Curated OER
A Picture is Worth a Million Words
Learners practice composing digital photographs by documenting activities in their lives. In this photography lesson plan, students utilize digital cameras to create beautiful art from things they find around the campus or at their...
Curated OER
A Life Lived Well
Students write poems based on words and phrases found in an obituatuary. They write autobiographical obituaries that imagine their own lives and future accomplishments.
Polk Bros Foundation
History Dramatists
Bring the drama of history to life in your class and give your learners the opportunity to illustrate their understanding of a historical situation through the medium of a dialogue and/or play. Your young historians will consider a...
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Environmentally Friendly
What can your pupils do to promote better conditions for wildlife? After researching issues around wildlife management, class members use the Internet to locate three different organizations devoted to protecting wildlife. They then...
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Author's Day
Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....
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Poetry and Our National Anthem
Students express the meaning of the Star-Spangled Banner. For this American history lesson, students read through the national anthem and complete an activities from a list of choices. Some choices include: writing the anthem in your own...
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We Are One World
Middle schoolers access prior knowledge to choose a country and research the living conditions in that country. In this living conditions lesson, students recognize the differences and similarities of conditions of another country to...
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Relative History
Learners explore theories about how the Olmec civilization influenced other Mesoamerican societies. They research the Olmecs to create a museum exhibit of their findings and reflect on how an Olmec person might have understood the...
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Tall Tales Today
Students explore the attributes of American tall tales. In this folklore lesson, students read several tall tales, describe the elements of tall tales, and then use hyperbole to write their own tall tales.
Curated OER
Structuring Memoir
Review the essential elements of the memoir with a presentation that reminds writers of the structural options (chronological order, in medias res, etc.) available to them. Augment the slides with memoir models to ensure understanding.
Curated OER
Responding To Rembrandt's Work Through Poetry
Students write poetry in response to Rembrandt's landscapes and portraits. They create accompanying illustrations based on interpretations of Rembrandt's work and present them along with the poems in book format.
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Who am I?
Students develop their writing skills by creating a character sketch about themselves. Students read character sketches, view portraits by famous artists, select one personality traits, and affix a mug shot of themselves into a famous...
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Interview! Magazine
Students interview a subject and write a biographical sketch for a fictional magazine. In this interview lesson, students choose a person to interview and create two sets of questions. Students conduct the interview. Students then write...
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Pizzazz!...Chain Stories
Students compose a short story working with partners. They create a beginning, middle, and an ending. Students brainstorm with their partners and create a creative short story.
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Dear Wife & Children Every One
Middle schoolers explore the struggle that Kansans had over the slavery issue. They read a letter from John Brown to his family, and write a newspaper article about the Battle of Osawatomie from John Brown's perspective.
Curated OER
Found Poetry with Primary Sources: The Great Depression
Students read a sample found poem and create one together as a class. In this Great Depression lesson, students select a topic, such as miners, and read primary source documents related to the topic. Students select one narrative as the...
Shoop English
Literature Terms Activity
Designed to be used with an independent reading book, this activity provides practice with identifying and explaining literary terms. While they read, individuals find instances of literary devices and elements in use in their books....
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Harvesting the River Lesson Plan: Taking an Oral History
Students practice researching history through oral traditions. In this U.S. History lesson, students examine an online exhibit titled Harvesting the River, in which students interview someone from the story. Students utilize Internet...
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Generating Power
Students construct a working model of a turbine and explain how water generates power. By the end of the lesson plan, they list the effects of Kingsley Dam on people, plans, and animals -- both positive and negative.
Curated OER
Making Connections: I Know Why Caged Birds Sing
Students discuss equality and fairness by reading a Maya Angelo poem. For this U.S. history lesson, students read the poem I Know Why Caged Birds Sing, and discuss how the era it was written in affected the words. Students identify the...
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Exploring American Tall Tales
Students explore elements of American folktales and tall tales. In this literature lesson, students read examples of American folktales and tall tales and prepare a monologue or news report to present to the class based on their readings.
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Scavenger Hunt
Students summarize the "Tri-County Project" section of the nebraskastudies.org web site using a scavenger hunt.
Curated OER
Cultural Comparison
Students choose from a group of entries about the culture of Peru. In this Peruvian culture lesson, students understand the definition of culture. Students describe the culture of Peru researched in the entry and complete a worksheet.
Curated OER
Form, Story, and Function: Then and Now
Young scholars compare the function and decoration of everyday objects from ancient Greece and today's world. They complete a chart imbedded in this lesson that enables them to compare today's objects to objects of the past.