University of Connecticut
More Than Just Dust Bunnies
Teenagers will never complain about cleaning their rooms after this activity. In the first lesson of a four-part series, budding scientists collect samples of dust, chalk, and other particulates from various areas of the classroom. They...
University of Colorado
The Jovian Basketball Hoop
Can you listen to Jupiter on a simple radio? Turns out the answer is yes! The resource instructs scholars to build a simple radio to pick up the radio waves created when the charged particles from the sun hit Jupiter's magnetic...
EngageNY
An Exercise in Creating a Scale Drawing
Design your dream classroom. The lesson plan contains an exercise to have teams create a scale drawing of their dream classroom. Pairs take the measurements of their classroom and furniture and create a scale factor for them. To finish...
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You
Ask not what the lesson here can do for you, but what you can do with the lesson. The answer is quite a lot! Young scholars revisit JFK's famous inaugural address with a focus on his plea for civic engagement. There's a letter to JFK...
Healthy Native Youth
Chapter 4: Learning About Disease
Communicable diseases are the focus of a lesson that primarily uses discussion, a hands-on activity, and a worksheet to drive their point home. Lotion and glitter create a strong visual for communicable diseases. A practice page provides...
K20 LEARN
How Did We Get Here? Native Americans in the United States
High schoolers imagine what their lives would be like if they had no access to potable water and watch a morning news show about the water situation on a Navajo reservation. Groups investigate the policies that lead to the lack of water...
K20 LEARN
Monster Monday - The Good, the Bad, and the Sparkly: Vampire Tropes through History
Fangs, capes, pale skin, and beady eyes! High schoolers investigate the tropes associated with vampires by examining excerpts from stories and films. They then create a timeline that reveals how the depictions of vampires have evolved...
K20 LEARN
The History of Spoken Word Poetry: Historical and Cultural Perspectives In Literature
Spoken word poetry, more than almost any other form, reveals the historical and cultural perspective of the poet. High schoolers listen to various spoken word poems, select one to research in-depth, and then apply what they have learned...
K20 LEARN
"The Interlopers": Are You Ready to Rumble? Conflict, Motivation, and Setting
Capulets and Montagues. Sharks and Jets. Nortenos and Surenos. Gradwitzes and Znaeyms? Hector Hugh Munro's short story "The Interlopers" invites high schoolers to consider the causes of conflicts and reflect on what it takes to resolve...
Curated OER
Effects of Weathering
Here's a great geology lesson for 3rd graders on weathering and erosion of soil. After a class discussion on how nature can "move a mountain," learners take a look at how a modern phenoma called acid rain can also cause weathering and...
Curated OER
Are You an Optimist or a Pessimist?
Listening is a skill. This activity will provide your pupils with clear guidelines for what to do when someone else is speaking. Whether you ask them to note key words in a talk, to prepare two questions about the presentation, or to...
Curated OER
I'm a Changed Pig
Introduce your class to fairy tales with this lesson. After reading the fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," third, fourth, and fifth graders write a personal narrative as a response to the fairy tale....
Curated OER
Continental Drift
Be sure to come prepared to discuss the theory of Pangaea and the two super-continents, Laurasia and Gondwanaland. Collaborative learners look for fossil evidence that supports the theory that one super-continent divided into two. They...
Curated OER
Boxes & Blocks: Tunnel Vision
Students paint, create, and crawl through their own tunnel. In this early childhood visual arts lesson, students will develop gross motor skills and engage in activities that promote physical exercise as they create and explore tunnels...
Curated OER
Play Ball: A Major League Review Game
In this review and test-taking practice lesson plan, the classroom is set up like a baseball field. The class is set up into 2 teams and has to answer questions that moves them along the bases like in baseball. The team that wins has the...
Curated OER
Canine Companions
How do you make a pet’s transition into your family a smooth one? Preparing for a pet and learning how to keep it safe is the focus of this research lesson. After searching the Internet for tips on animal care, pet owners and potential...
Curated OER
Stories in Quilts
Have your class analyze the narrative art in quilts. They identify elements in this domestic art and the stories they tell. They define a story quilt, view an example, and analyze the work of Harriet Power. This is a great instructional...
Curated OER
Earth's Water: A drop in your cup
Students complete activities where they observe the amount of freshwater in the world as a fraction of the actual amount of water using different mixtures. In this freshwater lesson plan, students brainstorm on how to preserve freshwater.
Curated OER
Sensational Seaweed
Students compare kelp and land plants. In this sea plant lesson, students look at the role of algae in aquatic environments. They research the properties of kelp and explore seaweed.
Federal Reserve Bank
Purchasing a Vehicle
Start your engines! Prevent negative car buying experiences by arming pupils with information. Prepare your young drivers to make informed decisions when they are ready to purchase a car. All aspects are considered from the type of car...
University of Colorado
Space Travel Guide
Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...
Federal Reserve Bank
Financial Literacy Infographic Scavenger Hunt
A lesson in personal finance can be the most valuable part of a high school education. Connect the basics of banking with informational reading skills in a lesson that prompts teenagers to answer a series of questions based on an array...
University of Minnesota
Sheep Brain Dissection
Bored with frog and earthworm dissections? Had your fill of fetal pigs? Anatomy young scholars will be intrigued by the sheep's brain, and you will be prepared with guiding questions, extension activities, and pictures as they dissect...
Newseum
Editorials and Opinion Articles
Reading the news is fun, and that's a fact! With the lesson plan, scholars differentiate between fact and opinion as they read editorial articles. They complete a worksheet to analyze the information before writing their own editorials...