Higher Order Thinking Skills Teacher Resources

Second graders research and explore lives of famous scientists, analyze accomplishments of scientists, and create presentations. Six lessons on one page.

Students read and discuss the book, The House On Mango Street. They debate the concept of marriage, discuss the characters, and analyze key concepts of the book.

Fourth graders brainstorm the differences between the fossil fuels that people use in their transportation now and what they could use to minimize greenhouse gas emissions. They use a variety of techniques from webquests to writing...

Fifth graders take a clear stance on the Revolutionary way by choosing the side of the patriot or loyalist. They compare and contrast the positions of both the loyalists and the patriots using a graphic organizer. Using the information...

Students explore the topic of public conservation. In this Florida panthers instructional activity, students read a scenario about the endangered panther and collaborate to plan a way to protect the panther population. Students also...

Middle schoolers are introduced to pre- and post-reading strategies. Individually, they read excerpts of a story while making predictions about what they believe is going to happen next. After reading the selection, they answer...

Students examine Leopold's Land Ethic involving illegal river dumping. They consider the dilemmas of the case study and share their ideas for a solution using group discussion and individual answers.

Second graders compare and contrast the lives of Pilgrims and Wampanoag. Students conduct research using an interactive website and collect information about each group. Students then decide which they would rather be, a Pilgrim or a...

Students research the Titanic using fiction, nonfiction, images, and Internet based resources. They determine if it is appropriate to raise and save the Titanic and its artifacts before planning and writing an opinion piece which defends...

Students explore extinction.  In this biology and environmental science lesson, students define extinction, identify what living things need to survive, and create a persuasive poster about "saving the big cats" using a desktop...

Students keep a scientific research notebook on an invertebrate detailing its behavior and responses.

Students create a Venn diagram to compare the Pilgrim's "First Thanksgiving" with today's Thanksgiving celebration. They use one type of graphic organizer, a Venn diagram, talk and read about the Thanksgiving celebration of 1621 at...

Students make a table on the computer, but create fractions and equivalent fractions through the use of color. They are able to manipulate fractions in order to gain a greater understanding of the meaning of whole number that is broken...

Fourth graders examine facts and opinions given by William Fairfax Gray in his diary, compare and contrast ideas expressed in his diary, express opinions using correct language arts skills, and calculate answers to given mathematical...

Students look at a day's accumulation of recyclable trash from first through fifth grade classrooms, not knowing which classes it came from. After setting up a collection sheet for data, students remove items from the receptacle and...

Students view a variety of pictures of frogs and discuss camouflage and habitat adaptation. Students look at color, skin texture, shape, size, eyes, and surroundings as well as the need for the camouflage. Students then design a frog...

Seventh graders conduct an investigation into the design of bridges and their construction. Students design bridges and draw detailed plans. For assessment they construct a model of a bridge that is made entirely of toothpicks. Students...

Students participate in an activity to discover vocabulary necessary for website design. They observe a demonstration of website design using HTML code and then design two simple web pages with specific criteria. The final project allows...

Students identify the types of transformations in their lives. As a class, they determine the ones they have control over and which ones they do not. They practice solving problems in math and oral communication that they are faced with...

Students investigate birthdays.  In this literacy cross curriculum lesson, students listen to the book Arthur's Birthday by Marc Brown.  Students re-read the book orally, graph birthdays, design a word search, and create...

Young scholars investigate Thanksgiving by reading a children's book.  In this holiday lesson, students read Arthur's Thanksgiving by Marc Brown and create a turkey fact book after reading an electronic encyclopedia.  Young...

First graders discover the different names and classifications of big cats by using word processing applications.  In this animal life lesson, 1st graders investigate one big cat and create a database of facts about it using an word...

Students explore the sounds of big cats. In this animal science activity, students listen to the sounds of the big cats, such as lions and tiger, on a suggested website. Students research how the big cats use their sounds and write a...

Students view art images of Norman Rockwell's family traditions and celebrations. They search the internet for information, and complete reflective and creative writing and sketch assignments. Students recognize and name emotions shown...