Curated OER
Nonfiction Genre Mini-Unit: Persuasive Writing
Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
Honesty
Get your youngsters talking about what it means to be honest, and how difficult it can be to try to cover up the truth, with one of the several collaborative activities listed in this resource.
Common Sense Media
Show Respect Online
Through discussion and a variety of worksheet types, pupils learn to review their e-mails for grammar, appropriateness, and respect before sending.
EduGAINs
Preparation for Transitions and Change— Guidance and Career Education
Every hopeful in your class has gone through some kind of life change, from parents' divorce to a death in the family to moving up into another grade. Encourage them to discuss these changes, the skills they used and acquired during...
Federal Judicial Center
Amistad and Dred Scott—a Comparative Activity
What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....
Missouri Department of Elementary
Keep Finding the Positive
Group members take on roles to create a positive classroom community. Learners perform their role—leader, recorder, presenter, timekeeper, encourager, and collector—in preparation for a formal presentation of their positive thinking...
Curated OER
Validating Votes
Explore the discrepancies in Florida's vote counting process in 2000 and 2002 with this New York Times reading instructional activity. Middle schoolers study the viewpoints presented in informational text, paying attention to how word...
Curated OER
Topical Discussions
Engaging in topical discussions can be a great way to teach kids how to build strong arguments and support their opinions with concrete evidence. High schoolers choose a controversial topic, build an argument for or against that topic,...
Curated OER
Picture This
A unique writing lesson, this plan begins with learners talking about multiculturalism in small groups. Each learner will choose a picture from a newspaper, describe it to their small group, and think about how it relates to...
Curated OER
Dusty Locks and the Three Bears
Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture to...
Curated OER
Financial Institution Comparison
Once learners are ready to choose a bank, how do they make a smart decision for their financial needs? Scholars help each other by jigsawing the research in groups. After introducing checking and savings accounts with the attached...
Curated OER
Dance Sequences and Phrases
A series of lessons about dance would be a great addition to your physical education class. Straightforward as well as creative, it teaches the basic skills of dance movement. A rubric helps guide the dancers to let them know what steps...
John F. Kennedy Center
Folktale Theatre
Introduce your middle schoolers to a performance and movement activity that uses their favorite stories from fairytales and folklore. They practice basic acting skills, create dialogues with a partner, and then as guided practice,...
Curated OER
Learning to Interview
An authentic and engaging way to practice literacy skills, this lesson calls for young language arts pupils to conduct interviews with classmates and family members. First, pupils watch as the teacher models the interview process with a...
US National Archives
The Royal Seal What Can It Tell Us?
Analyze the images and details of the Great Seal of Queen Elizabeth I, and discover clues that reveal how one of the greatest monarchs in the history of England wished to be seen and respected. This is a great way to discuss how even to...
Curated OER
Tech: Medical Forensics
High schoolers explore what it takes to be a forensic scientist or pathologist. They view a PowerPoint, discuss what education and skills are needed to succeed as a pathologist. They play a game to test their observation skills, a skill...
Curated OER
Insect Investigation
Investigation is a brilliant way to spark scientific inquiry. First graders will identify, research, and report what they have learned about a mysterious bug found on the playground. They will use multimedia resources for research and...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing: Using Art to Inspire description
Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...
Curated OER
Discussion Guide for The Catcher in the Rye
Is Holden Caulfield a trustworthy narrator? Groups work together to find evidence in The Catcher in the Rye to support a yes or no stance.
Curated OER
Regarding the Fountain: A KWHL Strategy
A KWHL strategy prepares young readers for the different type of writing found in Kate Klise's story of the Dry Creek Middle School drinking fountain. Step-by-step directions, student and teacher copies of the KWHL template, and...
Berkshire Museum
Meet a Naturalist: Researching, Writing, Interviewing
Young scholars reach out into the community and learn about different environmental science careers in this inquiry-based instructional activity. Beginning with a short research assignment, children gain background knowledge about...
Career Solutions Publishing
It’s For Real Workplace Ethics
Discuss the ethical and practical consequences of dishonesty at work by analyzing a hypothetical situation in which a young employee at a pizza shop is being asked by her friends for free meals.
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a great story to share with your class, and this lesson focuses on just that story! The eighth in a fourteen-lesson series on short stories, the plan has learners study some vocabulary, read the story,...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Teach English, Teach About the Environment
Spread the message of recycling while teaching your English language learners new vocabulary and practicing verb tenses. Included here are four lesson plans for each level (beginning, intermediate, and advanced) as well as accompanying...