Curated OER
Family and Household Structure
Students examine what the word "family" means today. They identify cultural traditions that are still popular in the United States. They read primary source documents and discover how advice is passed on from generation to generation.
Curated OER
Learning About A Country While Chatting Online
Students take a "virtual trip" to Switzerland. This lesson gives suggestions about how to arrange and then organize such an online chat trip so that it be as beneficial as possible.
Curated OER
Forces of Flight - Lift
Young scholars design and test paper airplanes to understand the concept of lift and how it affects flight. This technology-based Science lesson plan is excellent for use with upper-elementary and middle-level learners and uses...
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Rocks and Minerals
Students investigate the properties and uses of rocks and minerals. They build towers using only one material from a pile of stones, tiles, wood, etc. provided by the teacher. Students test the hardness of rocks by scratching them with...
Curated OER
Creating a School Herbarium
Students develop working knowledge of common plants and awareness of plant diversity by starting a school herbarium.
Curated OER
Desert Plant Detectives
Students examine and categorize plants in their own schoolyard desert garden and then observe other plant areas of their schoolyard.
Curated OER
Simplified Botany--Leaf Chromatography
Learners investigate the different pigments contained in green leaves by completing an experiment that strips away the chlorophyll and separates the pigments left behind.
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Cycles of Life
Students explore the metamorphosis of an insect as it changes from an egg to pupa to an adult. the process of change is observed, recorded, and transformed into a life cycle picture.
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The Water We Drink
Third graders relate that the quality of their drinking water is subject to the condition of the environment and water found in streams and creeks in their community. They track the travel of a wad of paper from a student's desk to a...
Curated OER
Storytelling In America
Students discuss how Washington Irving is considered an important 19th century-American storyteller. They create their own version of a passage from 'The Legend' after listening to the story.
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Ant Bodies
Learners name the three parts that comprise an insect body. In this ant lesson, students make connections regarding the curiosity of insects as it touches upon the learners' personal perspectives. Students then observe ants in class and...
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Aesop and Ananse: Animal Fables and Trickster Tales
Students complete compare and contrast activities dealing with fables and trickster tales to determine how each uses animals to portray human characteristics, specifically strengths and weaknesses, as well as pass wisdom from one...
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Solid Waste and Recycling
Young scholars demonstrate effects of waste on environment and ways of reducing it, observe how much packaging goes into bag lunches each day, and survey their families to assess awareness levels and household recycling practices....
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 2: What Has Happened in the White House?
Working in small groups, or individually, learners are given images of events that took place at the White House. They study the image and research that time in history to better understand how the White House has been affected by...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 3: On the Road with Marco Polo: From Hormuz to Kashgar
Young explorers examine the route that Marco Polo and his father traveled to reach China. They examine online maps of the Silk Road and harsh terrain of Afghanistan to determine challenges that may have been encountered during travel.
Curated OER
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Young scholars read and discuss the story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and design a structure that will withstand a clay bear's force sitting on it. They develop a list of activities that the three bears do that real bears can't do,...
Curated OER
Understanding the Water Cycle
Investigate the water cycle and how water moves from the land to the air and back to the land. Create a terrarium and observe the water cycle at work. Define weather terms including evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
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Science: The States of Matter
Third graders conduct experiments in matter to create chemical changes resulting in gases. By mixing solids and liquids, they create a chemical reaction and capture the gas in balloons. After observing the balloons fill with carbon...
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Cup Capacity Tool: Measuring Cup
Students examine containers and their capacity. They fill a one-cup measuring cup with water and pour cups of water into other containers. Through observation, students discover how many cups make a pint, and how many teaspoons make a...
Curated OER
Move It!!!
Students explore motion by observing the movement of people and duplicating those movements. They compare and contrast various kinds of movements and identify different types of movements in pictures. They build an object that can be...
Curated OER
Newton's First Law of Motion with a Glider
Third graders examine, analyze, study and memorize Newton's First Law of Motion utilizing a glider to demonstrate the process. They state, sing, draw or enact an example/illustration of Newton's First Law of Motion in front of their...
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Losing Ground
Students examine how effects of farming practices in the early 20th Century contributed to severe soil erosion of a large portion of the North American grasslands.
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Bubble Mania
Elementary schoolers practice measuring a soap bubble print. They follow a recipe to make a soap bubble solution. Pupils use the soapy solution to blow large bubbles with a plastic drinking straw until they pop leaving behind a circular...
Curated OER
Tangram
Learners explore tangrams. In this tangrams lesson, students read Three Pigs, One Wolf, and Seven Magic Shapes and then complete a WebQuest on tangrams. Learners explore shapes and rotation during the WebQuest and create a new character...