Weebly
Mini-Media Literacy Project
Encourage your pupils to think critically about media and the messages media portrays. Starting off with a quick-write about pop culture, this assignment launches into a hands-on, collaborative collage project. After creating collages,...
Curated OER
The Importance of Teacher/Parent Collaboration
There are many ways that parents and teachers can work together to ensure a student's school success.
EngageNY
Reading and Writing About How to Perform a Process: How Meg Lowman Studies the Rainforest (Pages 4–8)
It's a process. Scholars read to understand the process Meg Lowman uses for pressing specimens. Learners work in groups to define vocabulary and create a list of the steps used. They then carry out the steps using provided materials.
Curated OER
What Makes the Writer Write
Your 11th and 12th graders are ready to critique society! Channel that inclination by studying a novel that offers social criticism of other eras (book recommendations included). This resource presents a well-thought-out overview of such...
EngageNY
Whole Class Model Letter Writing, Introduction: Opinion, Reasons, and Evidence about Jackie Robinson’s Legacy
Sharing is caring! Using the collaborative lesson, scholars engage in a shared writing process with the teacher. Working together, they compose opinion letters about Jackie Robinson's legacy.
Mascil Project
Closed Greenhouses
Controlling the efficiency of a greenhouse is a mathematical task. A collaborative project challenges learners to create an efficiency plan for a closed greenhouse. Using algebraic equations, they consider a set of constraints, design...
Street Law
The Challenge of Selecting an Ideal Supreme Court Nominee
Nearly every president has had the opportunity to name a nominee to the United States Supreme Court. But what makes someone an ideal candidate to become a Supreme Court justice? High schoolers test their prior knowledge about the Supreme...
Curated OER
The First (and Last) Words
What does "freedom of speech" mean to your class, especially in the context of Internet communications? In round-table discussion format, middle and high schoolers address the issues discussed in "State Legislatures Across U.S. Plan to...
Curated OER
Anonymous Sources in the Media
When do people ask for anonymity? Why? After reading the New York Times article "For a Reporter and a Source, Echoes of Broken Promise," young readers participate in a roundtable discussion focusing on freedom of the press and the use of...
Curated OER
Writing Classroom Agreements using Inspiration & Word to Go
How can you foster a thoughtful learning community for your class? First, the class brainstorms a list of behaviors that will help make the classroom a great place to learn. Then learners group similar ideas together and come up with...
California Academy of Science
How Big is Big?
In a math or life science class, "mini-me" models are created with cardstock to reflect a 1:10 scale of students' bodies. Learners measure each others' heights with meter sticks, and then reduce the size by 10. After this exercise, they...
US Institute of Peace
Identifying Conflict Styles
Are you a peace-keeper or a problem-solver? Explore conflict management styles through a instructional activity, fourth in a 15-part series, that combines individual assessment and collaborative work. Groups learn the basic tendencies of...
EngageNY
Developing Reading Fluency: Beginning the End of Unit 2 Assessment
Third graders continue to develop their reading fluency in preparation for their assessment in the tenth lesson plan of this unit. Young readers are provided with a short passage on Helen Keller, which they use while working in pairs...
Curated OER
Solve a Transfer Challenge
Imagine that golf balls are radioactive and that they must be moved without touching or dropping them! This is what collaborative groups experience in this challenge. Each group is given a variety of materials with which to construct a...
Curated OER
My Hero Learning Circle
Students participate in a collaboration activity. In this My Hero Project lesson, students discover what a hero is to someone halfway around the world and themselves. Over the 16-week session, circles, made up of between 6-9 classes from...
Curated OER
Plagued by Warfare
Students define "biological weapon" and explore why these types of weapons are so dangerous. They also explore the covert shift of American grant research money to an organization that once directed the Soviet Union's germ warfare...
Curated OER
Collaborative Tall Tale Lesson Plan
Using Keynote, pupils will collaborate with their peers to create a tall tale. Each person in the group will participate by creating slides, adding text, and recording their voice. Tip: Have each group present their tall tales to the...
Scholastic
Collaborative Year-End Projects
Coming up with a menu of engaging year-end projects can be a challenge. Never fear, help is here with an article that suggests eight projects sure to capture the interest of learners of all ages.
EngageNY
Algebraic Expressions—The Commutative and Associative Properties
Who says math is boring? Turn dry concepts like properties and vocabulary into an interesting lesson! Examine the commutative and associative properties of addition and multiplication using geometric reinforcement. Through collaboration,...
Curated OER
Create Your Own Country Project
Young scholars demonstrate their knowledge of geography with this fun, collaborative social studies project. Working in small groups, students develop their very own countries, writing descriptions of their physical location, social...
Curated OER
A Cost-Effective Model of Teacher Development
As funding for staff-development days dwindles, Professional Learning Communities offer a no-cost alternative for professional development.
Curated OER
Quotation Response Speech: Public Speaking Skills
Improve high schoolers' public speaking with an engaging activity. Class members select three personally relevant quotes from a list. They then write a short speech for each quote, explaining how the quotes are personally relevant. The...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color
Whether or not you think mice are nice, you'll love the colorful activity! Scholars examine evidence for evolution in the rock pocket mouse through video, discussion, and collaborative work. Learners watch a video regarding variation in...
New York State Education Department
TASC Transition Curriculum: Workshop 3
Teachers turning into high schoolers? It's not Freaky Friday! It's a thoughtful workshop that teaches participants how to plan professional development for staff. Third in a 15-part series, the workshop provides a platform for the other...