Museum of Tolerance
Why is This True?
Are wages based on race? On gender? Class members research wages for workers according to race and gender, create graphs and charts of their data, and compute differences by percentages. They then share their findings with adults and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Climate Change Around the World
You know climate change is happening when you see a bee take off its yellow jacket. Part four in a series of five lessons explores all factors affecting climate change: temperature, cloud cover, precipitation, and carbon dioxide. By...
Teaching Tolerance
Community Spotlight Cards
Not all heroes wear capes—or cleats. Class members identify unsung heroes in their schools or towns for interviews, then create trading cards. A celebration including presentations or trading of cards completes their investigation of...
Curated OER
What Really Happened?
Students read about the settlers in one of the first American colonies. They brainstorm ideas about what they think happened to the settlers. They write their version of what happened at Roanoke Island Colony.
Curated OER
Mardi Gras Madness
CStudents create a sensory chart in on the topic of Mardi Gras. They design a brainstorm web using Inspiration and complete creative writing assignment. Students write a poem about Mardi Gras that is presented to the class at the final...
Curated OER
Volcanoes
Second graders review the characteristics and aspects of volcanoes. Using this information, they write a creative story and draw illustrations to accompany the words. They use geographical terms to describe a location and the physical...
Curated OER
China CultureQuest
Students use the internet and other tools to examine the culture of China. In groups, they brainstorm a list of topics they want to know more about and practice writing Chinese letters. They create a collage to show the class what...
Curated OER
Animal Research Paragraph
Students investigate animals. In this animal research lesson, students choose an animal to research online and record facts from at least 3 types of resources. Students complete a webbing tool, write a paragraph, and use MS word or...
Curated OER
Color Poems
Young scholars listen as the teacher reads several poems from the book "Hailstones and Halibut Bones," "My Many Colored Days," and a teacher created poem. Students choose a color and share some brainstorming ideas with the class. They...
Curated OER
Emotion Similes
Students define what a simile is before writing a poem that is based primarily on similes. They brainstorm and write the poem using the give format. They write drafts, revise and present a final poem.
Curated OER
"Ode to the Bluebonnet"
Fourth graders create an acrostic poem using the word "bluebonnet" They brainstorm adjectives and descriptive phrases for the bluebonnet and its habitat. They read The Legend of the Bluebonnet, by Tomie de Paola. students integrate...
Curated OER
Unleashed: Poems by Pets
Students create a poem from the first person perspective of a pet. In this Writing/Poetry instructional activity, students read a short poem from, Unleashed. Students brainstorm what their animal may say. Students write a poem using the...
Curated OER
Setting Goals for Success
Students construct SMART goals. In this goal-setting lesson plan, students discover how to write a SMART goal for their student portfolios. Working in pairs students write short-term goals that will build towards a long-term goal.
Curated OER
Writers Workshop
Students work together to brainstorm using a software program. Individually, they decide on a topic to write about and begin their pre-writing activities. They write about their topic using the pictures they previously drew and...
Curated OER
From Graphic Organizer to Comparison
Fifth graders brainstorm a variety of topics for writing. As a class, learners create four types of graphic organizers on selected topics. They discuss how to use graphic organizer in constructing a written paragraph.
Curated OER
Inventors
Students brainstorm a list of inventions that have affected their lives. In groups, they use the internet to research a specific inventor and their invention. They use the information to write two paragraphs and share their information...
Curated OER
This Place is Just Like the Other
Students write paragraphs that compare and contrast the geographical characteristics of Arizona and the Southwest region. In this geographical characteristics lesson plan, students complete a diagram and discuss how Arizona differs from...
Curated OER
What Do You Do With An Orphaned Cheetah?
Students brainstorm techniques for teaching baby cheetahs survival skills. In this science lesson, students view an episode of "Cheetah Orphans" and work together to analyze the situation and develop a plan to teach the baby cheetahs the...
Curated OER
Message in a Bottle
Sixth graders write a short story about being stranded on a deserted island. After a brief geography review of locations at various latitudes and longitudes, 6th graders draft their story about being stranded. They use sensory and...
Curated OER
Outer Space Creature
Students read poems by Shel Silverstein about planets and outer space. As a class, they compare and contrast his descriptions to actual facts which have been discovered through explorations. They write a description of an outer space...
Curated OER
Interesting Beginnings: An Autobiographical Sketch
Students discuss the characteristics of an autobiography. Individually, they complete a graphic organizer and a timeline of events about their life. In groups, students brainstorm ideas for an interesting sentence and write an...
Curated OER
Treasures of the Silk Roads
Students examine and discuss art objects from the Silk Roads. They analyze images of artifacts, create a word map, and develop and write a short story or poem based on the slides viewed.
Curated OER
The Art Of Persuasion
Pupils engage in a instructional activity that is concerned with the concept of persuasion and how it is used in a writing context. They create persuasive letters addressed to the president of the United States. Students brainstorm to...
Curated OER
Treasures Along the Silk Roads
Ninth graders examine the travels of the Silk road. In this Ancient China instructional activity, 9th graders analyze slides of artifacts as cultural and social representations of the Silk Road civilizations. Students create a word map...