustrate the life cycle of a butterfly and study a word list of butterfly vocabulary to include in their...
Smith Family Home
Transportation
Here's an interesting lesson that combines elements of language arts, sociology, and a study of the many ways that people use transportation to get from one place to another. The eight-page plan includes worksheets and a word search that...
Facing History and Ourselves
Preparing Students for Difficult Converstaitons
Many of the issues facing 21st Century learners are challenging and even discussing these issues can be a challenge. So how do teachers prepare learners for these difficult conversations? How do instructors create a safe classroom where...
Curated OER
Spirit Bear Speaks
Students read an online article about Canadian efforts to preserve Great Bear Rain Forest. They create ecotourism brochures on the forest and write and essay.
Curated OER
Speaking in Tongues
Students examine their own family history of languages and investigate local and regional resources available to immerse themselves in a foreign language and culture. They write applications seeking an imaginary grant to fund their...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Building
A fabulous language arts instructional activity has readers focus on the vocabulary in the key words, expand and build new vocabulary, and practice three grammar concepts. They recognize key words as they relate to communicating at work....
Journey Through the Universe
Impact Craters: A Look at the Past
The Galle crater on Mars is also known as the Happy Face crater because of its appearance. First, scholars use pebbles and flour to simulate craters and study their properties. They then apply this knowledge to help decipher the history...
Curated OER
Recycling Who cares?
Students participate in activities to understand the feelings of the community about recycling. In this recycling lesson plan, students look at opposing views on recycling.
Yale University
Islamic Art; Exploring the Visual Arts of the Middle East
The intent of this unit is to demonstrate some of the traditional arts of the Middle East. Extensive background information on the religion, culture, and nature of Islamic art found throughout the Middle East is provided. Each of the...
Curated OER
Seeing and Feeling Sound Vibrations
Groups rotate through a series of stations and work with a partner to observe sound waves. Children describe sound in terms of pitch, volume, and frequency. To apply their new knowledge, the class considers how these observations can...
Curated OER
Read to Learn
Students explore the concept of community helpers. In this community helper lesson, students brainstorm the community helpers in their neighborhood after reading a book about jobs in the community. Students then host a community helper...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: Performing Arts
The classical arts have made a lasting impact on our society and your advanced learners get to find out why. The activity starts as the children create a list of the arts found in society, they discuss how these art forms impact their...
Curated OER
You Are What You Eat: Lessons from Alice Waters
Students view the AMERICAN MASTERS episode titled ALICE WATERS AND HER DELICIOUS REVOLUTION. They examine their own eating habits and determine how they can eat food that is both healthier and tastier. Through Guided Reading strategies,...
Curated OER
The Civil War: A Nation Divided
Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...
Curated OER
Maps and Legends by Micheal Chabon
Students read an essay to improve language skills and understanding of American culture for ESL teachers. In this American culture lesson plan, students read the essay 'Maps and Legends' by Michael Chabon and complete various activities...
Curated OER
Recruiting a Few Good Citizens
Students write persuasive speeches to recruit soldiers for a Civil War company. In this Civil War U.S. history and writing lesson, students work in groups to create a recruiting poster and write a speech to persuade soldiers to join...