Curated OER
Shades of Meaning
Examine and distinguish between words that have similar definitions but different connotations. Middle schoolers define connotation and denotation and participate in a "shades of meaning" contest in small groups. Groups use the...
K12 Reader
Winter Adjectives: Shades of Meaning
Is wet damper than soggy? Young grammarians consider shades of meaning by ranking a set of winter adjectives from the weakest to the strongest.
Penguin Books
An Educators' Guide to Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Books can help teens understand complex global issues. A helpful educator's guide introduces readers to what it's like to be a refugee. Lesson components for the novel Shades of Gray include an anticipation guide and writing and...
Curated OER
A Nice Story
Explore word choice in writing. Your class listens to a short story entitled "A Nice Day" (included) and discusses how the story could be improved. Pupils replace the word nice throughout the story with various synonyms, then reread the...
Curated OER
Symmetry of the Addition Table
Help your class discover the commutative property of addition with this exploration of the addition table. By folding and coloring the table, a symmetry is found that directs students to an understanding of this crucial mathematical...
Curated OER
Shades of Meaning
Learners use words with similar meanings to analyze implied meanings. In this word connotation activity, the teacher introduces the activity by asking students whether a new product should be advertised as "newfangled" or...
Willow Tree
Area of Common Geometric Figures
Scholars can use area formulas, but can they apply what they know about area? The lesson challenges learners to think logically while practicing finding area of shapes such as rectangles, circles, parallelograms, triangles, and other...
Curated OER
Shades of Color - Cross Out Puzzle Six
English language learners follow the directions to cross out words as they place them into specific categories. For example, they list egg yolk and sunflower under "shades of yellow." Note: some of these are very difficult! Will your...
Curated OER
Worksheet 7: Vocabulary Practice
This worksheet, appropriate for upper elementary and middle school, has learners identify the meaning of words in context. They distinguish between different shades of meaning. The worksheet has seven multiple choice questions.
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 1, Lesson 4
High schoolers read the final section of E. B. White’s Death of a Pig and examine the impact of the words and tone he used. In pairs, learners discuss their homework from the previous night, answer questions about the text, and write in...
Illustrative Mathematics
Art Class, Assessment Variation
Play with paint and decide the ratio to make different shades of green. When mixing paint colors, your painters should decide which ratios make the same shade and what is needed to mix other ratios for a different shade of green. This is...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 3, Lesson 4
It is, and it is not. Scholars examine how these words impact Eleanor Roosevelt's speech, in which she tries to persuade the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Readers note rhetoric and figurative language. They then...
Curated OER
Shades of Gray
Students examine their own strengths and weaknesses and try to determine if it is a result of nature, nuture or both. After reading an article, they discuss how gender may or may not account for differences in intelligence. They...
Balanced Assessment
Plenty of Pentagons
Why are only four colors needed to color webs from regular pentagons, not five? An assessment task requires young mathematicians to first construct regular pentagons using a compass and straightedge, then has them consider a shape...
Curated OER
The Color of Success
Students participate in an activity in which they share with each other what success means to them. They are given bags of crayons and blank sheets of paper and create an image that displays what success means to them. Bags of crayons...
Lakeshore Learning
Equivalent Fraction Activities
Spin the wheel of the fraction contraption and learn about equivalent fractions! After constructing their own spinners, kids use printable pizzas to represent fractions that are equal in value.
Inside Mathematics
Patterns in Prague
Designers in Prague are not diagonally challenged. The mini-assessment provides a complex pattern made from blocks. Individuals use the pattern to find the area and perimeter of the design. To find the perimeter, they use the Pythagorean...
Exploratorium
Jacques Cousteau in Seashells
Visionaries create images out of dots to demonstrate the eye-brain connection. Through this activity, they learn that the brain interprets data collected by the eye into recognizable information. Search online for "Jacques Cousteau in...
Curated OER
Art Class, Variation 1
Student statisticians calculate ratios to determine how many shades of green were mixed by Ms. Baca's art class. They graph the number of blue parts against the number of yellow parts for each combination and discover that some produce...
BW Walch
Solving Linear Inequalities in Two Variables
Although graphing a linear inequality on the plane is but a few steps added onto the graphing of a linear equation, for many learners the logical leap is quite intimidating. This approachable PowerPoint presentation breaks graphing...
Inside Mathematics
Hopewell Geometry
The Hopewell people of the central Ohio Valley used right triangles in the construction of earthworks. Pupils use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine missing dimensions of right triangles used by the Hopewell people. The assessment task...
Curated OER
Pen and Ink Drawing
Learners hone their drawing techniques to create a nature-inspired piece of art. They practice hatching, cross hatching, stippling, and shading. They discuss how each method is better suited for creating specific elements in nature such...
Illustrative Mathematics
Naming the Whole for a Fraction
How many different ways can you represent a whole? In a picture that represents six parts (two of which are shaded), learners are asked to label the parts appropriately to show how three different mathematical interpretations can be...
Curated OER
Art Class, Variation 2
Given a set of six paint mix ratios, artistic mathematicians produce an equation that relates the number of parts for blue paint to parts for yellow paint resulting new shades of green.