University of Kansas
Newspaper in the Classroom
Newspapers aren't only for reading—they're for learning skills, too! A journalism unit provides three lessons each for primary, intermediate, and secondary grades. Lessons include objectives, materials, vocabulary, and procedure, and...
Curated OER
Harnessing Solar Energy
Students discover the properties of light (radiant) energy from the sun by experimenting with solar collectors, cookers, and calculators. After a lecture/demo, students create their own solar collectors and test their efficiency.
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But I'm Not a Writing Teacher!
How teaching writing skills in the science classroom will benefit your students as they transition to Common Core.
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African-American Participation in Wars and Conflicts
Students research the enlistment of African Americans, including particular divisions and individuals, in different conflicts. They, in groups, research past American military conflicts, and report on the experience of African Americans...
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A Dream of Class Perfection
Students discover the influence of Greek classical art and philosophy on the French Revolution. In this art lesson, students analyze a Neoclassical artist and write an essay in which they discuss how the style contributes to the...
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Predator-Prey Relationships
Students understand ecological systems. They provide experiences to assist citizens to increase their sensitivity and stewardship for the environment.
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Leading Lives
Middle schoolers explore a field of knowledge through the life of a leader in that field. They write a high-quality biography of the leader of their choice. In the end, publishing of the biography is completed on the Internet.
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Indians in Georgia
Students investigate technology used by Native Americans by examining their creations. In this Native American math lesson, students examine the overall area of Mississippian Indian mounds that were built hundreds of years ago....
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Native Lands: Indians in Georgia , Losing Ground: Removal, 1802-1838
Students investigate the removal of the Creek Indians from Georgia. Students read the story of the Creek removal from Georgia, locate sites mentioned on a map, and create a related timeline. Students share their thoughts on the Creek...
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Payment Parliament
Students investigate how the economy works by role playing in their class. In this money management activity, students read parts from a script for use in a role playing activity simulating the Federal Reserve and their payment...
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The Right to Vote
Students discover voting barriers. In this government lesson, students explore the history of voting. Students work in small groups to analyze and debate if certain groups of people should have the ability to vote or not.
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"Voicing" - A Believable Account with "The Glory Fields" by Walter Dean Myers
Dr. Seuss and Walter Dean Myers team up to cover the topic of prejudice. Using The Sneeches (about the culture clash between star-bellied and bare-bellied Sneetches) and The Glory Fields (about a boy coming to America on a slave ship),...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
The Writer’s Toolbox: What You Need to Master the Craft
Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...
American Press Institute
Creating a Classroom Newspaper
Hot off the press: a mini-unit for class members to create their own newspaper. Complete with graphic organizers, extension activities, and helpful learning targets that teach parts of a newspaper, the resource contains everything needed...
Newspaper Association of America
Press Ahead!
Give class members some great news! A media unit teaches individuals about ethics, parts of a newspaper, business writing, photojournalism, and more topics that have to do with the press. Full of material for a variety of learners,...
Curated OER
Worksheet 2: Demonstratives
Sometimes it's difficult to identify the idea that demonstrative pronouns refer to. Polish the use of this, that, those, and these in your class's writing. Several sentences are given, and your pupil must rewrite the sentence to clarify...
Curated OER
Critically Surfing the Web
The New York Times article “Online Diary,” launches this study of websites and how to assess them. Richly detailed, the lesson includes warm-up activities, procedures, journal prompts, discussion questions, and links to valuable...
Dream of a Nation
Big6 Research Project
Do research projects at your school look like a class of eighth graders staring at a blank screen? Use the Big 6 research method to guide middle schoolers through the process of finding a topic, searching for and evaluating sources,...
Stanford University
Beyond Vietnam
On April 4, 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his speech "Beyond Vietnam." The controversy that followed is the focus of a three-lesson unit that asks class members to consider the political and social implications of King's stance.
Appalachian State University
Making Your Point Using Dialect
Explore the sounds, importance, and effectiveness of dialect in literature. Active participants read, listen to poetry, and explore dialect by developing a formal definition, discuss the benefits of its use, complete a Venn diagram and...
Curated OER
The Purpose and Power of Persuasion
Examine the power of persuasion and have learners consider how it influences events in their own lives. After reading and analyzing informational texts to understand the author's purpose, class members take a written test and craft a...
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How to Write A+ Essays!
This lesson, which promises to improve the essays of your middle schoolers, contains a list of characteristics an essay should include. It breaks it down into the introduction, thesis statement, body, etc. There's also a list of things...
Curated OER
Give Credit Where Credit is Due
Middle schoolers explain what plagiarism is, why it is a problem, and how to avoid it. They articulate why it is unacceptable in a research document, and they show how to avoid it by using proper citation tools. They demonstrate correct...
Curated OER
Types of Journal Writing
Examine with your class the practical uses of journals and discover how journal writing can help academically and personally. Pupils discover the different types of journal writing and decide which style works best for them.