Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A-Scripting We Will Go

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students write script for a puppet show. In this writing lesson, students write a puppet show script using facts from a previous lesson. They listen to DyAnne DiSalvo Ryan's, City Green before discussing the characters and which ones...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Create a Community Tree Tour

For Teachers 4th - Higher Ed
Students study tree identification. In this tree identification lesson plan, students design and assemble a tree tour booklet describing 5 trees found in their community. The booklet should feature common and Latin names of the species,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Our Dinopals with WordArt

For Teachers 1st - 5th Standards
Elementary schoolers use the writing process steps to write a descriptive paragraph about a fictional dinosaur. Using a tech tool lesson, they create a graphic title for the paragraph. A nice blending of technology with "old-fashioned"...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Do the Tallywalker

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students study the basics of mapmaking, then make a tally walker, (geographic location device used in secret).
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reporting Live from the Twentieth Century

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students create a news story on one of the top 100 news stories of the 20th century.choose one past news event. They write a news story about that event, and provide a continuation of the story based on their research.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Soldier's View of the American Civil War

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing instructional activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The instructional activity...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zoo-Goers Ready to Greet Baby Panda

For Students 2nd - 6th
The Smithsonian's National Zoo, also known as the Washington Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. Youngsters read and discuss a news article about Tai Shan, baby panda that was one of the zoos most famous residents. They...
Lesson Plan
Roald Dahl

The Twits - Dirty Beards

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
The problem with beards is that they collect a lot of food. The first lesson in an 11-part unit related to The Twits by Roald Dahl explores the hairy jungle that is Mr. Twit's beard. A concluding project has learners create their own...
Lesson Plan
Roald Dahl

The Twits - The Wormy Spaghetti

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
What do spiders' legs and an octopus's eyeball have to do with metaphors? The fourth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl uses disgusting foods to teach about metaphoric writing.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Places We Live

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
With a wonderful bibliography to support this lesson on Illinois, President Lincoln, and rural vs. urban settings, this activity is a motivating experience. The lesson begins with pupils exploring books, such as The Little House by...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Columbus Day (Native American Perspective)

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Teach your class the perspective Native Americans had on Christopher Columbus. They will examine the effects of Christopher Columbus' exploration on the Native Americans using a reading theater and a carousel brainstorming activity. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Layer By Layer

For Teachers 5th
Have your class learn about the formation of the Grand Canyon using this lesson. After listening to a variety of stories about the Grand Canyon and erosion, learners complete worksheets related to the geology of this area. What a...
Lesson Plan
National Geographic

Ocean Exploration

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora, Dora! This may be your little ones' best guess as to what it's like to be an explorer! Give them a deeper understanding with this compact examination. A four-minute video introduces them to Robert Ballard,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sum it Up!!

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students work to develop comprehension strategies. Through modeling they discover how to summarize a written passage by deleting unnecessary information and using clustering or concept mapping for the most important items or events. In...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Marvelous World of OZ

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students investigate the major themes in fantasy maps, expand basic map reading skills, write imaginative narrative essays based on the OZ map, and create their own fantasy map detail based on a core map.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A View from Overhead

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students explore the concept of mapping. Using given illustrations, students observe views of a park from above the ground. They compare and contrast the different views. Students discuss uses for maps. Using a resource from the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring the Constellations, a WebQuest Activity

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners explore space science by participating in a class WebQuest. In this constellation identification lesson, students view star charts based on the four seasons and identify the changes our sky goes through in the course of 12...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Buying Clothes

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students create a story about friends going shopping with new vocabulary. In this creating a story lesson plan, students use new language and number words in their story.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

John Singleton Copley's art

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students illustrate a story after researching John Singleton Copley's paintings. In this John Singleton Copley lesson plan, students read the background of some of his paintings and then illustrate their own story and create a flip book...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rebus Writing

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders write rebus stories using technology. They share the rebus stories with younger students
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Characteristics - Anansi, The Spider

For Teachers 2nd - 6th
Learners identify character traits in African folklore by creating a character web of Anansi the Spider. In this character web lesson, students watch a video featuring a storyteller who tells a Pourquoi story about Anansi the Spider....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Telephone Game

For Teachers 1st - 12th
Students practice their listening comprehension by playing the "telephone" game.  In this foreign language lesson, students listen to a story read by a teacher in their target language and try to remember the details by writing 5...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students, after reading the book, "Esperanza Rising," create a virtual display by combining different story elements into a visual representation. They choose the setting and characters of a scene that will act as a springboard of ideas...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Kalahari Explorations

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students explore world geography by completing graphic organizers and researching the Internet. In this Kalahari desert lesson, students identify the geographic location, weather and creation of the Kalahari desert. Students define a...