Curated OER
Lesson: From Time to Time
A portrait The Radcliffe Family circa 1742 is inspiration for creative writing and empathetic reasoning. Your class discusses the period in which the piece was painted, then imagines what life was like for one of the people seen in the...
Curated OER
Lesson: Jazzy Stripes and Worlds
Every artist creates in his own unique way drawing from a variety of inspirational sources. Upper graders work to expand their understanding of the creative process by first analyzing a modern piece and then creating one. They listen to...
Curated OER
Imagining China through Words
When Europeans first came back with tales of China, they provided vivid written accounts and minimal visual imput. This resulted in art rendered mostly from descriptive language. Learners explore this phenomena by listening to...
Curated OER
Lesson: Heroes: Then and Now
What is the difference between Hercules and Spiderman? Both are heroes, right? Kids identify the characteristics that make a hero, and analyze the differences between heroes of long ago and today. They write creative stories describing a...
Curated OER
Lesson: Who Are You Supposed to Be?
A new way to connect visual art and creative writing is on the horizon. Kids first identify the characters in the painting Rabbit Hunt, then write narrative from the perspective of one of the characters in the painting. They combine...
Curated OER
Lesson: Weaving Words
A woven rug depicting birds and cornstalks becomes the inspiration for a lesson on critical thinking and creative writing. Learners analyze the symbolism found in the rug and then compose a descriptive paragraph or poem that embodies the...
Curated OER
Lesson: Paul Chan: "Score for the 7th Light"
Music, art, and poetry coalesce in a single exhibition, and in a single lesson. Critical thinkers analyze the Fluxus art movement as it's seen in the work of Paul Chan's 7 Lights. They consider the use of poetry and music in his work,...
Curated OER
Lesson: Cultural Comparisons
A game, research, and cross-cultural comparisons are in the works as you open an artistic activity. Upper graders get analytical as they make observations that will help them create a link between abstract and creative thinking. They...
Curated OER
Blog Your Truth
Learners explore communication by participating in a digital journalism activity. In this aboriginal research instructional activity, students view a sample blog on the Internet and identify the techniques behind blogging and Internet...
Curated OER
Video Game Violence: Explore Possible Impacts
Introduce middle schoolers to the issue of video game violence with a multifaceted approach. Learners complete a gaming survey, as well as read and discuss a news feature about violent video game sales and a handout on stimulus...
Media Smarts
Movie Heroes and the Heroic Journey
An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...
Curated OER
Lesson: Extra! Extra! Read All About It!
A great idea for a fun homework assignment! The class fully and critically analyzes Daniel Sprick's painting, Your Plans. They then generate questions to ask the artist as they attend a mock press conference. They pretend to ask the...
Curated OER
lesson: Facing a Stone Situation
Can you imagine what it's like to be able to carve an animal out of stone? Kids do, as they analyze the techniques used to create the South Indian sculpture, Sacred Bull of Shiva. After a critical look at the piece, they write a...
Curated OER
MATERIALS, Using What’s Local: Native Materials, Local Sources
Middle schoolers consider the development of different societies. In this environmental building lesson, students consider local resources and how societies choose to use them. Middle schoolers use their findings to design a 'green'...
Curated OER
Chanukah Cards With Quilling
Students research the story of Chanukah and learn the traditional art of paper curling. In this Chanukah card-making lesson, students examine Jewish customs in order to create one-of-a-kind quilling on personalized holiday cards.
Curated OER
Curled-Paper Winter Holiday Cards
Pupils research a winter holiday and create unique holiday greeting cards. After learning about their chosen holiday, they use the paper-folding technique called quilling to make one-of-a-kind cards.
Curated OER
What's Along the Coast?
Students research an area with at least one dominant geographical feature. Then they display their findings in a realistic 3-dimensional presentation. Students also prepare ancillary material to support their project. Finally, they chart...
Curated OER
Westward With the Vikings!
Students identify Norse explorers, considered by many historians to be the earliest Europeans to sail to Newfoundland. Then they recognize the superior craftsmanship of a Viking sailing ship that would have been needed to withstand the...
Curated OER
Waves of Radios
Students grasp the fundamentals of radio/sound communication technology. They research why the size of radios has gotten smaller through advances of technology...from large radio tubes through transistors through microchips. Students...
Curated OER
Voyages in a Bottle
Students uncover the method for easily building a ship in a bottle. Then they fabricate a 3-D model of the ship(s) used on an exploratory sailing voyage and display it in a plastic bottle. Students also draw a map of the world their...
Curated OER
Venn Diagrams: Contrasts in Color
Compare and contrast two topics with your class. They will pick a topic of their choosing, create color-coded Venn diagram to visually organize their information, share diagrams with classmates, and write well-organized essay on...
Curated OER
Victoria Day Maypole
Students research history and current status of Victoria Day in Canada, discuss why holiday is not celebrated in Canadian province of Quebec, and create colorful triarama showing Maypole in front of British Columbian Parliament building.
Curated OER
Unknown Soldier Diorama
Students research history of honoring unknown soldiers in United States, Canada, France, and Australia, research origins and building of tombs for unknown soldiers in country of their choice, and create diorama depicting national...
Curated OER
Unknown and Well Known
Young scholars become familiar with periodic table of elements and recognize elements as basic structural units for familiar materials. Students then create cards with descriptions and uses for their selected elements, and identify and...